Showing posts with label Dreamworks Lights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreamworks Lights. Show all posts

Friday 9 December 2016

Our visit to the DreamWorks Lights Lantern Experience in Liverpool

You may have seen several posts from me lately on events in Liverpool, having recently visited Disney On Ice presents Frozen, and Santa's Magical Grotto. Well it would seem that Liverpool is definitely the place to be at the moment for festive fun, and having recently learnt about the new DreamWorks Lights Lantern Experience in St George's Hall, we decided to take a look a find out what it was all about.


The DreamWorks Lights event is a first for the UK and is part of One Magical City, which is a programme of festive activity that is taking place throughout Liverpool. DreamWorks are responsible for the feature films Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar, which are all popular family movies, and this makes it a great experience for the whole family to enjoy. Described as a "Shrektacular" event, we couldn't wait to visit!

Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool said "Bringing this event to the city is a major coup for Liverpool and is sure to pave the way for more experiences of this stature".


The venue of St George's Hall, is located directly across from Lime Street Station, which makes it easily accessible by public transport. You will have no problem finding it as even if you somehow manage to miss the big banners directing you there, you definitely couldn't miss the giant Shrek located on the roof!


Our time slot was for 11:30am til 12pm, and we arrived at 11:40am to find that there was no queue to get in. I presented my mobile tickets on my phone to the lady on the till which she scanned and welcomed us to the event. Immediately we noticed the huge 40ft dragon from Shrek suspended from the ceiling of the Great Hall which was amazing.

Although it was busy, it wasn't overcrowded which suggests that the organisers have planned it just right with assigning allocated time slots for arrival. There were larger crowds around some displays more than others, but we didn't struggle to get pictures of any of the lanterns.


Each display was set out nicely, and the lights were lovely and bright. The first few sets were all Kung Fu Panda themed, and looked fantastic. There are clear signs directing you which way to go, which helps to make it run in a one way system, however if you do want to go back to look a particular display, you are able to do so.


After all the Kung Fu Panda themed lights, we came across the Shrek displays which were my favourite. Shrek is one of our favourite family films, and so my kids were really excited to see all the characters.


My daughter's favourite is Donkey, and so she couldn't resist asking for a picture beside him.


Following on from Shrek, came the Madagascar displays. I love the characters from Madagascar as they are so funny, and the lights looked absolutely brilliant, whilst still displaying the humour that each one represents in the film.

Some of the larger displays throughout the attraction also had the added bonus of large projector screens showing excerpts from the movies.


At the end of the attraction, you can have your photo taken on a green screen, and then choose from a selection of backgrounds. The pictures I saw on the screen looked great, however I found that because of where it was located, it did make it slightly difficult for guests with prams to exit, as the queue was large and therefore partially blocked the way out. The photos were £6 each which I think is reasonable for a fun and unique family photo.

As with most attractions, there is a gift shop on your way out that sells a nice selection of goods and memorabilia. The products weren't cheap, but they also weren't overpriced so there was something to suit most budgets.


In total we spent just over an hour here, and really enjoyed it. For 2 adults and 2 children it costs £36 which may seem slightly expensive for an experience that isn't a full day out, however it is something unique and enjoyable and I feel that the cost is reasonable for what it is. There is also so much to do in Liverpool at the moment, so if you wanted to make it a full day out, you could easily combine it with Santa's Magical Grotto, a pantomime, or even the World Museum which is great fun and also offers free entry. There is also a small Christmas market just outside the Dreamworks Lights Lantern Experience, selling a lovely selection of goods to get you in the festive mood.

The Dreamworks Lights Lantern Experience is open daily between 10am and 7pm until Sunday 15th January. (Exceptions to this are early closing 2pm on Christmas Eve & New Year's Eve, and full day closures on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day).

Entry is via allocated time slots which begin every 30 minutes, and online booking is advised to guarantee your preferred entry time and date.

Tickets cost £10 for adults and £8 for children. Babies under 12 months are free of charge. Some pay on arrival tickets will be available, but will be subject to demand.

If you would like to book your tickets, you can do so here - Dreamworks Lights Lantern Experience

Disclaimer - I was provided with complimentary access to this event in order to provide an honest review and opinion of the attraction. All opinions are my own unless otherwise stated.