When we told the girls they were going to the Crayola Experience they were so excited. They are very creative and love Crayola products at home so having the chance to visit such a unique experience when in Orlando was an opportunity we couldn’t miss.
From the moment we saw the colourful giant crayons outside the Crayola Experience we knew it was going to be a hit as it generated that can’t wait to get inside feeling.
Located within the Florida Mall, The Crayola Experience Orlando is 70,000 square feet of interactive, fun and creativity spread over 2 floors that both children and adults will enjoy. As you enter the Crayola Experience you are taken aback by the size of the attraction offering over 26 engaging and creative attractions to discover.
The fun starts as you enter the attraction where there was a giant projection screen featuring sleeping Crayola crayons. As you got closer to the screen the crayons came alive mimicking your motions and movements – it was so much fun.
After picking up our tickets, we each received a Crayola bag with two tokens inside (you can purchase more at 50cents per token if required). These tokens are used for specific interactive attractions in the experience.
We started making our own personalised crayons at ‘Wrap it Up’ one of my favourite activities and the first you’ll see when you arrive on the second floor.
You start by choosing your favourite colour, followed by creating your own design and the best bit – naming your crayon which is printed on the crayon label.
The fun part is printing the label out and using the roller machine to finish off your own personalised crayon, much to the delight of the girls.
This is why we needed our Crayola bag given at the start of our visit, it’s to keep your masterpieces safe.
People of all ages can enjoy the interactive stations, which makes it exciting for all family members but the two most popular stations are Melt & Mold and Drip Art.
If you ever wanted to create your own Crayola ring you can at Melt & Mold along with a shark, car or seahorse. We loaded our favourite crayon colour into the machine and watched as it melted into a brilliant Crayola Experience Souvenir.
Drip Art involved melting crayons to make a spinning, creative art masterpiece.
As these two attractions are popular with both children and adults it can mean longer lines.
I would suggest visiting these stations at the start of your experience as they were really fun and allowed you the rest of the time to explore the other great activities on offer.
You can even star in your own colouring pages at Be a Star which was so much fun and really interactive. After you pose for a picture and choose a background, you see your picture transformed into a colouring page which you can print out and makes a lovely keepsake of your day.
The girls enjoyed being able to create their own designs and felt so proud to see them projected onto the big screens as their designs came to life. You could try this at Art Alive using an iPad to superimpose your own drawing or colour in a template adding special effects before it transforms onto the giant screen. The girls thought it was hilarious as they coloured in a unicorn and wrote their daddy’s name below, watching their masterpiece complete with magic sparkles come to life.
As wannabe fashion designers the girls both loved You Design which was an interactive virtual studio and runway. The dress that the girls designed then walks the runway on a huge projected screen.
Rockin’ Paper was really cool. We did not expect to bring our 3D design to life. It was a fantastic multi-sensory experience that puts your art on stage and with clever use of magnets your personalised paper creation turns, bops and rocks to the music. It was really cool to watch and something we have never seen before.
Doodle in the dark was super fun, where you can write and draw on special doodle boards in an interactive dark room with vibrant neon colours and the glow.
Colour magic was a cool augmented reality experience you can actually see your colouring page come alive on screen.
With all the interaction and digital fun the girls also enjoyed the simplicity of the Colossal Caddy which was a giant crayon tub with every colour of Crayola Crayon possible. The girls spent some time here drawing and relaxing.
With so much to do expect to spend around 3 to 5 hours here. Along with the attractions there is also a Crayola Café, Factory Tour and play zones.
As you exit the attraction you enter the Crayola Store which has the largest selection of Crayola products, super soft plush crayon toys and unique one-of-a-kind Crayola souvenirs. The store offers a special feature “Pick Your Pack” wall, where you can create your own custom crayon assortment and choose from 99 of Crayola’s most popular colours. There was even a Mac n cheese coloured crayon.
Overall
When you think of a holiday in Orlando the assumptions are sunshine and theme parks, so the Crayola Experience is a hidden gem. The Crayola Experience was so enjoyable and it was a great escape from the crowds of the theme parks. We had such a wonderful time and it’s the perfect place to escape the excessive heat or rain that you can experience in Florida.
It was a unique experience that we all enjoyed as a family with so many different activities to experience. With only four Crayola Experiences in the world, all located in North America, the only criticism I have is that there is not one open in the UK.
Location and Pricing
The Crayola Experience is located at the Florida Mall. There are two entrances to the store, one from inside the Florida Mall and one from the Crayola Experience attraction. Crayola Experience is open year-round from 10:00am – 8:00pm
General admission (ages 2+) is $22.99 plus tax per person or $19.99 plus tax per person if you buy tickets online in advance. Children under 3 are free.
For more information visit http://www.crayolaexperience.com/orlando