I had always been interested in 'The Dungeons'; I'd seen several TV advertisements for the dungeon in York, and after visiting their website and tapping into my sat nav how long it'd take to drive there, my partner and I discovered it'd only take us around an hour and about 20 minutes, so we decided to make the trip and go. The best part was that being a 'SKY+' subscriber, I had received a 2-for-1 voucher, so when we realised it was going to be cheaper than what we'd previously expected, it was an added bonus.

GETTING TO YORK DUNGEON, AND PARKING

The trusty Sat Nav got us all the way to York Dungeons, although it was quite well sign posted from the main roads. Parking was a bit of a nightmare - I had only bought cash along with me, with about £7 in change, assuming that the carpark would cost around £6 or £7 to stay for a few hours. It ended up costing about £10 - £11, so we ended up having to walk to find a shop to buy something so I could get some more change to pay the tariff. I must say that this was just a regular carpark in York, and not the actual York Dungeons carpark - they don't have one. This wasn't a big deal, just a little infuriating that it meant we then had to waste time going to get some change, but I did notice on the back of the carpark ticket was a voucher for the dungeons for something like £7 off entry price, but we didn't use this, as we already had our voucher from SKY.
Find the actual Dungeon was slightly tricky! There were sign posts, but it was quite difficult to locate, and the building is on the corner of a street and actually looks to be quite small. However, it wasn't TOO hard to find (it's very close to the main carpark), and only took around a 5 minute walk to get to.

QUEUES, WAITING TIMES, AND PRICES

When we arrived at the door, we were greeted by a man dressed in a historical costume, accompanied with a stick with a skulls head on the head; the skull apparently being the head of his ex-girlfriend, which made us laugh. There were only 3 people in front of us, and nobody behind us, so with just five people waiting outside I started to wonder whether it had been worth coming after all - I started to think that maybe nobody was coming because it was rubbish, and then I got slightly worried thinking maybe it was really frightening and people weren't daring to turn up! However after 2 minutes or so, a few more people arrived, and the man at the entrance kept us entertained whilst we waited, and we didn't have to wait very long at all. Apparently new groups go around the Dungeon every 7 minutes or so, so we were quickly ushered in by the man with the skull on the stick, and we immediately noticed the use of special effects - they looked great! I admit to being quite scared; my girlfriend was completely fine and so were the children in front of and behind me (!), but I had the creeps a little bit, I must admit. The staff were friendly and we had no problem with our voucher - it cost us just £11 to do the tour, which I thought was fantastic value. I wouldn't have minded paying £11 each, but I've now noticed they've really pushed the prices up, probably because it's Summer and therefore the school holidays. They are charging £14 each for an adult, £10 for a child, and £13 for a student, which is still pretty good value - £50 for a family of four (two adults, two children) isn't bad. However, on the website, if you go for what they call a 'late slot' (4pm until 5.30pm), it's just £14 for two adults - that's incredibly good value (booking online). Booking online can save you money, but we decided not to book online voucher or not, just in case we couldn't make it on the day (they seem to be a little reluctant to give refunds!). London is more expensive, costing £21 for an adult during this time, but with rides at London, I would be prepared to pay a little more.

OPENING TIMES

Expect it to be open until 5.30pm during Summer months, and until 4.00pm - 4.30pm during Winter months. I personally don't see why it can't stay open until 8pm during the Summer months when it's going to be busier, and think they're restricting more business by closing as early as 4.00pm! There will be people working until 5pm who want to take their families after work, but thanks to it closing at 5.00pm/5.30pm, it becomes impossible. We arrived at 11am during the month of May.

THE TOUR ITSELF

You are first sent around what looks to be an old town - it's quite small, and it takes around 3 or 4 minutes to see everything here, and then you are left waiting for some doors to open. This old town is the old streets of York, recreating scenes from The Great Plague. By now, a few more people were joining us, so whilst we were waiting, our group number rose to around 15 people. We waited in here for around 10 minutes, but waiting wasn't a problem - my girlfriend and I walked around the little town again, and had more of a look at the special effects. You can tell a lot of time, detail and effort has gone into the making of the town, and by the time we'd looked around it twice and had a little chat with the people stood next to us, the door opened and out came a medieval doctor, who would come up close and usher you inside his surgery.

