Guide: London's Best Family-Friendly Immersive Experiences This Half Term (February 2026)
- Immersive Rumours
- 1 day ago
- 10 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
From races across the city against the clock and open-world towns obsessed with platypuses to expeditions into the darkest depths of Peru, here are our recommendations for the best family-friendly immersive experiences in London this half term...
London has never been short on family-friendly activities. From world-class museums and zoos to West End shows and tourist attractions that cater to all ages, there are hundreds of options for a day out with the family across the city. Amongst them are a handful of standout immersive and interactive experiences that allow families to either become part of the story or get involved to a degree not possible elsewhere. Below are our recommendations for the top immersive experiences running in London this half term that will both engage and entertain the whole family...
The Paddington Bear Experience
Photo: Alex Brenner
An immersive walk-through show spread out over 26,000 sq ft in the heart of Central London, The Paddington Bear Experience invites guests to step inside the world of Michael Bond's classic stories for the first time as preparations for the Marmalade Day celebrations are underway at Windsor Gardens. Guests will get hands-on with a series of tasks throughout the experience as they meet a cast of characters from the much-loved book series, including Mrs. Brown.
There's a lovingly recreated version of the Brown's family home, complete with the blossom tree mural at the foot of their staircase, and an excursion to Peru where you help create Marmalade, amongst other interactive moments. Photo opportunities with Paddington are available at the conclusion of the experience, as well as a chance to buy your own Marmalade sandwiches.
The show is directed by Tom Maller, whose previous work includes some of London's biggest immersive shows of recent years (Peaky Blinders: The Rise, Doctor Who: Time Fracture, Secret Cinema's Blade Runner, Romeo + Juliet, and Casino Royale).
Photos: Alex Brenner
Help Paddington and the Brown Family prepare for a very special occasion: the Marmalade Day Festival. Just like Paddington, you’ll begin your adventure in the hustle and bustle of Paddington Station, where you’ll meet the friendly Station Master and hop aboard our full-sized train carriage – make sure you aren’t late! Journey through the sights and sounds of London, all the way to the Brown’s house at No. 32 Windsor Gardens. Step inside the Brown’s famous tree-adorned hallway and explore multiple rooms in their home, then venture beyond as you’re transported to the magical jungle of Peru – all to help Paddington prepare for the biggest party Windsor Gardens has ever seen! Finish by celebeating the Marmalade Day Festival at Windsor Gardens with Paddington and his friends where you’ll dance to vibrant calypso music, play fairground games and eat & drink festival treats – most importantly, you can try Paddington’s favourite Marmalade sandwich!
📍 Waterloo 💰 From £96.00 (Family of 4)
🧒 Suitable for all ages 🎟️ Book via paddingtonbearexperience.com
Phantom Peak - The Great Undoing
Photo: Alistair Veryard
Regular readers of Immersive Rumours will know how much we love Phantom Peak, with the show having earned a string of 5-star reviews for previous seasons. Combining elements of escape rooms and immersive theatre, the show is a one-of-a-kind open-world experience that feels a lot like stepping into a real-life video game. Each new season of the show has 10+ story trails to work through, with each one taking anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes to complete.
As part of each trail, guests interact with both the town's many residents and numerous pieces of interactive tech scattered across the town to try and get to the bottom of what's going on. Previous seasons have had trails that parodied everything from Scooby-Doo to The Muppets and Furbies, and with The Great Undoing, the show's long-running storyline reaches a climax ahead of the show's upcoming move to Westfield Stratford City.
On top of the main story trails, there's plenty of other things going on to occupy your time, including Platyhooks (hook a duck but with platypuses), numerous carnival games, a puzzle hunt and the Miramaze, which is complete with a bungee cord assault course and ballpit. Every session of Phantom Peak is open to all ages, and the show's cast is great at interacting with younger guests. It's an ideal real-world substitute for a day of playing video games at home. and is the standout experience in London's immersive theatre scene.
Photos: Alistair Veryard
Phantom Peak is a fully immersive, open world experience - a living, breathing town where mystery lurks around every corner. Think of it as part escape room, part immersive theatre, part real-life videogame. You’ll meet mysterious strangers, uncover secret plots of rebellion, and find out what exactly happened to the old Mayor (coincidental accident, or cold-blimped murder?!) During your visit to the town, you'll meet the inhabitants of Phantom Peak; some diehard loyalists to JONACO, some less enthusiastically so. Such is the price of PROGRESS! Through interacting with them, you'll discover hidden secrets and clues that will help you to navigate the world! Full of secretive quests and quirky characters, you experience the world through a custom-made made web-app (no downloads necessary!) that guides your adventure through man-made canals and a vast, split-level old town.
