Back in June, my sister and I decided to finally take our babies to "Trolls: The Experience". It's located here in New York City's Midtown Manhattan. We had heard about this attraction for a long time before we actually took the time to go. At the end of the experience, we were so happy that we took a day from our busy mom lives to share this fun experience with our babies. Not only did the babies love it, but we loved it too! Honestly, I think I might've looked a tad-bit more excited than all the kids that were there! No but really, the place is so perfectly set up. It's almost inevitable to walk in there and suddenly be consumed by a feeling of excitement and happiness.
At first, when I researched the attraction, I thought my daughter was going to be a little too young to actually enjoy the experience. However, she completely proved me wrong from the minute we walked in the door. To begin with, my daughter had never really been a Trolls fan. She had never even watched the movie! I don't think she even knew they existed until after this trip! (We can pretty much say she was enlightened on this trip.)
As soon as you walk into the space, the lights are perfectly dimmed so that your eyes are immediately drawn to the vibrant colors and welcome signs. My daughter was so hypnotized by it all that she could barely stand on line and wait to be ushered in with the rest of us. She was constantly running off the line, passing the rope barricade, and running into the hallway that lead to the rainbow illuminated escalators where all the magic would begin. I had to clutch her tight next to me until the greeter got through her intricate yet exciting introduction of the adventure we were about to embark. The enthusiastic greeter told us about Poppy's big bash we were about to prepare for, gave us our souvenir collection bags, our special "party invitations" from Poppy herself and were finally allowed up the escalators.
The first stop was the hair & makeup boutique area. As soon as we got off the escalators we were welcomed by more super happy greeters who brought us over to the beautifully lit vanities. Oh, did I mention that the trip up the escalators, was so intriguing with its rainbow lights and troll characters allover the walls and ceilings. My daughter just could not wait to get all the way to the top and see what was up there. She was so excited. Immediately when she saw the vanity booth, she ran over and plopped herself up on the stool in front of the mirror. I'm more than sure she had no idea what was going on. Nonetheless, she sat there with her hands holding her head up patiently waiting to be told what to do. I couldn't help but to smile and giggle a little to see just how much she already was enjoying this. (*See images below.)
At this station, the kids were adorned with their choice of troll hair (paper hats not wigs), sparkly troll noses, and tattoos of their choosing. (*If you pay the extra bucks to get the VIP tickets you can get an actual full Trolls hair wig.) My daughter of course chose the poppy hair. Then she sat very still as the employee painted her nose and sprinkled some glitter over it. She even let out a little sneeze which was the cutest thing ever, we all let out a laugh. My nephew on the other hand, did not enjoy this part of the attraction as much. I'm not sure if maybe it was because he's a boy and was just not interested in getting dolled up like a Troll. Or he just didn't like the idea of a total stranger getting so close to him and doing who knows what to his face. However, he was totally okay with the tattoos.
Throughout the rainbow trail, which we were instructed to follow to each designated station, there were super friendly greeters who would say hello to the kids, take pictures, and cheer them on to keep helping Poppy prepare for her party. After the Troll makeover, we had the opportunity to take some really cool pictures around the room. I mean everywhere you looked there was a "photo-worthy" wall or prop. We then made a quick detour to the bathroom before going to the next station. My daughter not to my surprise, was not too thrilled about this deviation. She kept going to the bathroom door and crying "Mommy, go. Mommy, go." She was so eager to get back to her adventure I was so happy she was loving it.
The next station, was where the kids had to collect all the confetti for the party. We were entered into this room type place with large oval windows and vibrant multi-colored lights. My daughter was caught by surprise when the confetti started filling the room and it made her a little scared at first. Soon after, she realized there was nothing to be afraid of and began jumping around and dancing to the music that was playing.
Next, it was time to make some fun music for the party. We were ushered into a room full of the exact creatures from the Trolls movie. The kids had to wake up all the creatures by putting their hands on them and then tapping them to create the beats for the music. One by one, the creatures would awaken and once they were touched by our babies tiny hands they would begin to play a beat. The compilations of different sounds of each creature eventually created a song at the end. Did I ever mention, how much my daughter LOVES to dance? Well, you can be sure she was dancing allover this room!
Then, it was time to invite all of Poppy's friends to the party. It was the babies job to invite as many guests as they could by using a live game that was projected onto a wall. Every time a creature or one of Poppy's friends showed up on the screen, they had to give them a high-five and that would add them to the lists of guests for the party. My sister, cousin, and I even joined in on this part and started slapping some high-fives on that wall.
At last, it was time for the actual party! We were given 3D glasses just before we were entered into a large room with a huge screen on one wall. Suddenly, Poppy and all the Trolls character showed up on the screen and began singing and dancing. Luckily, the time slot we had chosen to go to this attraction was barely filled with other kids or parents. My daughter and nephew basically had the entire room to run around and dance like maniacs! I think this had to have been my daughter's favorite part. (As I said, she loves music and dancing.) She did not stop dancing the entire time we were in there! It was so funny yet, cute to watch her enjoy it.
Once, the party was over, we went downstairs where more greeters were waiting for us. There they showed us to the photo booth where we took a group photo. It was completely free of charge and get this...we received 4 printed photos! One for each of the kids to place in their scrapbooks along with their souvenir stickers (they were collecting these at every station.) and 2 extra ones for the parents. After the photo booth, the kids were taken to a counter where an employee helped them place their souvenir stickers on their scrapbook pages and plastic covers. We didn't purchase an actual book because we thought they were a little over priced and we didn't think they were necessary. To our surprise, Miss Poppy herself was there waiting to say goodbye to us! My daughter kind of freaked out and not in a good way. She was super afraid of the real life Poppy which, I found a little hilarious. I know, I'm such a terrible mom. It was just so funny to see her try to hold her composure but, still be very very afraid to get too close to Poppy. She didn't cry at all which was good. However just by her face, you could tell she was super uncomfortable being close to her. I mean, look at this picture. She was barely looking at the camera. She was literally grilling Poppy and making sure she stayed as far away from her as possible!
If you haven't realized already, I am 100% recommending all my fellow moms in the NYC ares or close by to definitely consider taking the time out to take your little ones on this adventure. As I said at the beginning, I thought maybe young babies would be too small to enjoy this but, I realized any child would enjoy it. Honestly, I don't think there is any specific age range for this attraction. Heck, even parents would love it! I loved it so much, if I had the time, I would most definitely do it all over again! It was such a fun and wonderful experience. There's nothing better than watching your child smile and be full of excitement. You just can't put a price on giving your child a fun-filled day and creating those memories together...
...Sew This is Life!
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