The Surgery

This was in a small room, which only just accomodated the approx 15 of us, so I assume in busy periods it's a nightmare in here to cram everyone in. I chose to stand at the back, because I didn't want to be chosen as one of his patients, although I wasn't so lucky later on. The young man playing the Doctor was exceptional - the actual scene might scare some children, although it was quite comical too - the way he pulled out body parts and made comments about certain areas about the corpse lying on his table was quite amusing (the corpse was part covered with a blanket). The guy playing the Doctor was really enthusiastic and it was enjoyable to watch; he looked as though he was really trying his hardest to make it impressive for us to watch, which it was. It took around 5 or so minutes to finish, and he pulled out a female member of the audience (after commenting on her - false - 'sweating issues', which obviously was funny to others in the audience but probably embarrassed her albeit not being true!) and took her behind a curtain before pretending to hit her over the head with a hammer. It was more amusing than scary, and no children throughout the whole tour appeared to be distressed or even slightly uncomfortable - and two babies who had come along remained asleep for the whole duration! We were then sent out of this room and to the 'Golden Fleece Inn'.

The Golden Fleece Inn

Whilst walking from one room to another, you are lead by a member of the cast who tell 'gruesome' stories on your short journey. Again, the cast member here told stories with great enthusiasm and she lead us inside an inn where we were told a ghost story where the room would fall into darkness and would generally be quite spooky. If I'm 100% honest, I remember nothing about the story, but maybe that's because we were in complete darkness and probably wondering what was going to happen when the lights turned back on! There was no creeping up behind you, no loud shouts to make you jump, and when the lights turned back on everything was as it was before, so again it's not TOO scary for the children, but I think if I'd have been a young child I would have been fairly upset at this.

Maze

At one point, we were following members of our group through a glass maze, whereby you're not sure where you're going and have to follow the person in front carefully. On the way round, there are little windows with bars across them with skeletons behind which occassionally jump up to scare you, but it's not very dark at all and the walk through the maze is over within several minutes!

Judgment Of Sinners

Here was where I wasn't so lucky whilst trying to hide behind someone else to avoid being picked out! We were sent into a courtroom which was actually very spacious, so there was plenty of room for us to stand around. The judge, who sat high above all of us on the floor, picked me out straight away to stand in the dock. I was accused of dancing naked around a campfire, which obviously made us all laugh, albeit slightly embarrassing to have to answer questions about dancing naked around a fire! The judge then asked me to show how I danced provocatively, OR to admit to being mad and sent away. Obviously I chose the second option (!) and was freed from the dock. Despite being apprehensive about being picked out and being ridiculed, it had actually been entertaining, and my girlfriend had clearly found it hilarious so it wasn't all that bad! There is a lot of interaction with the guests so I had obviously expected to probably be picked out and just went along with it; if you're seriously afraid of being laughed at a bit, then this might not be for you! There was nothing scary about this part of the tour however and therefore totally safe for the children!

The Torture Chamber

Straight after the court room we were sent off to The Torture Chamber, where thankfully I wasn't asked to be a volunteer again! The man told us about how he enjoyed to torture his victims - twisting the tongue until it was yanked out, burning the skin, etc etc. This could be quite harrowing for children, but unfortunately you can't choose to just get up and leave - there are no exit routes and it's just you, the group, and the cast member within the specific room, so there's no members of staff to ask whether you can leave or not. It's not a gory part of the tour though, and someone from the group was made to sit in a chair and look as though he was having his thumb twisted off, and then it was time to enter the next room.

Waiting Room

I'm not sure what this room would be called, and I'm not sure what the point of it was. We were led into a room where we all sat along long benches and watched a short film about historic times. Obviously the tour is meant to educate people about York back in around 1500, but really I think people in this room expected some cast members to come in and put on a show! I also kept expecting one of them to jump up from behind a bench, but (thankfully) this didn't happen! We were kept in this room for no longer than ten minutes. It was a good time to rest and sit down, as we had been stood for a while in the court room and at the torture chamber, but other than that, it didn't really serve much entertainment.

Dick Turpin

We were then introduced to Dick Turpin's 'wife', and I don't remember much about this part of the tour. It doesn't mean it wasn't good - it just wasn't very gruesome, which is probably why it hasn't stayed in my mind! We were told a story about Dick Turpin and his execution, and then we are led by his wife into a room where we sat on benches and heard the 'voice' of Dick Turpin explaining how he had terrorised London and been taken through York before being hanged. This is where the 'ride' takes place.