📍 Canada Water 💰 From £144.00 (Family of 4)
🧒 Suitable for all ages 🎟️ Book via phantompeak.com
Race Across The World: The Experience
Image: Race Across The World - The Experience
Race Across The World: The Experience, based on the hit BBC series, is the latest city-wide treasure hunt experiences from CityDays. While the TV series they're based on have competitors racing for 50-plus days across multiple countries with little more than a map, a GPS tracker, and several thousand pounds to pay for travel, lodging, and food, the two London-based races run anywhere from 2 to 4 hours and sees those taking part cover roughly 5km on foot through either the City of London, or the West End.
Staples of the BBC series - including budget management and navigating without a map - have been carried over and make up the core experience, which feels like the closest adaptation of the TV series possible without requiring a passport or more than an afternoon of your time.
The fast-paced format and sense of discovery built into Race Across The World: The Experience keeps kids engaged throughout, and the focus placed on looking at the city in a different way means they're interacting with the streets and sights of London with a (hopefully) more considered view. Small details that you'd otherwise walk past without giving a second thought need to be studied, quiet backstreets and passageways that you never knew existed need to be explored, and with the clock ticking the entire time, there's a real sense of urgency throughout.
Photo: Race Across The World: The Experience
This high-stakes experience will offer players the chance to live out their Race Across the World dreams by navigating the streets of London, working as a team, outwitting their competitors, and unlocking hidden secrets of the city in an unforgettable race to the finish line! Just like in the show, Race Across The World: The Experience requires strategy, teamwork, and quick thinking, as players will be given a budget to manage as they race through the city. This budget can be spent on valuable clues to help navigate the next leg of the journey, giving players the freedom to decide how daring they want to be. It's a high-stakes race against the clock, where every decision counts and influences the race, but beware, each clue comes at a cost.
📍 Liverpool Street 💰 From £130.00 (Family of 4)
🧒 Suitable for all ages 🎟️ Book via feverup.com
Mundo Pixar Experience
Photo: Mundo Pixar Experience
Following apperances in Brazil, Mexico, Belgium and Spain, where it's welcomed over 3.2 million visitors, Mundo Pixar Experience arrives in the UK for the very first time. In this multi-sensory exhibition, fans of all ages have the chance to enter the universes of Pixar’s most iconic films.
Visitors can shrink down to toy size in Andy’s Room from Toy Story, explore the Scare Floor from Monsters, Inc. with Mike and Sulley, race into Flo’s Café from Cars to meet Lightning McQueen, or soar through the skies with Carl Fredricksen from Up. They can also visit the Headquarters of Riley’s emotions from Inside Out 2, and journey from Coco's Land of the Living to the Land of the Dead.
Beyond the immersive sets, guests can take part in a special Pixar Ball Treasure Hunt, searching for the famous yellow ball with a red star hidden throughout the exhibition - a playful nod to the beloved Easter egg that appears in many Pixar films.
Photos: Mundo Pixar Experience
Step into the vibrant world of Pixar like never before. Mundo Pixar Experience is a multi-sensory exhibition which offers fans of all ages a chance to enter the universes of Pixar’s most iconic films. Set in a purpose-built venue in Wembley Park, the exhibition will span more than 3,500 square metres, and will feature 14 Pixar universes, including over 25 sculptures, inviting guests to explore meticulously recreated environments from Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Cars, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, Coco, Up, and many more fan favourites. Each space combines detailed set design, ambient music, and specially crafted scents to immerse visitors in Pixar’s most beloved stories.
📍 Wembley Park 💰 From £117.00 (Family of 4)
🧒 Suitable for all ages 🎟️ Book via mundopixar.com
Paradox Museum
Photo: Paradox Museum
Located just over the road from Harrods in Knightsbridge, Paradox Museum London invites families into a surreal playground of optical illusions and interactive rooms built to test their perceptions and spark creativity. With over 50 installations on offer, which have all been designed to blend science with imagination, it’s a tactile and highly-Instagrammable experience that's suitable for all ages and sure to delight kids.
Some of the museum's most popular exhibits include Zero Gravity, which gives the illusion of floating in space, the Paradox Sofa, where guests legs and torso appear to be split in two, the Camouflage Room, and an upside-down version of a London Underground platform, in which it looks like guests are hanging from platform signs.
Additionally, there's also a new Passport Safari Game, offering kids the chance to take part in a hands-on, scavenger-style adventure. Young explorers can follow the clues, complete the stamps, and solve playful puzzles as they navigate the museum’s most mind-bending rooms. The game will be available as an optional add-on for all visits throughout the summer.
Photos: Paradox Museum
The Paradox Museum is an innovative venue that combines the world of science, art and human perception. With over 50 amazing, paradox-inspired exhibits, Paradox Museum offers more mind-twisting, eye-tricking experiences than any other edutainment destination in the world! On this self-guided experience, you will learn everything about the exciting science behind paradoxes, have a ton of fun and take photos so spectacular that your friends will not believe they’re real.
