Description: Madame Tussauds originated over 250 years ago. Tussauds specialise in wax works and the main focus is celebrities. There are several Tussauds museums across the world but the UK is home to Tussauds in London and Blackpool.
Formally known as Louis Tussauds, this wax works museum is located on the promenade and right in the heart of Blackpool. Madame Tussauds is situated within a huge building with celebrity pictures on the front - it cannot be missed really. Madame Tussauds is open every day except Christmas Day. Midweek, it is open 10am-4pm and closing is at 5pm at the weekends.
Madame Tussauds is accesible by those with prams and wheelchairs. There are quite a few stairs though staff are happy to escort you in one of the many lifts inside the building. Once you enter Tussauds, you are met by Steven Gerrard and Little Britain wax works. You can buy your tickets and work your way around the wax works at your own pace before finishing off in the gift shop.
Tussauds features wax works split up across different sections including sports stars,lLifestyle television, singers and performers, comedians etc.
You can buy tickets online and obtain a small discount. Tickets can also be purchased at the reception desk. It is possible to buy a single ticket for this attraction only or if you plan on visiting the other nearby attractions (The Dungeons, Tower Eye etc) you can 'mix and match' the deals to save yourself a bit of cash. The 'Big Ticket' covers all the nearby attractions and costs nearly £80 per person (ouch!). Smaller tickets can combine Tussauds with one or two other attractions for a smaller cost.
The single tickets for Tussauds when purchased at the attraction are as follows :
*£15.00 (adult)
*£12.00 (child from 3yrs upwards)
*£48.00 (family of 2 adults and 2 children)
We visited on a Thursday morning. We had quite a few 2 for 1 vouchers so decided to make use of them as opposed to purchasing the combination tickets. We arrived at the opening time and paid a total of £27.00 (debit card) for 2 adults and our 3 year old. I do feel £12 is a high price for a toddler and perhaps they could change the age limits about a bit. The staff which we came into contact with were pleasant enough but did try and sell us tacky pictures and guide books etc - we declined.
There is no doubt about the fact that these wax work models are well thought out and created. They look incredibly realistic from facial features to choice and feel of clothing. It is possible to get up and close to the wax works without knocking them over - they are very secure. We walked around and were quite impressed at first despite the museum having been totally revamped since out last visit. I recognised most wax works but some I wasn't familiar with (mainly sports stars).
Lifestyle television played a big part in this museum. The first section is dedicated to this type of television. We were able to sit in a 'mock up' Big Brother room and 'meet' Davina. Simon and Louis welcomed you to become part of the judging panel and there was even the opportunity to pose with Brucie (Forsyth).
Each television scene had its own area and was spacious to allow you to get in amongst the 'stars' without standing on any toes. Gok Wan had his own styling house where one could stand behind different pictures to see how we looked with different dresses on. Chris Tarrant stood smugly alongside an interactive 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' game.
The chefs and presenters had their own section and interactive displays including the awful Mr Oliver (can't stand him at all!) and Jonathon Ross. My favourite display by far was the Jeremy Kyle show set up! I got my picture taken chilling on his 'stage' whilst my son and fiance moved the sound set up buttons to make it sound like a proper 'Jezza' episode!
My son wasn't entirely amused with the wax works so far but he did enjoy the sports section (as did my fiance who is footy daft). The stairs leading to this section are designed to make you think you are walking through the tunnel at the football before leading to the changing rooms. Ok..I suppose I should admit I was taken by this section too. As the boys had a peek in the lockers, I posed with Golden Balls (yum!) - the boys wanted their pic taken with Rooney though.
The music section was by far our favourite section as a family - something for everyone here! Some displays were 'off limits' but there was plenty to see here. Stars such as Britney, Jacko and the Beatles were happy to pose for photos. I personally think Lady Gaga could have been wearing one of her more erratic outfit to show her more 'regular' character in my opinion.
There was a specific section for the comedians but some such as Graham Norton (who looked freakily realistic for my liking) and Alan Carr were dotted around. Some of the comedians were before my time and I wasn't interested in Morecambe and Wise etc.
The Coronotion Street display features a mock up of the Rovers Return pub and shows old and newer episodes of the soap. This is located half way around the museum and is the perfect place to chill out before moving on. There are a few amusement machines here and a drinks machine. I got my picture taken with Deirdrie Barlow but Ken and Bet were there.
Moving on, we were met with some cartoon characters including Sooty and Bob the Builder - the perfect picture was taken of my son and one of his idols! Other attractions include a mirror maze which wasn't as easy as we remembered and leads to a massive deck chair where you can put wigs and cool sunglasses on for an expensive (£8.00 upwards) picture!
I thought we had took a wrong turn when we ended up at the gift shop within 40mins of arriving at the museum. We did take our time wandering around, taking photos and generally messing about and I had to ask where the rest of the wax works were as so many were missing since our last visit! There was no Elvis White Chapel (and I really wanted to go in there), there was no Horror section (which was one of the best parts of our last visit in my opinion).
Apparently when they changed over to Madame Tussauds (from Louis), they took a lot away from the wax works and made it more 'British' - that would explain the no Chapel and no Brad Pitt though I cannot understand where Elton John and Victoria Beckham had disappeared too.
The shop in the museum was full of the usual tat - cups, expensive sweets and juice and everything endorsed by Madame Tussauds (that can be bought round the corner for half the price no doubt). We had walked past the shop the night before and my son had already spotted a Bob the Builder display so parted with £9.00 of spending money on a crappy little diecast toy. The prices were high for merchandise but standard for this sort of museum - £4.00 for a basic cup, £5.00 for a book and £1.80 for a bottle of Coca Cola or Slush Puppy.
Would we return to Madame Tussauds in Blackpool? No - we spent a fortune (and that was with a voucher) and experienced less than an hour of wax works. It isn't as good as it used to be which is a shame. I personally wouldn't take lots of children here as there is only a small area aimed at them and I doubt many children would be aware of the other wax works.
Overall 3 stars - limited appeal now!
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