The Hanging Ride

I don't think you could really call this a 'ride', and this was the most disappointing part of the tour. We had heard that Dungeons had boat rides, drop rides etc, and were looking forward to maybe going on one of these. The Dungeons website isn't clear as to which places hold the different rides, and therefore we assumed that maybe all the Dungeons had at least one of the main ones. But York, unfortunately, fails here. There are a few benches which you sit on, hear the story of Dick Turpin's hanging, and then the benches drop slightly (I didn't even feel it), and that's it. My girlfriend said she felt the bench tip forward slightly, but I didn't feel it at all. I really loved the tour of the Dungeons and would return, but I really had been looking forward to something a little more exciting than that! Unfortunately this was the end of the tour and we were then led through to a gift shop. From hearing what other people were saying, only a few of them had felt the benches tilt forward too, so it hadn't been just me who was left slightly disappointed! Still, it shouldn't deter you from visiting, because it was still one of the best tours I've ever been on.

The Gift Shop

Mostly aimed at children, and consequently we didn't purchase anything from here. Not a bad gift shop though, with plenty of themed toys to buy as souvenirs to remind you of your visit. Not very spacious and therefore we left pretty quickly.

OVERALL

Overall, we really enjoyed our tour around York Dungeon. The above rooms were the ones I can remember, I'm sure there were probably one or two I've unintentionally missed, and whilst walking from one room to another there was plenty to see and all kinds of special effects to add to the spooky atmosphere. I'll list the positives and negatives about York Dungeon:

POSITIVES

• All the cast members were enthusiastic, well into character and their makeup and outfits were superb. They all looked as though they were really enjoying their jobs (even if they weren't!) and all put 100% effort into their performances. The cast are clearly intrinsic to a tour like this, but it was the way they acted and made it feel real which really made it such a good tour.
• The special effects and scenery were fantastic. A lot of detail had gone into each room and it all looked very professional, and you'd expect.
• The queue was really small when we visited. It took around 10 minutes (if that) before we were allowed inside.
• The tour lasted well over an hour (min 1 hr, max 1hr 30mins), which we felt was perfect.
• There's interaction with the audience which can be entertaining.
• None of it was too gruesome or too scary that it was unenjoyable.
• It's educating, but fun, so would be great for a school trip or to take your kids for an informal history lesson (or just to learn about it yourself).
• There's a giftshop selling plenty of souvenirs.
• All staff were friendly and pleasant.
• Not far from the carpark.
• There are plenty of money-off vouchers around.
• The children on our tour weren't scared in the slightest.
• The cast add humour, taking away some of the seriousness of the 1500s.
• It's cheaper than London Dungeon.

NEGATIVES

• Could be seen as expensive, particularly during peak times.
• The latest it shuts is 5.30pm, when it could be extended to much later. Maybe even a more spooky, more adult version could be shown after 6pm, for example.
• The so-called ride was appalling, in truth. In York Dungeon's defence, it probably wasn't even meant to BE a ride, but then again with other Dungeons including rides in theirs it's a little disappointing not to include one here.
• Parking adds to the expense.
• If a large group of you go on the tour at the same time, it will be hard for you all to cram into some of the small rooms, like the surgery, which might make it a little less exciting as you mightn't be able to see what's going on.
• Some children and adults might be frightened during this tour. It does warn against those who are prone to being scared easily not to enter. It ISN'T a house of horrors or anything like that, but it can be a little scary, particularly for children.

WOULD WE RETURN, AND DO I RECOMMEND YORK DUNGEONS?

Yes, if my girlfriend and I are ever in York again, I'd like us to go back to the York Dungeons, however if we plan a trip to ever visit one of the dungeons again, I think we'll go for London next time and incorporate it with some other sightseeing trips. The Dungeons do some really great packages along with their tickets - e.g. to go to London Dungeons, Madame Tussauds and a trip on the London Eye will cost £99 for the both of us, which is well worthwhile buying, as there isn't much point in going to London just to see one attraction!

I whole heartedly recommend York Dungeons. It was a fantastic day out and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, with only the slight disappointment for me about the ride (but I will let it go now!). It was fun, educating, and well worth a visit. I hope this review has helped you make the decision to give it a try yourselves, because I'm sure you'll be impressed.

Thanks for reading!

"Sonic4290"