Kristi

I found the deal for the 2 for 1 passes thanks to another poster here and after adding up the costs of the things I want to do, I think it will be a good value for us.

One of the benefits stated on their webpage is that is cuts the queues, is this really true? The ones I'm really interested in are the Tower of London and Kensington Palace and maybe the London Zoo and Aquarium. Anyone have any first hand experience? Thanks!

Rich

It cuts the cues to buy tickets . . not to enter . . try to cut the cue to enter and you will be chastized severly!

At the Tower, buying the ticket ahead of time can save up to three hours. . depending on the line.

Rich

janis

First of all there won't be any queues to speak of at any of those places -- except for the Tower. Most of the time you can just walk straight in to Kens Palace, somethimes there might be 20 people in lines but that is unusual.

The Tower is a different story. The lines thare could take 30 - 45 mins or more (I think Rich's mention of 3 hours is totally off base)

If the numbers work out for you go ahead and get the Pass (most folks here on fodors recommend against it tho'). But not as a "queue jumping tool".

Kristi

But I don't have to wait at the Tower in the admission line, I can take the pass to the entrance line should there be one and show it to the ticket taker?

I saw a comment on the Great British Heritage pass where it said for certain places you had to show the pass in exchange for a ticket so it wouldn't save any time at all (and certainly not at the tower because you still have to pay 50% with the GBHP).

Kayb95

At nearly every place we used the British Heritage Pass (this year and on previous visits) you still have to go through the ticket line because they have a clipboard where they write down your pass number, your country and your name. Doesn't save the queue but saves lots of money.

Rich

It really depends on the time of year . . but I have gone by the tower midmorning just after the tour busses have thrown up their load and the line snakes around to the bridge . . at least three hours.

When I would take visitors thru the Tower, I'd get the tickets late in the afternoon before and we could just walk thru the entrance if we got there by 9:00.

You are right about Kensington Palace . . rarely was not able to just walk in . . for some reason, I never went to the zoo or Aquarium when I lived there.

Rich

Louiseee

Kristi,
I didn't buy a London Pass so I can't speak directly to that but I just got back from London and we went to Kensington Palace and the Tower of London. There were no lines at Kensington Palace (in fact, we appeared to be one of about 10 people in the place). At Kensington Palace, you can buy a ticket for Tower of London and, by purchasing both together save a good deal on the cost. This is an actual ticket so when we got to the Tower of London three days later we able to bypass the ticket purchase line and go straight to the entrance line. This thus saved us both money and time but, of course, I realize you are trying also to get the Zoo and Aquarium as well. Hope this helps.

pkdof

We used the London Pass when we were there a couple of weeks ago. At the Tower, you go straight to the entrance line. At the Zoo, you go to the pre-paid ticket and pass line to get tickets; presumably this would be a shorter line, but there was no line at all when we were there (about 10:15 am on a Friday). I haven't added up our usage yet to see if we saved any money (I doubt it because we didn't get to the Aquarium or St. Paul's), but we did use it frequently and it seemed more convenient to have it.

highledge

are you sure that you want to go to the zoo and the aquarium? Neither are that great in my opinion. The aquarium is small and very dark- nothing special. The zoo is a bit better- if you have kids they might be just as happy playing in a park for the afternoon- or on boats in Hyde Park or Regents Park. The zoo also has a bunch or rides that cost extra- always a battle with kids. Not great rides mind you- the type that are outside of grocery stores in the US.
There are so many unique things to do in London- not sure if either of tose places should be too high on a must see list!

Anonymous

We live in a city that has its own respectable aquarium, and we thought London's was very pleasant -- certainly not particularly small or dark. Are you referring to the newish one at County Hall? Aquariums in general can't be brightly lit, or you wouldn't be able to see into the tanks.

m_kingdom2

The London Zoo is very depressing and small, it's really not worth seeing - animals are animals world over and this isn't a wonderful zoo with unique specimens so I'd skip it.

County Hall aquarium remains unvisited by myself for the same reasons - you're in London don't bother with the animals there are so many more worthwhile places to see and things to do.

Kristi

I'm not totally committed to the zoo or the aquarium, if I'm in the area I might stop in and if I have the pass I will feel no remorse if I only stay for a short while. Even without visiting either, the pass will pay for itself.

I was at the zoo in 1988 and thought it pretty unremarkable (although I think there were pandas at the time which is why I went) but I assumed since they charge a whopping L13 that they had done some upgrading.

pkdof

The London Zoo is small, but I thought it charming and my children loved it. We stayed a few hours, visiting the Reptile House, the B.U.G.S. exhibit, the small mammals and moonlit world, and seeing the "Animals in Action" show and the penguin feeding. Because I am on the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Zoo (which must be 10 times the size of the London Zoo), we have a great interest in visiting other zoos when we travel.

Kristi

Thanks for the additional info everyone, I think I will get the pass, I've added up the cost of the things I really wanted to see (Kew, T of L, Kensington and St. Paul's) and it's still a money saver at 1/2 price so everything else we see is gravy.

Anonymous

The Aquarium is very centrally located, near the London Eye (which IIRC isn't on the London Pass).

The Zoo, OTOH, is one of the few tourist attractions that's far enough out from the city center to be in the tube's Zone 2 and it's a bit of a hike from the nearest tube stop. One thng that amazed my kids at the London Zoo was that there were very few rules or the types of safety precautions that are so pervasive in the litigious US. At the penguin feeding, for instance, there were kids sitting on the edge of the penguin enclosure with their feet hanging over. Yet nobody fell in or even misbehaved -- kids live up to, or down to, our expectations. It was one of the few places where my kids got to interact significantly with British kids.

jand

Kristi,
You might want to take a look at the 2 for 1 offers at http://www.escapebytrain.co.uk/
and compare it with the london pass to see which works out cheaper. I still have not decided which way to go.

samejia

I used the London Pass on our trip to the Tower in June. You do go straight to the entrance line. There wasn't one when we got there at 10:30 am on a Saturday. They did have to scan/process our cards. At Hampton Court, we had to wait in a pre-paid line for our ticket to the Palace. It was a short line but I was expecting to just walk up and show my pass to get in. Another tip on the pass. If you do decide to get it, you may just want to pick it up at the London Visitor Center rather than pay the postage. I waited too close to our trip and the postage would have been extremely high. We picked up our passes then walked to Westminster Abbey from there (not on the pass). Susan

smroan

I would pay the money and have the pass mailed. Check the hours when center is available to pick it up. The location is central, not far from Trafalgar Square, but I had to wait until 9:30 on a Sat. a.m. to pick it up. Considering how much it costs to spend time in London (which I do not regret) paying the postage is minor. I'd go for not having to make a detour just to pick up a pass. (And then to wait 15 minutes in line to get it!)

Pass worked for me only because I used it for The Tower, Windsor and Hampton Court Palace.

Another time, I would avoid using the pass and consider some of the other travel and Heritage passes described on fodors.com

Kristi

Thanks for the additional info, I bought the passes this morning and am going to pick them up in London, I figured we could pick them up on our first day since we will be suffering from jet lag and not trying to do too much.

I've scanned the list of attractions and don't see the following on there, someone said that not all of the sights are listed, can someone who has been recently confirm that Buckingham Palace and Parliament aren't on there? I assume that since they are seasonal that they won't be on there but I just wanted to be sure before I made reservations. Thanks!