In the world of rainbows and cupcakes, it’s hard to imagine anyone not being caught up in the interactive experience that has taken up residence on West 57th Street. Inspired by the DreamWorks movie “Trolls”, Feld Entertainment has created a transforming experience for you and your young ones to explore music, dance, hugs and more! And from now until November 3rd, the colorful pop-up invites you to check out their “Trolloween” celebration at Trolls The Experience.
You may have seen some trollified kids walking around Carnegie Hall or Columbus Circle and wondered where they came from with their faces painted and sporting fluffy rainbow-colored hair. Well, you too can follow the “rainbow path” if you plan a visit to 218 West 57th Street (between Broadway and 7th Avenue) and enjoy a delightful escape for Trolls fans of all ages.
The operators were kind enough to provide complimentary admission so that my family and I could check out the VIP experience. My review here, however, is not sponsored by the producers and should not be considered advertising. I write these reviews to help fellow mommas research and select activities from the myriad offerings our lovely city presents.
So what can you expect to find when you’ve booked your tickets? Here’s a rundown of the invitation:
- Collect 4 Memory Mementos:
- Makeup Mirror
- Boom Box Badge
- Disco Diamonds
- Friendship Foliage
- Seek out the items and activities from Poppy’s Celebration Checklist:
- Get Party Ready
- Make Some Music
- Gather Glitter and Shine
- Spread the Word
- Dance Your Heart Out
- Let’s Party!
- Get Creative
- Make a New Friend
When you enter the experience, you are very much not a troll. But when you leave, you’ve got that sunshine in your pocket, you’ve got that good soul in your feet. So just dance, dance, dance… it’s gonna be the BEST DAY EVER!
My husband and I brought our two kids and my daughter’s best friend for a 3 pm admission on Columbus Day because school was off and a company holiday. There are plenty of ways to get there on public or personal transport. The website FAQ provides detailed instructions if you’re not familiar with the area.
The staff were very friendly and get straight to the business of helping you select your hair and face painting options. My son picked the purple-haired, blue-faced look of the character Branch (voiced by Justin Timberlake in the movie). My daughter and her friend picked rainbow bee-hive hair wigs and asked the face paint specialist to give them identical spider-web cheeks.
After posing for some photos with your new look, you move through a series of large rooms each of which contains different immersive and participatory experiences. You will create a collaborative (and perhaps chaotic) musical mix in “Branch’s Musical Mash-Up” by playing your own patterns on the forest creatures. Next, you step inside a literal confetti canon and try to grab as many floating and flittering bits as you can. After that, you spend some time making new friends at an interactive wall and Critter Creek (my husband is pretty sure he noticed an Xbox One Kinect hanging from the ceiling that detects your actions and stomping in the creek).
And then you reach Poppy’s “Best Day Ever!” party room. Think huge disco ball, think 3D glasses, think virtual fireworks and of course dancing like nobody is looking! And no party is complete without an after-party to which you descend on the escalator back down to street level and prepare your keepsake scrapbook pages and snap a souvenir photo of you and your friends. Sending the photo to your email address or mobile phone via SMS is a good idea and included in the price of admission.
After a quick photo-op and hug with Poppy herself, there is also the obligatory post-experience gift shop where you are given the opportunity to brand yourself further as a Trolls fan, buy some candy and cupcakes and savor the last few minutes of Troll life before you re-emerge (about an hour or so later) onto the streets of Manhattan and say goodbye to the magic of rainbows, glitter and good vibes. Now who in their right mind wouldn’t want to experience all of that I say?
Opening hours are:
Monday: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm*
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: CLOSED
Friday: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm*
Saturday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm*
Sunday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm*
*The Experience and Café remains open 60 minutes past the last entry time. Occasional earlier closing times are possible due to private events.
- General Admission: $24 adults, $19 children (ages 2-12)
- “Hair We Go” Ultimate Add-On: $50 (includes “full face” makeup and premium wig)
- Group and Party Discounts: groups of 9 or more brings down the price of admission (adult to child ratio of 1:5 required for groups)
Ingrid Wilkes is a mother of two children aged 10 and 7 who has worked in the sports and fitness industry since 1990. She has lived and worked in Southeast Asia, Europe and the US and enjoys trying new trends and exploring healthy alternatives to mainstream eating habits. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a master’s degree in sports management and has taught spinning for several years as a way to balance her interest in marketing and communications.
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