Help planning a day out to London please!!

twinmumagain

I am pretty clueless and am searching online to try and plan our day on Wednesday.
We arrive at St Pancras just after 10am and leave at 9pm. Am I being realistic in trying to do the London Eye, the Aquarium and Hamleys and Harrods in one day??
We have Merlin passes so would like to do the Eye and Aquarium to save some pennies but the other places are not necessities, its just thats where the children have asked to go.
Second question... what kind of travel card do I get when I get there? We have a family rail card already so not sure if I can save anything?? Ideally want to get the train to Waterloo for the Eye and then use the underground as an when.
Thirdly.... is it really as expensive as everyone keeps telling me?? Going to need to eat twice when we are there but dont mind slumming it and getting fast food for tea and sandwiches for lunch.

Thanks in advance for any replies

twinmumagain

Oh and which Krispy Kreme is around these places??
Got mammoth orders from people!!

purplerose

Yeah I could do all that in that time. The Aquarium took us (2 adults) about an hour to get round but it might take a little longer with kids if they want to stop and look for longer. London Eye can have massive queues so that's what would slow you down there. There is a Krispy Kreme stand at Euston which is 1 stop away from St Pancras on the tube or there is one in Selfridges in Oxford Street.

For travel I just buy off peak day tickets for zones 1 & 2 and that's been around £5/6, I don't know anything about family tickets I'm afraid. For food, there are loads of cheap takeaways and if you want something nicer I've always been able to find good voucher deals via this site for 2 for 1 offers when I'm going to London.

xfive71

Hello Twinmumagain

Don't worry - all those places are very do-able. Here is what I would suggest

From St Pancras, go and visit the London Eye and the Aquarium right off the bat. You would just need to take the Victoria Line (light blue) heading south to Brixton. Change at Green Park station for the Jubilee Line (silver) and stop at Westminster. Google TFL tube map and it would make sense.

You can stop at Waterloo but it is easier to get your bearings once you exit from Westminster station. After you exit Westminster station, cross over to the bridge for the above two attractions. Tip : For a great photo op with the House of Parliament behind you, cross over the bridge and go to the right.

There is a McDonalds at the London Eye if you want to fuel up. Toilets are available outside Westminster station as well as at the London Eye. Alternatively, I would suggest buying sandwiches and drinks before you set off and have a picnic at the grass patch opposite the London Eye. There is a small kids playground as well.

Alternatively, I would recommend Bangalore Express opposite Waterloo Underground station. They have lunch specials for £7.50 which are very filling - this is provided the kids like curry, of course.

To get to Hamleys, from Waterloo Underground , take the Bakerloo line (brown) heading north and stop at Oxford Circus. This is a very busy junction so please take care of your kids and belongings. Hamleys is a short stroll away. It is 5 floors of toys so the kids would go mad, I think and the prices are a little higher here than anywhere else. Lots of demo though although sometimes I felt you have to be quite strict about not buying after the demos.

From Hamleys, walk down Regent's Street to Piccadilly Circus and take the Piccadilly Line (dark blue). Stop off at Knightsbridge for Harrods. The Kids Kingdom on the fourth floor is less hectic than Hamleys and has some really lovely toy displays. I would just go to the Food halls really - the other floors are just like any other shopping centre

Krispy Kreme is in the ground floor towards the back of the store - if lost, just ask. Plenty of staff about to help. From Harrods, you can take the Piccadilly line back to King's Cross/St Pancras

have a lovely day with the kids! :T

twinmumagain

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

Some really great advice

Gonna plan my day exactly like that now

Is Harrods toy department really really expensive? The kids are getting £20 each from Grandma and would like them to be able to get something half decent. Boys like Lego/Mario and girls like Bratz, Barbie etc Can I get normal stuff there??
Also how small is Hamleys at the station? Could possibly knock that one off the list then as selfishly I would rather go and salviate at the foodhall

tab1967

If your getting off the tube at Westminster as advised above, there is a Tesco express just outside the station, we bought the £2 meal deals in there for our lunch when we were there a few weeks ago.

xfive71

Both Harrods and Hamleys charge the same prices actually and yes, they do have Lego, Barbie, Bratz etc. The girl might like to get a Harrods teddy bear or soft toy as a momento of her trip. Similarly, there are Hamleys marked merchandise as well. Be sure to stop by the Steiff teddy bear display - it is a large animatronic bears display based on Shakespeare's Globe Theatre which I think the kids would like.

Have a mosey on the Harrods website. There are eating options suitable for kids but they are slightly pricy, I think. What I really like personally is the LaDuree tea parlour, nearby Krispy Kreme! But that is just me.

If you want to skip Hamleys and have some time in the afternoon, you may like to bring the kids to the Natural History Museum. Dinosaurs for the kids and free! From Westminster tube station, you would just need to take the Circle/District line and stop at South Kensington. A quick visit to the dinosaurs exhibit and a few other galleries could be done in 1-2 hours. It is about 10minutes walk to Harrods from there.

Stompa

tab1967 wrote: »

If your getting off the tube at Westminster as advised above, there is a Tesco express just outside the station, we bought the £2 meal deals in there for our lunch when we were there a few weeks ago.

Just make sure you've not eaten too many KrispyKreme doughnuts, it's probably the narrowest Tesco in the world!

twinmumagain

Brill-thanks ever so much, will definitely knock Harrods on the head then so I presume its just a tube to Knightsbridge for Harrods and then from there to St Pancras??
Where do I get the travel cards from? Been told to get an all day off peak one and kids are free???
x

susancs

twinmumagain wrote: »

Brill-thanks ever so much, will definitely knock Harrods on the head then so I presume its just a tube to Knightsbridge for Harrods and then from there to St Pancras??
Where do I get the travel cards from? Been told to get an all day off peak one and kids are free???
x

Children 10 years and under travel free with adults on buses and tubes. Just go to the pushchair, lugguage gate at the tube stations and they walk through with you. Children aged 11-15 years would need to buy a child's daily travel card for the tubes.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx#Children 11 - 15

You can just buy your zone 1-2 off peak travelcard for £5.60 when you arrive at St Pancras train station.

hethmar

Have you downloaded any 2 for 1 vouchers for attractions from the train sites?