Wake the Tiger Review: Bristol’s Immersive Amazement Park Experience
Have you heard about the latest exhilarating attraction in our hometown of Bristol, UK? Do the words: “Wake the Tiger amazement park” trigger any bells?
Whether you’ve heard of this new immersive experience or not, this detailed and honest Wake the Tiger review is everything Scott and I want to tell you about it.
From sharing our interpretation of what message Wake the Tiger is trying to tell us to sharing a couple of sneakpeeks of what you can expect when visiting Bristol’s amazement park, expect me to get quite poetic as I describe our latest evening out together.
I simply can’t help it! I’m feeling so inspired to write this blog post after visiting that I’m actually writing it the very next day.
But don’t worry! I’ll refrain from sharing any major spoilers as we both want you to have just as amazing an experience as we did.
Still, read on if you’d like to know more about the Wake the Tiger amazement park in Bristol.
Wake the Tiger Review: What To Expect From Bristol’s Immersive Amazement Park
What follows is a first-hand account of our experience at the Wake the Tiger amazement park in Bristol – and our interpretation of the core message it was trying to tell us.
As with all kinds of art and literature, the experience is open to interpretation. Read on to find out what we thought of it and what you can expect when visiting.
What is an amazement park?
The Wake the Tiger creators are calling the experience “the world’s first amazement park”. But what exactly is an amazement park?
Amazement park seems to be a play on the words “amaze” and “amusement park”.
While you can expect an immersive art experience at Wake the Tiger, there’s so much more to it.
You’ll be entering another world.
Where art and poetry meet dazzling lights, mystical sound effects and even mechanical engineering. Or where art and poetry lead to an escape room of sorts. And even where art and poetry cross into a parallel universe that would look at home on the set of a fantastical blockbuster movie.
The result? An immersive art experience like nothing you’ve ever witnessed before.
We first heard about Wake the Tiger via a teaser ad on YouTube. Upon checking out their website, we immediately wanted to book tickets as it looked like something that would be totally up our street.
We thought Wake the Tiger would rival Singapore’s “Future World” exhibit at the ArtScience Museum, which we were lucky enough to see during our short stay in Singapore as part of our honeymoon.
We weren’t wrong. But you could argue that the two experiences are incomparable in a way, so we’ll focus solely on what we thought of Bristol’s Wake the Tiger amazement park – as if it was the only immersive art experience we’ve seen in our lifetimes.
Long story short? We loved it. And here’s why.
Imagine a world where…
Imagine a world where explorers, adventurers and scientists are fighting to find a solution to a world crisis.
Fossil fuels have polluted the air around us. Plastic has polluted our oceans. And tomorrow’s generations are living in futuristic apartments where they never have to leave their homes. Or is “they can’t leave their homes” a more accurate description?
But there is hope for a better world; a cleaner world.
And that is what the guilds of free-thinkers and pioneers are trying to bring to fruition.
Bristol’s Wake the Tiger amazement park was created by the same names behind the popular Boomtown Festival.
According to various interviews with the creators, they wanted to find a way to make their incredible art installations and secret worlds more accessible to the public.
But they also wanted to share an important message regarding sustainability and how we have the chance to reconnect with the world around us and improve it for both ourselves and future generations.
As nature lovers (the great outdoors is our happy place), Scott and I took great pride in realising that this was the message they were trying to tell us throughout the experience.
And as long-time lovers of living in Bristol, we couldn’t possibly think of a more appropriate UK city to house this pioneering experience.
Curious to know more? Want to know what else you can expect from the Wake the Tiger experience? Well, keep on reading and you’ll find out.
What to expect at the Wake the Tiger amazement park
You’ll need to book your tickets in advance to visit Wake the Tiger and you’ll choose an available timeslot when doing so. We went after work within one month of the amazement park launching. It just so happened to be our third wedding anniversary!
We entered with approximately 20 or so other people, but we were amazed at how quickly the crowd dispersed once we got inside.
Although you’re following a story within the attraction, there’s no one set path to get to the end of it.
So, while some people might “disappear” through hidden doors and secret compartments, you might “disappear” through different secret rooms that you discover.
You may even find you have some rooms almost exclusively to yourself at times! We found this to be the case several times when we visited, which was a surreal (but pleasant!) feeling.
With that said, you’ll want to try opening any unlocked door that doesn’t say “Staff only” on it because you never know where they might lead.
Wardrobes or cupboards could open up into secret worlds. Bookcases might open up to reveal hidden rooms. You may even find a “secret” slide that other people have walked right past.
There are also various interactive installations throughout the experience, such as clues and buttons to help you unlock doors or interesting telephone recordings to listen to.
Take your time to really explore the amazement park and all it has to offer… and well, you’re sure to be amazed!
Because there’s no one-way system as such, you may need to circle back around the exhibit a couple of times to avoid missing out on any of the rooms.
Don’t worry! Your way at the end is clearly signposted to either take you back to “The Street” (which is near the beginning of the exhibit) or you can exit through the cafe when you’re finished.
Speaking of the cafe – even if you’re not interested in eating or drinking here, it’s well worth taking a moment inside the cafe as you can see yet more interesting art installations and features, including a hot air balloon and working toy train set. Very cool!
The Wake the Tiger website says that visitors usually spend 1-2 hours at the amazement park. We spent about an hour going around it at a relaxed pace, but we did have to go through some of it twice as we realised we’d missed some secret rooms the first time.
It was a wonderful experience here as we didn’t feel ushered forwards or rushed by any staff or anything like that during the main attraction.
There are even comfy seats dotted around certain rooms, which almost persuade you to take a moment and simply enjoy the mesmerising lights and sounds all around you.
I’d say the only thing that irked us a little bit was that some of the buttons for the interactive exhibits had stopped working by the time we visited.
Possibly from being jammed really hard by previous visitors?
Given how new Wake the Tiger is (it only opened to the public at the end of July), I’m sure little kinks like this will be worked out over time.
All in all, Scott and I were left feeling amazed at the end of the experience, which I guess is the whole point of an amazement park, isn’t it?
We’d definitely go again – especially if we take some friends along with us next time.
And the best bit is that there are already whispers circulating around the rumour mill that Wake the Tiger is planning a “Phase 2”, which will persuade previous visitors to come back again. Where do we sign up?! *wink*
The time is now to reconnect with the world around us
While you can expect to be dazzled by twinkling lights, shimmering fibre optics and more during your time at the Wake the Tiger amazement park, there’s no forgetting that the whole experience is geared around a core message.
To respect our planet, protect it from harm, leave no trace and take the time to reconnect with the world around us and those within it – including ourselves.
And that folks, is one such message Scott and I – as intrepid explorers and nature lovers – can most certainly support and spread the word about. Will you join us?
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading our Wake the Tiger review just as much as we’ve enjoyed reliving our experience at Bristol’s – and quite possibly the world’s – first amazement park. This is one incredible gem that is well worth seeing next time you’re in our beloved hometown.
Until next time then, Justine & Scott xoxo
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