Summer is in full swing at Phantom Peak, where the residents are welcoming intrepid adventurers for their latest season. With a brand new storyline offering yet more ways to explore the town, Starlit Summer promises mystery and mayhem at this unique venue that combines theme park, escape room, immersive theatre and real-life videogame. This sounds right up our street yet somehow we’ve never got round to visiting Phantom Peak before. That all changed this weekend – but did it live up to the hype?
It all depends on your expectations. The steampunk themed open-world experience is certainly immersive but it can quickly become confusing. Knowing how things work from the beginning is key to avoiding overwhelm and making the most of your time. Crucially, be prepared to go with the flow and accept that you won’t do everything in one day. Phantom Peak is set up for repeat visits and even offers a season pass for visitors who want to keep coming back for more. And while it has elements of escape room and immersive theatre, it’s not really either of those things. So if you’re expecting a sophisticated narrative or a series of devilish puzzles then you may well be disappointed, particularly if you’re a completionist. But adjust those expectations and there is plenty of fun to be had in this bonkers, platypus obsessed town.
Image credit: Alistair Veryard Photography
There is a broad structure to the day, with an opening ceremony and closing ceremony bookending a more freeflow experience. Visitors are let into the immersive world at the start of the four hour time slot, but there’s a good half hour to kill before the action kicks off. This gives you time to acquaint yourself with the venue, and ensures that everyone is there in good time for the opening ceremony. (More cynically, it forces you to buy food and drink because there’s nothing else to do yet, but instagrammable cocktails are part of the allure and they’re pretty reasonably priced given that this is a London venue calling itself a theme park! There’s also very fast food and plenty of sweet treats.)
As well as adding some theatricality to proceedings, the opening ceremony is an opportunity for newbies to get a sense of how things work, but be prepared to ride a wave of confusion for a little while anyway. There are some very basic rules explained but it helps to know a bit more about the process before you start: There are ten different trails that you can follow via your phone, which send you on a journey around the venue, interacting with actors and exploring a range of entertaining videos and games. This is the escape room style part of the experience, and you’re told to use one phone per group, but we would suggest splitting into very small groups (ideally pairs) to get the most out of this. Each trail is linear and while there are puzzles to solve, they’re very simple, so there’s not enough to occupy more than a couple of people at once. The different locations also get quite busy, so it’s easier to move around in smaller groups. You can explore all the locations even if your trail doesn’t take you to them so make sure you leave time to look around the whole town.
There’s no time pressure on these trails. You can do them whenever you want, taking breaks for food and drink, or to join in with other activities. And unless you’re really keen to power through the trails as fast as possible, it’s helpful to take note of the timetable for the day, to make sure you don’t miss out on the various games that pop up seemingly at random. In particular, Platyhooks (hook a duck but with platypuses!) happens very early on in the day, when lots of people are still trying to get to grips with the format. Key parts of the trails are quite crowded early on anyway, so you’re better off starting them a bit later than everyone else.
The cabin games and carnival games are great fun for everyone (although afternoon sessions are advertised as more suitable for children – and the good townsfolk of Phantom Peak have this in mind when running the cabin games). The games make for a more well-rounded experience and also give you extra opportunities to win points for your team – Everyone is given a wristband allocating them to one of three different teams, and can collect tokens throughout the day. At the closing ceremony, one team is declared the winner. It’s all very lighthearted, but adds to the excitement and sense of community.
The real highlight of the experience, though, is the fantastic actors who steadfastly remain in character as they interact with the guests. There’s an awful lot for the cast to remember about the intertwined narratives, and they deal with it brilliantly. We were particularly impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of David Carter as Mayor Pocket, who seemed to have a constant stream of visitors requiring information about the different trails. We also want to give a huge shout-out to Tatianna Nicholle Davis as Datchery, who went out of her way throughout the day to ensure that Quaver had a positive experience after a disappointing round of Platyhooks!
Overall, Starlit Summer at Phantom Peak is an entertaining and immersive experience that’s offers excitement for adults and children alike. Whether you’re a theatre fan, escape room enthusiast or just want to spend a few hours sitting in a saloon with a cocktail, there’s something for everyone at Phantom Peak this summer.
Starlit Summer runs at Phantom Peak in summer 2024. We received a complimentary family ticket to the afternoon session on 21 July 2024. We paid for our own food and drink. There are also paid add-on experiences which we did not do so have not included in this review.
Image credit: Alistair Veryard Photography