📍 Knightsbridge 💰 From £86.00 (Family of 4)
🧒 Suitable for all ages 🎟️ Book via feverup.com
Bubble Planet
Photo: Bubble Planet
Enjoyed by over four million visitors worldwide, Bubble Planet was designed to awaken curiosity and reconnect audiences with a sense of childlike wonder, and unfolds across a series of visually striking, multi-sensory environments. The experience features ten themed rooms, which guide guests through surreal landscapes that blur the boundaries between dream and reality, including the Bubble Ocean - a vast expanse of bubbles designed to evoke calm and serenity - and the Infinity Room, where mirrors and shifting lights create the illusion of endless space. Lasting anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes, it's a fun-filled experience that's also incredibly Instagrammable.
If you're looking to make the most of a trip to Wembley Park, Mundo Pixar Experience is next door, but if you're happy to travel across town you can also book a 'VIP Happiness Package' and secure tickets for both Bubble Planet and the VR-based Seven Wonders of the World in Shoreditch in one transaction with a 20% discount.
Photos: Bubble Planet
In this multi-sensory experience, visitors will travel through fantastical landscapes and into imaginary metaverses filled with unique optical illusions and photo opportunities. Upon entering this otherworldly planet, guests will be able to leave real-life at the door and embark on a journey that inspires them to reconnect with their emotions and bodily sensations, making astonishing discoveries along the way. The combination of colours, lasers, lights and bubbles, together with 360-degree projection technology and a unique virtual reality experience invites guests of all ages into a dream-like, escapist experience in the midst of the busy city.
📍 Wembley Park 💰 From £112.00 (Family of 4)
🧒 Suitable for all ages 🎟️ Book via feverup.com
Banksy Limitless
Photo: Banksy Limitless
Banksy Limitless offering long-term enthusiasts, collectors, art fans, and the curious alike the chance to experience the provocative and thought-provoking world of the British artist in a unique and immersive environment. More than an exhibition, Banksy Limitless is a cultural encounter where the raw power of street art meets the prestige of a gallery setting.
The exhibiton includes installations from Banksy's iconic 2015 Weston-Super-Mare 'Dismaland' pop-up bemusement park like Cinderella's Carriage, large scale sculptures, certified prints of significant work including Flower Thrower and Kissing Coppers, original pieces from the Walled Off Hotel project in Bethlehem, as well as specially created works such as Prankadilly Circus, and an immersive holographic installation exclusive to the London edition.
As well as being one of the largest single collections of original Banksy work ever assembled in one place, the exhibition highlights some of the technical aspects of his creative process, including meticulously reproduced pieces using his signature stencil technique. A mural installation, crafted by a renowned creative team, authentically brings the essence of street art into an indoor setting. Banksy’s work often relies on the impact of a specific site, and great efforts have been made to reproduce this feeling in a gallery environment.
Both a trailblazer and innovator in the art world, admired by fans across the globe and celebrated for his unique vision, Banksy has become a cultural icon whose works reflect the moral and social dilemmas of today’s world. Banksy Limitless brings this vision to life, offering visitors an unprecedented opportunity to step inside the world of the elusive artist, experiencing the scale, context, and impact of his creations in a way that echoes his street roots.
📍 Knightsbridge 💰 From £75.32 (Family of 4)
🧒 Suitable for all ages 🎟️ Book via feverup.com
The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition
Photo: The Last Days of Pompeii
Following huge success globally, The Last Days of Pompeii's run at Immerse LDN continues until 15th March. The exhibition take visitors on an unprecedented journey through ancient Pompeii, using a striking combination of cutting-edge technology and rich, historical narratives.
Alongside two VR experiences, the exhibitions centrepiece is one of Europe’s largest immersive projection halls. Towering eight metres high, the installation surrounds audiences with the sights and sounds of Pompeii, and depicts the bustling daily life of the city with its crowded streets, vibrant markets and monumental temples; which soon makes way for the looming threat of Vesuvius as the landscape darkens. These immersive projections place visitors at the very heart of Pompeii, allowing them to experience the beauty of the city and the suddenness of its destruction.
Lasting over 90 minutes, The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition delves into Pompeii’s rich history and features a wealth of educational and informative displays, casts, original artefacts and replicas, and has been designed with children, families, schools and history enthusiasts in mind.
Photos: The Last Days of Pompeii
Spanning 3,000 square metres and over 10 different galleries and installations, The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition is the largest of its kind and invites visitors to immerse themselves in the heart of the Roman City as they witness one of history’s most dramatic events – the sudden eruption of Mount Vesuvius – and discover the culture and fascinating stories of those who lived there in 79 AD.
📍 Immerse LDN 💰 From £125.00 (Family of 4)
🧒 Suitable for all ages 🎟️ Book via feverup.com
For more on London's best immersive shows (both family-friendly and not), check out our Current/Upcoming Listings page.
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