‘It was like being in a sci-fi movie’: Londoners share their favourite memories of the Trocadero

In November we took a deep dive back in time to the ’90s arcade mecca that was the Trocadero. In its prime, the Trocadero was a hub for acne-ridden teenagers to ride Europe’s tallest escalator, radically named ‘The Rocket’, get buzzed on Pepsi and chase each other through ‘Alien War,’ a walk-through immersive shooter game where you could hunt alien predators à la Ridley Scott. 

For many, this blast from the past triggered a bout of ’90s nostalgia not felt in a minute, so here’s a selection of our favourite responses.

‘Playing “whack-a-mole” in the arcade and buying jelly snakes from the sweetshop was the pinnacle of excitement when I was 13/14 years old’ – Sara

‘Oh man, that place was like being in my actual dreams. It felt like I was in a sci-fi movie’ – Bunty

‘The cinema used to be the only place to see “The Exorcist” when it was still banned’ – Chris

‘I knocked myself out running into a wall during laser tag with my kids. There was no first aid kit, so I had to buy a can of Coke and hold it to my head on the way home’ – Jim

‘I loved “Alien War”. It was my first taste of immersive theatre and I’ve been hooked on it ever since’ – Naomi

‘From about 13 I would lie to my mum and tell her I was off to Gravesend for the day but ended up here. Wonderful times’ – Nina

‘I visited London for the first time in the late ’90s. Trocadero completely blew my mind, and it might be one of the reasons why I decided to move here years later’ – Veronica

‘I remember going to the Guinness world records exhibition there in the 80s!’ – Lisa

‘I worked in The Imaginator as my first job when I came to London in ’98. Great but mad place!’ – John

‘Watching the Nickelodeon filming and getting to be on the TV was an absolute highlight!’ – Hayley

‘My dad worked on the building of this. He bought home all sorts of stuff when they cleared the site’ – Suzi

‘The ’90s really were the peak of our civilisation and I’m sad the next generation will never experience the Troc’ – Jason

‘There was a shop in there which sold popcorn in all different colours and flavours, one of which was hedgehog’ – Jemma

‘I spent six hours playing back-to-back Daytona with a group of mates. When we got to the pub none of us could speak. Happy days’ – Jeremy

‘The Alien experience was by far the most scared I have ever felt. Even knowing it wasn't real made no difference’ – Nathan

Read the original article here.

The best way to spend your weekend now the Trocadero’s gone.