Fans of DreamWorks Trolls, rejoice: New York City’s newest attraction in Midtown, DreamWorks Trolls The Experience, opened for previews on Monday, Oct. 22. A fully immersive adventure, visitors will be transformed into honorary citizens of Troll Village while helping Poppy plan her Best Day Ever party! We got a sneak peek of DreamWorks Trolls The Experience, and it’s a family-friendly NYC attraction you won’t want to miss, no matter your age.
A partnership between NBCUniversal, DreamWorks, and Feld Entertainment (the masterminds behind Disney on Ice, Marvel Universe LIVE!, Sesame Street Live!, and more, DreamWorks Trolls The Experience puts you in the story with a scavenger hunt of sorts. You and your kids will follow the rainbow road to complete tasks in an effort to help Poppy plan and throw her Best Day Ever Party.
“It’s only natural after consuming the film over and over again like our kids do, listening to the music in the car and at home, and having dance parties that you would want to take that experience and put kids in the middle of it,” said Nicole Feld, executive vice president of Feld Entertainment. “We worked with NBC and talked to a lot of moms and created a real journey that puts families right in the middle of Trolls Village and just takes that love of trolls to the next level.”
From the moment you enter the venue, you’re transported into the colorful, glittery world that is full of “sunshine and rainbows and everything that is true to Trolls every step of the way,” said James Shea, show director & creative development for Feld Entertainment. The environment makes you wish you were a citizen of Troll Village—and at DreamWorks Trolls The Experience, you can live out your wildest Troll dreams and do just that.
 Katelin Walling |
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There are numerous photo ops throughout DreamWorks Trolls The Experience, including one with Satin & Chenille. |
A Total Troll Transformation
Once you’re handed an invite to Poppy’s Best Day Ever, you’ll head up the rainbow hair tunnel to the Hair We Go Salon for a total troll transformation. You’ll choose a Troll hair piece that matches your Troll alter-ego (Are you a Branch, Poppy, Guy Diamond, or Rainbow Troll?), get a temporary tattoo, and don a little makeup to complete your Troll look. Want the ultimate Troll Transformation? For an additional fee, you can book a private salon chair and get help from a Glitter Guru (personal stylist) to choose a full Troll wig and a full face of makeup.
Once your transformation is complete, take a look at yourself in one of the funhouse mirrors in the salon to see what you look like in Troll Village. Then snap a photo with Satin & Chenille, test your Troll strength, and receive your first scavenger hunt trinket (make sure you put it in a safe place—you’ll need it later).
Now that you’re a bona fide citizen of Troll Village, it’s time to get down to business and help Poppy plan the Best Day Ever!
Party Planning Paradise
“What’s really engaging and special about the experience is the technology,” Feld said; it’s what helps make the venue interactive and engaging entertainment. And your next stop, Branch’s Musical Mashup, is full of technology. By interacting with the critters—and trust me, you’ll want to interact with these fuzzy, furry critters—you’ll help Branch lay down the tracks to create the best party playlist for the Best Day Ever. The more you interact, the better the music gets, and once you lay down a sick beat, you’ll receive your second trinket.
Next, you’ll mosey on over to Sparkle On Caterbus to help Guy Diamond, master of all things sparkly, gather glitter, confetti, and gems to make the party really shine. After all, Guy Diamond can only fart so much glitter.
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Guests take a ride on the Caterbus where they help Guy Diamond collect floating glitter to decorate Poppy’s Best Day Ever celebration. |
Courtesy DreamWorks Trolls The Experience
The Caterbus also happens to be one of Feld’s favorite elements in the experience. “I think it’s a fun novel element,” she said. “When we shoot confetti at our shows, the kids go crazy. So I can only imagine when they’re contained in this bus that they’re going to go crazy for all this confetti and sparkle and glitter that’s around them.”
And you’ll be able to see the pure joy on your children’s faces, as the bus has windows for you to peek in and snap a photo. Kids will travel the length of the school bus-sized air tunnel to collect flying confetti and glitter and hand it all off to one of Poppy’s Party Pals, when they’ll receive the third trinket.
The final stop before the Best Day Ever Party is Critter Creek, where kids will play a game to invite as many critters in Troll Village to the party, because what good is a party if there are no Troll Village friends there to enjoy it?! In this tech-filled play zone, kids have to high-five the critters they see to invite as many guests as possible. Once all the critters are invited, you’ll receive the fourth and final trinket, which means…
 Courtesy DreamWorks Trolls The Experience |
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The virtual play zone, Critter Creek, allows guests to engage in a collaborative game in which they high-five critters on the interactive wall to invite them to Poppy’s Best Day Ever celebration. |
It’s Party Time!
Before entering the party, one of Poppy’s Party Pals will help you make sure everything is in order for a good time: stretch, learn a new dance move or two, and grab a pair of Glitter Goggles (3-D glasses) and enter Poppy’s Best Day Ever! All the Trolls you’ve helped along the way sing and dance to their (and your) favorite DreamWorks Trolls songs, including “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
Technology comes into play here in a big way. The 3-D screen uses proprietary patented technology with LED light sources on the screen rather than a projection (it was originally developed for the Michael Jackson This Is It tour).
After you’ve tired yourselves out from dancing, head on down to The After Party at the Bergen Town tree, where you’ll make a keepsake scrapbook full of pictures from the experience (and those trinkets you collected). Plus, photo booths are stationed around the tree, with on-demand print capability, so you can snap a family pic with your little Trolls to add to your scrapbook. For an additional fee, you can upgrade to a deluxe scrapbook that comes with extra embellishments. But the fun doesn’t end there; take your finished scrapbook over to show Poppy, Troll Village’s best scrapbooker, who is ready to meet and play with your kids!
On your way out, you’ll walk through Cupcakes & Rainbows, the experience’s café and shop. You can pick up your favorite Trolls memorabilia, or try one of the tasty Troll-inspired treats and sip on some pink hot cocoa from NYC’s City Bakery.
DreamWorks Trolls The Experience is located at 218 W. 57th St., between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, in Midtown, Manhattan. The attraction is open for previews on Monday, Oct. 22; preview tickets are $25 per person. The grand opening of DreamWorks Trolls The Experience is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 15, when tickets will be $40 per person (and everything except treats and goodies in the café and gift shop and the deluxe salon and scrapbook elements is included). For more information and to purchased tickets, visit trollstheexperience.com.
Main image: Capture sharable moments throughout the experience including a surprise meet and greet with Poppy at the end of the journey making for a truly unforgettable, best day ever.
Courtesy DreamWorks Trolls The Experience
