We arrived at the ferry terminal mid-morning. The sea was calm, the wait brief, and before long the doors opened and we were on board. The room gently vibrated. Through the windows, water shimmered under a blue sky. Across the bay, the silhouette of Isla Nublar grew larger.

A few minutes later, the doors opened again, and there it was. The Jurassic World gate, standing tall ahead of us. Not quite film-scale, but enough to make me grin. Behind it? A dinosaur. A full-sized herbivore, watching us. Animatronic, obviously – but let’s suspend disbelief, because it was awesome. Welcome, to Jurassic World: The Experience at Battersea Power Station!

Now, I didn’t come here to review a kids’ attraction. Yes, I brought my wife and children. But no, this isn’t just a family day out. Jurassic World: The Experience is a dino exhibit like no other – beautifully crafted, often cinematic, and absolutely designed for adults who grew up obsessed with Jurassic Park or World. Like me. I read Crichton’s original novel before I saw the film, I was twelve when it came out, and it left a mark that never quite wore off. This tapped into that excitement.

The experience starts smartly. The transition from ‘I’m in a warehouse’ to ‘I’m going to Jurassic World’ is handled with just the right level of theatricality – clever lighting and window screens showing the sea – simple but effective. The ferry sequence is fun, but more importantly, it creates the illusion of arrival. And once those ferry doors open and the gates loom ahead, that illusion hits hard.

We stepped through and were greeted by a keeper in full costume, moustache and all. He talked us through the first creature – a large horned herbivore with its baby, called a Pachyrhinosaurus. He answered questions, stayed completely in character, even when I asked him the odd challenging question. So far, a great start.

Then came the brachiosaur. You only ever see the neck and head – rising up through the leaves – but that’s the point. The illusion is that its body is somewhere far below you, lost in the jungle. It worked. I got to whisper ‘Veggiesaurus, Lex. Veggiesaurus,’ to my bemused 7-year-old daughter.

From there we passed through a couple of zones: the ankylosaurus room (tail swishing magnificently), a gyrosphere photo op (yes, the kids got in), and the Hammond Creation Lab – the one place where, unfortunately, just for a minute, the illusion cracked.

Here’s the thing. I’m an immersive theatre nerd. I love engaging with immersive performers in character – not to catch them out, but because I expect them to play right back. So, as we’d been asked to wait a few moments before entering, I asked one of the lab ‘scientists’ – who was standing in front of a sign reading Hammond Creation Lab – if he could tell me who Hammond was (obviously I knew it was John Hammond the founder of Jurassic Park, but wanted to keep the kids entertained). He couldn’t answer. Not wouldn’t – couldn’t. I gave him more than one chance. He fluffed, smiled awkwardly, and diverted. Same thing when I pointed out an empty dino egg in a bush and said, ‘I thought all the dinosaurs were female?’ – nothing. Just a vague ‘ask my colleague in the lab’ deflection. It was a bit of a let-down. For something this well designed, with so much love and detail elsewhere, that moment stood out for the wrong reasons. However, I’m not sure anyone else minded but me, and a few minutes later it was on to the lab.

Luckily, the lab section itself was a lot of fun – especially when the baby dinos started arriving. These aren’t static models – they’re very advanced puppets, handled live, with all the charm and twitchy realism you’d hope for. We met Bumpy (adorable and bumpy), and later a baby raptor, and even got close enough to gently stroke them. I say ‘we’ – the kids led the way, but I didn’t exactly hang back.

And then came the most impressive moment. The raptor encounter. Blue herself – ‘Oh my god,’ I whispered to my wife, ‘she’s friends with Chris Pratt!’. The staging here is brilliant – a secure enclosure, the keeper warning us to stay calm, whilst also skilfully building the tension – and then she appears, snarling, snapping, reacting. The puppet – a full-sized raptor with someone inside it – is excellent, the performer’s timing impeccable. That was the scene that tipped it. Suddenly I wasn’t just entertained. I was actually moved.

As silly as it might sound, standing in front of something that real, that lifelike, triggered something deep and unexpected. That childhood awe. The bit in Jurassic Park where Grant turns Ellie’s head and she gasps? I didn’t reach out to gently pivot my daughter’s head – but I probably should’ve. It felt that way.

Look, I get it, it’s very clever animatronic puppetry and theme park lighting. But if you’ve ever loved dinosaurs – if Jurassic Park lived rent-free in your imagination – this is absolutely worth your time. Sure, a couple of times we had to wait while the group in front finished in the next space, and yes, that one actor dropped the ball, but on the whole, this was a fabulous experience. You’ll believe a dinosaur can look you in the eye.

Also, for the real Jurassic Park fans, you really must check out Hold On To Your Butts that’s just opened at the Arts Theatre Leicester square: the two-person, one-foley-artist Jurassic Park shot-for shot parody (my review here). If you pair that with this? You’re basically living the Jurassic dream.

Jurassic World: The Experience is at Battersea Power Station, London.

Book your tickets at jurassicworldexperience.com

Words by Nick Barr

Photography from jurassicworldexperience.com and Nick’s Phone