Tourists slam two-hour queues after paying £150 to visit iconic UK attraction

An iconic tourist attraction in the UK visited by almost everyone visiting London has been slammed by tourists for a long waiting period. Tourists visiting the London Eye claimed that they had to wait for “two hours” with one family paying £150 and standing in the queue. 

Located on the South Bank of the River Thames, it offers breathtaking panoramic views of the city.

It has 32 sealed, air-conditioned capsules, each representing one of the London boroughs. Each capsule can hold up to 25 passengers, and it rotates slowly to allow visitors to enjoy the view while standing or sitting.

The wheel rotates at a slow pace, taking about 30 minutes for one full rotation, providing ample time to take in the sights.

However, several tourists who have been to the tourist attraction were left disappointed. 

One person wrote on TripAdvisor: “Very bad service mainly due to waiting time.

“Having a ticket for 18:00 we arrived at 17:50, but boarded only around 19:40. Such a beautiful evening spent in a queue - hot, crowded, having no WC or any other amenities. Just see the photos attached.

“Having pre-paid a decent amount (£150 pounds for my whole family) for specific time slot, I expected to be on schedule. I had other plans for the evening as well which were ruined by the delay. Overall it feels like a tourist trap.

“There are so many other great things to do in London. I would never recommend anyone to spend an evening like this! Simply not worth it.”

Another one wrote: “We were all really looking forward to this today but left sadly disappointed and concerned at what happened.

“We had booked the 10am session with our Merlin pass which includes fast track. We arrived around 9.40am and queued outside the attraction as expected as it only opened at 10am.

“Around 9.55am we were sent through the bag check into a holding area with a glass roof. Very nice except when the weather is so hot. Maintenance we still working on the pods so it clearly wasn’t opening at 10am as planned. Everyone was then crammed into lines under the glass roof resulting in 2 people being taken poorly 1 adult and 1 child who looked in a bad way.

“We were made to stand here for quite a significant amount of time while the pod was fixed with no access to drinks. Resulting in at least 2 people being taken ill and injuried which could have been avoided with a little common sense.

“Not the way I wanted to start the day or experience this especially as it could have been avoided if people had been left outside invth fresh air rather than a sweat box. Hopefully the people hurt are ok.”

A third user said: “Huge queues. Don’t be fooled by time on ticket - it’s just the time you can start queueing at! Queued for an hour, chaotic and disorganized.”

However, not all had the same experience. Some tourists loved the experience.

One user wrote: "My family, including two teenage daughters, did this on our first day in London and loved it. Great views over the city. An opportunity to see lots of the familiar landmarks and a nice pace too. Wasn’t sure if I should splash out on this but it was well worth it. Recommended."

Another one said: "Firsrt time on the eye, fast queuing system, around 10 people in capsule, Air con, plenty of room. Around 20 mins trip, great views of London. Recommended if you haven't done it."

A lastminute.com London Eye spokesperson said: “As one of the UK’s most loved and visited attractions, we welcome more than 3 million guests every year. During peak season and weekends, demand changes resulting in varying queue durations, but creating magical moments and memories for all our guests is always our top priority.

“The London Eye is proud that from 90k TripAdvisor reviews, 83% of these are listed as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ giving the London Eye an overall 4.5 Star rating. Our own data from thousands of guests every week also tells us they have a wonderful time, with 96% saying they are satisfied or very satisfied with their visit in 2023.”