Tutankhamun Exibition, London

I took my son, age 6 to see the Tut exhibition at the O2, we had tickets for 2.30-3.00pm entrance. Arrived at 2.45 and waited and waited, as school party was allowed in and 5 others; we waited and waited. 3.15 we were allowed up the escalator. No apology and the staff were abrupt and unhelpful.So at a King Tut Exhibition we waded through 3 "chambers" of non Tut artifacts, closely followed by a security guard (was this because I had a camera around my neck? that I was secretly photographing every item?) I did want to complain, but to who?Ignoring the artefacts belonging to an era before King Tut, there was several notifiable pieces - The Wooden bust, the jar that contained his intestines and the jewellery from his tomb. That was about it.There was a ban on photogaphy, why it was not made clear, I could understand flash photography, but this day an age Digital non flash would have worked, without the risk of lights destroying the painted decoration - considering the artefacts were under bright display lighting anyway, seemed only an excuse to make you buy in the expensive shop.I will mention that disabled access was not marked anywhere - there was a lift within the bubble, but whether this was for disabled people, it was unclear.As I mentioned the shop was expensive. I found to my cost the markup on a book called the Companion Pocket Guide was 100% of the RRP in Amazon ( £12 instead of £5.99). Postcards at 70p each; some gifts were made in Egypt, most were made in China and were heavily marked up. To sum up; the king Tut exhibition is very expensive and even with the various discounts available through ticket master, they charge a handling and a postal/email charge on top of the ticket prices.Most of the Exhibition covers the Boy Kings predecessors and only about a third is from his tomb. The shop is expensive and the markup on the gifts is scandalous.I'm looking forward to getting the Exhibition DVD from another source for £8 less than at the exhibition, I just wish I had found out about the companion pocket book before hand.

Queue wise we were luck it was the Saturday of BANK HOLIDAY and queues were minimal

I went on a Bank Holiday Monday, for this extra privilege the price of a ticket was put up another £5. So at a normal price of £15 it became £20. In addition I heard it was necessary to have an audio commentary. So there was a further £4 on top. The narrator was Omar Shariff who I'd read in one review had dulcet tones. To be frank in my opinion it was the voice of an ageing man who sounded a bit wheezy. Perhaps he smokes I thought.

The exhibition has about 130 items to look at. And although it is called the Tutankhamun Exhibition it seems to me Tutankhamun didn't have much to say. Historically the exhibition was more weighed towards the man who discovered him Howard Carter in 1922. There were very few exhibits actually centred on Tutankhamun. Two items which I can recall, one a mini sarcophigas which held his liver and the other a very large sacophigas which his body was originally held in. But as for Tutankhamun, there was no sign of him. There were I admit some very nice artefacts to look at, and old Omar did help out whenever I decided to punch a button for his voice on my headset. But unfortunately there really wasn't enough narrative, only about twenty objects he narrated parts for, the rest you had to read the signs.

All in all, a pretty disappointing event I'd say. Over priced and when I think it is possible to go to the British Museum all day for no cost of entry, this disappointment gets bigger. There were too many people viewing while I was there and the rooms seemed relatively small. Lots of bumping and pushing, and crowds around cases. Personally I don't recommend it, unless you have deep pockets.

Great for most of the family, although small children and older people may get tired. Overall a quite expensive but very enjoyable day, as long as you are interested in Egyptian history. The rest of the O2 is very good as well. Would definitely recommend.

It is worth seeing if you are interested, if not, it may be a bit too long. It is absolutely fantastic if you place things into context. Make yourself aware of what you are going to see and put it in a time perspective! You will then be amazed and will be able to appreciate how advanced the Egyptians were in relation to other cultures of the same period. Look at the craftsmanship, the colours, take a good look around and see how well preserved everything is. Great items from the gift shop too!

Absolutely worth the visit!

Overall it was a good trip and the build up was a little bit hyped. By the time you got to the King Tut exhibits I think there were only 4 rooms covering this.

It felt like the exhibitors were just giving you a taste!

The gift shop was the most expensive and tackiest I've ever seen! it really let the exhibition down.

If you are going to travel any distance think twice.

A lot of money and not a lot to see.

The 02 is large, cold and expensive. They could do so much more with it. What a disappointing exhibition. Traveled up from Dorset expecting a exhibit like the one I heard about in "77". The artifacts are small and no "death mask" the main thing we went to see. All the flyers and promotions show pictures of what you think are the mask, but are in fact a canopic coffinette of 12" high (it is beautiful). And where was the programme.

We were very excited about the Tutankhamun Exhibition but we were very disappointed with the result. The much publicised death mask etc. were not even in the exhibition. The hype said Tuthenkamun arrives in London everything points to seeing the real artifacts most are missing what a let down as this attraction is not cheap. I agree with other comments also on having to pass through the shop on exit this is full of over priced tat overall very poor.

Really disappointed that the famous blue and gold mask was not on show. the exhibition is very expensive and we would not recommend this for families. Of course you have to come out via the shop with was also very expensive example a small guild book was £12. Can't really say there was any good points as the bad points over take it all, but will say we didn't have to queue. Bad points, where do we start, very expensive and then you need to pay extra for the head sets.

Nice golden tomb of his mother in law. Queuing was awful

The exhibition itself was like IKEA with audio guides. I thought the blue and golden mask was his tomb or maybe a death mask - NO - it is his liver jar and is 12 inches tall - a real let down. Stick to the British Museum.