We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Theatre Tickets Confusion - Son's 18th

I want to arrange a good night out for my son's 18th. He wants to see Wicked.., but looking through various sites I am confused as to what I would be buying.

Lastminute.com for example says Top Tickets, second and third tickets etc but I have no idea where they will be in the theatre. I've looked on the Apollo theatre's website and tried to compare their prices to the prices offered by ticket sellers websites and I'm not sure there's a clear equivalence.

I've not done this before. Can't afford top price tickets (looking at about £50-65 for each of two tickets) but don't want to pay that and find we can't see much of what's going on (ie we are stuck in a corner somewhere lol).

I live in Kent, so would be good to book a hotel near Picaddilly as well as my son gets a bit stressed in crowds. But nearby hotels seem to be really expensive (like £200 a night plus) even on lastminute.com, so it looks like we'll be coming back that night, unless someone has an idea of something I haven't looked at?

Comments

  • Buzby
    Buzby Posts: 8,275 Forumite
    I got a Travelodge room at Kings Cross at £35 - I certainly wouldn't pay more than £50pn. Prices hinge on the night you need, and how much in advance you can book.
  • Amarie
    Amarie Posts: 14 Forumite
    Heya,

    I think it depends on when you want to go. Many of the good ticket deals are only available on selected days and usually not weekend evening.
    However, the Apollo Victoria theatre is modern and almost all seats (even the least expensive full priced ones) have a great view. You can use ticketmaster to select the actual seat using the interactive seating plan and then you can check the view from the seat using the website 'theatremonkey' (this website also lists all the latest ticket offers and availability per show). The cheapest are around £17.50 on ticketmaster.

    Rather than just looking in the Picadilly area, you might want to look to areas like Trafalgar Square/Charing Cross/Oxford Street as they are all just a few minutes walk between. It will give you more choice for your budget (always check tripadvisor too).

    Your son is a lucky boy!! I hope you have a fab trip.

    PS If your'e planning to go before mid-February.. check out "GET INTO LONDON THEATRE" for some good offers.
  • dawn27
    dawn27 Posts: 314 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    for details of the seats go to theatre monkey
    https://www.theatremonkey.com/

    for more details, if you need tickets for Wicked i bought some for Feb next year from https://www.getintolondontheatre.co.uk/ for £25 each in the stalls good seats as well

    search travellodge or premier inn websites for cheaper hotels in london
  • susancs
    susancs Posts: 3,888 Forumite
    edited 29 December 2013 at 9:21AM
    Have you looked at Lissylous post below as there is a Green King Pubs 2 night stay offer with breakfast included for £9.95 pp per night. You don't mention your planned dates but if before 31st March you might get availability at The Long Island Hotel in Rickmansworth which is opposite the tube station in Rickmansworth and a couple of minutes walk to the High street with plenty of places to eat and drink at and not as crowded as central London. Just checked a random 2 night stay using the code on the front page of the link and a double or twin room for Fri 17-Sun 19 Jan is £39.80 for two people in total and includes a full English breakast . According to Tripadvisor it appears to have had a recent refurb and under a new manager ( I would email to say it is for an 18th Birthday and would it be Ok to have some celebration bits at the breakfast table etc to let them know it is a special celebration event). There is also parking if you wanted to drive from Kent. Info copied and pasted below from the trial booking.
    Long Island Hotel

    View more details
    You have searched for

    Booking number
    Arrival date 17/01/2014 Departure 19/01/2014
    Number of nights 2
    Room 1 Adults2

    Selected rooms

    1Twin Room Newspaper Offer includes full English Breakfast XExtras£0.00
    Rooms total£39.80
    Total to pay£39.80


    To get into London you can use the Chiltern train service to Marylebone which would take under half an hour and change onto the Bakerloo tube line to Oxford Circus and then Victoria for the theatre (total journey time approx 50 mins) or you can use the metropolitan line from Rickmansworth station to Kings Cross and then Victoria line to Victoria total journey time about 1 hour. It is zone 7 so with Oyster card the daily off peak cap for unlimited journeys in London, including travel to and from your hotel would be £11.60 or a zone1-7 off peak Travelcard would cost £12.50 with the new 2014 fares.
    http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/tube-dlr-lo-adult-fares-jan-2014.pdf

    You can use www.tfl.gov.uk journey planner to plan your journeys in London.
  • When I was looking for tickets i too stumbled on https://www.theatremonkey.co.uk. I also found seatplan.co.uk helpful. I found you need to look at lots of different websites cause for some reason they show different availability.

    For your information I went for The Commitments. £13 per person. Oh and check travelodge for cheap hotels...many rooms on sale at moment
  • Hi

    Just to add to the thread, while you are looking for hotels, Wicked is shown very close to Victoria train station
    Thanks to money saving tips and debt repayments/becoming debt free I have been able to work and travel for the last 4 years visiting 12 countries and working within 3 of them. Currently living and working in Canada :beer: :dance:
  • Many thanks for your suggestions. I need a hotel room in Central London, preferably near the West End as my son has aspergers, and gets a bit stressed in busy roads. Rickmansworth isn't a good idea as I might as well just go home to Kent lol.

    Travelodge, Holiday Inn, Premier Inn are as expensive as cheap hotels for central locations although a good more certain alternative. I have looked. I have booked the Wicked Tickets now.., startlingly expensive but hoping they are good seats. Its many years since I lived in London myself so well, things are a lot more expensive now lol.

    I'll probably leave it til the day before and see if I can book a hotel at a reasonable rate, if not, we'll just catch the train home.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.3K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.6K Life & Family
  • 254K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.