Brent Cross in North London might not jump to mind as the obvious place to encounter demonic man-eating demogorgons, indulge in dubious scientific experiments or indeed save the world from imminent destruction, but then this is world of Stranger Things, that TV phenomena that is entrancing teenagers and – let’s be honest – their mums, dads and carers as well.
Our visit was part of an ‘end of the summer holidays treat’ to London. We avoided the traffic and parking problems by zooming up in comfort on Great Western Railway, with the journey to Paddington from Bath taking just over 90 minutes. We’ve always found that this is the best way for a family day out in London, meaning that we arrive fresh, with the on-train wifi helping the children to relax. For more details of family train tickets to Paddington, click here
Stranger Things: The Experience is wonderful immersive journey into the scenes, sets and action of the TV series, with visitors initially being asked to take part in a sleep study at Hawkins Lab before things start to go terribly wrong and you’re fleeing for you life from other-wordly beasts. Along the way you’re invited to use your psychic powers (it turns out the group we joined were particularly strong in this department…) to help the actual characters from the show and deal rampaging monsters, keen on feasting on the panicking technicians.
Seriously, was that really Dustin in the air vent? Is that actually the evil Dr Martin Brenner behind the safety glass? And yes, that looks just like the real Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven live on the stage in front of us?
To go into too much detail would be to spoil the fun – although just to say that the 3D bit is AMAZING! – but my 11 year old and his mate absolutely loved every part, as I did as well! From the super friendly guides outside to the menacing lab technicians keeping us on guard in the queue, throughout the experience is a lot of fun.
With the world saved – for now at least – there was plenty of time to enjoy in the post-experience lounge, full of 80’s nostalgia and scenes and props from the show. This meant that we were soon enjoying a slice of remarkably good pizza from Surfer Boy Pizza, supping on a mocktail from the Upside Down bar and queueing up for ice cream at the Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream Parlour. There was also the chance to have photos taken with Vecna, lounge on the sofa at Joyce’s house and pose behind the counter at the video store, all while enjoying the superb 80s background music, checking out Steve’s nail encrusted baseball bat and buying any number of impressively priced souvenirs.
With plenty of visitors arriving dressed as their favourite characters, the whole atmosphere is a fun and easygoing tribute to Stranger Things. When it comes to recommended age range, the experience does include the sort of bad language you get from teenagers and a certain amount of scary bits and blood. Still, my young adventurers loved it and chatting with other parents there, we all agreed that it’s perfect for children aged 10 and above.
With series five of Stranger Things apparently in the works, if you’re not a fan, start watching it as soon as possible and you’ll certainly want to buy tickets for the experience. No, it’s certainly not cheap – £58 per adult and £39 for children – but when the future of the world is at stake, sometimes the greater good must prevail.
For more details and to book tickets, go to strangerthings-experience.com