Micro Review: Wake The Tiger Amazement Park
The attraction draws polorised opinions – Here’s what we thought
Wake The Tiger has been open for four years this year, remaining one of Bristol’s top activities and attractions during that time.
Online reviews tend to be quite polarised and very Marmite. It seems to be a love it or hate it experience. Much of the hate corresponds to the price paid for admission versus the experience.
A family of two adults and two children can currently get in for £63.76 as part of the venue’s current Summer Saver prices. For less popular dates on peak summer dates, there are still savings to be made – if you pick with care.
Off peak, the same price can drop to £60 for the same number of people.
With the cost of living hitting so many families, they are expecting a top experience for this kind of price.
The experience is quite surreal. It starts off with a loose story taking you from a building construction site and into a portal of interactive art and tableau. It possibly comes down to whether that kind of arty surrealism is your cup of tea.
It feels like what a walk through Sparks in Broadmead would be if its intrusive thoughts won.
The venue does have some definite drawbacks. The public transport links are not good. Wake The Tiger is based on a trading estate in St Phillips in an area heavily populated by recyling and Bristol Waste. The bus stop – although not far away – is really difficult and impossible for some Disabled people to walk or wheel from. This is why it’s taken us four years to go and even then, it could only be accessed by Uber as the form public transport. It’s an additional cost and barrier.
Despite being peak summer holiday, it didn’t feel overcrowded or annoying, with free flowing movement around the venue being very good. It’s a lot bigger than you think and the labyrinth layout means it’s easy to miss bits if you’re not careful.
Overall, it felt best for families with children 12 years and under. Then for teenagers 12 – 18 to explore on their own. It’s very interactive for children and very Snapchatty/instagrammable for teens and young people.
We spent an hour inside the labyrinth and then ten minutes trying to find the way out.
It’s a decent experience. Much bigger than you’re expecting. There’s plenty to interact with and a million photo opportunities if that’s your bag.
Our favorite bit was the pigeon miniatures and themes at the very start. And the almost Squid Game exit images at the end.
It’s a decent experience and yes, worth the money. However, despite a family being big on art, culture, surrealism and the bizarre, we just couldn’t warm to it enough to return. It’s most likely due to the fact that it’s big on environmental ecosystems and clearly has a huge drive on sustainability and recycling. But this jars with its poor transport links and barriers to families without car ownership.
It’s like Center Parcs in this respect. Come and experience the natural and environmental – but you need to drive here first.
For more information, visit: https://www.wakethetiger.com/
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