Dickens World to offer family friendly attractions while capturing the sounds and smells of Victorian England.

A new theme park of a most unlikely kind opens next month with attractions inspired by the works of author Charles Dickens.

With over a dozen classic novels still in print today, including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and The Pickwick Papers, Dickens explored the underbelly of Victorian England, focusing on the struggles and aspirations of workers, orphans, and runaways as well as the treachery of rogues, crooks, and thieves — none of which screams wholesome family fun.

But Dickens World will attempt to capture the vibrant landscape of Victorian England by converting a 70,000-square-foot warehouse near London into a family friendly venue.
The park’s backers, who’ve invested $125 million in the project, say that they are not trying to create a Disney-like experience. They insist that their venture is “based on a credible and factual account of Charles Dickens’ works and the world in which he lived” and that Dickens himself would approve because “he loved to see people enjoy themselves.”

Visitors to Dickens World can enjoy the “sounds and smells” of 19th-century England with a central square of cobbled streets, alleyways, crooked buildings, and faux storefronts. Throughout the park, visitors can mingle with staff dressed as pickpockets, wenches, and rat catchers, as well as famous Dickens characters like A Christmas Carol’s Ghost of Christmas Past in Ebeneezer Scrooge’s haunted house and the schoolmaster from Nicholas Nickleby at Dotheboys Hall.

If that’s not enough, attendees can head over to Newgate Prison and get a glimpse of the squalid cells or bring the kids to the Fagin’s Den play area, named interestingly enough after the gangmaster of the band of thieves in Oliver Twist.

Entry into Dickens World, scheduled to open on May 25, is $25 for adults and $15 for children.

For more info, visit www.dickensworld.co.uk

Source: Yahoo!