Stranger Things Drive-Into Experience
Lets be honest, all of these fun Holiday drive-thru experiences have been great. Festive, jolly, and totally geared toward the kids. And that awesome, because out little ones absolutely needed a way to get out of the house safely. But, what about us adults? We need a getaway too. An adventure just for us.
Well, if you are a huge Stranger Things fan, and I am, this drive-into experience it the one for you!
WARNING: Folks, this is really JUST for the adults. It does get a little intense, it does get a little spooky and some choice words are used by the Hawkins teenagers. So if you take the kids, be prepared for earmuffs.
Tickets
One night sometime in August or September, I woke up to find my husband on his laptop. He often can't sleep at night, so this was nothing out of the norm. But I noticed he was looking us something dark... creepy maybe? I couldn't tell in my half asleep state and no glasses. But the next morning I woke up to hearing all about the new Stranger Things Drive-Into Experience on Good Day LA! And as I turned in excitement, to squeal at my husband, his sly smile told me that tickets have already been purchased! (I swear, sometimes that man amazes me).
According to hubby, all VIP tickets had already been sold out for the month of October and November, so he purchased our VIP experience for December 26th. Because it's one of my absolute favorite shows, he really wanted me to have the best experience. Plus, we figured it would be a great way for the two of us to get away and spend some time together post Christmas.
🎫 Standard Access - based on number of people per car (2, 3, 4 or 5+ people), including:
1 Hour Immersive Driving Experience
Access to the Hawkins Online Portal
🎫 VIP Access - based on number of people per car (2, 3, 4 or 5+ people), including:
1 Hour Immersive Driving Experience
Access to the Hawkins Online Portal
Dedicated team to welcome you in
Fast Track Entry
Mystery box of swag, snacks and non-alcoholic drink
Depending on the day, there is about a $100 difference between the Standard Access ticket for 2 people in one car, and the VIP Access ticket for 2 people in one car.
What you get is listed above, but, while you do get fast track entry, the standard access line is really not that long. The Mystery Box of Swag gives you two small Sour Patch Kids candy bags, one large KitKat bar, a large box of RedVines, a Hawkins Newspaper, a letter, and two cassette tape speakers. You also get two sodas from the concession stand. I loved it all as it was part of the experience, however, I'm not really sure any of that is worth $100.
Who Went
My hubby had it all planned for months, but had an employee call out last minute. He had to cover the shift, and could not make the event. #BusinessOwnerLife
I was so bummed not to get the opportunity to share this experience with my babe. I was also disappointed for the missed opportunity to spend some alone time with him. This pandemic has really taken alone time away from a lot of parents. But, thankfully, the bestie was available to join me, and we had ourselves a fun girls night out!
The Experience
The website boasts that this is an "Immersive drive-into experience based on the hit Netflix show, Stranger Things! A brand new event concept that lets you drive into the world of Hawkins and unlock the secrets of the Upside Down."
What it really is, is a series of 4 shows, in a parking structure at The Row in Downtown Los Angeles. You don't necessarily drive-thru like the other drive-thru experiences. Rather, you drive up and park several times.
The first stop on the list is Starcourt Mall. As you pull up, you are instructed to set your radio to a certain station, which lets you hear all you need through your own car radio. I have to say, the Starcourt Mall stage was awesome. As were all of the characters, from the people at the concession stands, to the people waving you through, all were in perfect character. This is also where you can purchase your movie style snacks, and where you get your two sodas, if you purchased the VIP experience.
You are then waved through and guided inside the parking structure where you and a sea of cars are parked, as the characters from the second season of Stranger Things, mainly Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley from the Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream Shop, run around and engage with various cars. Of course, the evil Russians are there causing all the chaos. (Don't get me started on how frustrating it is to be from the former USSR and constantly watch your people be villainized... I'll save this one for another post).
Eventually, a Demogorgon starts running around attaching said Russians. It's fun, I can't say it isn't. But, they could have done a better job with the Demogorgon costume. It literally looked like a guy in a flower costume.
With that said, we loved the interaction from all of the characters, and my gal pal Jess was even startled by the folks in her window a couple of times.
Next, we drove into the UpsideDown. This was very cool.
It truly looked like we were in the UpsideDown. Things flying in the air, vines all over the walls, darkness and ominous music... and screens on every wall.
Here, is where we watched about a 15 minute video recapping the entire first and second seasons of Stranger Things. It was intense and had so much potential... but other than be getting startled by another character at my window, the recap was it. I truly felt like there could have been so much more done here. But, all it was was a very well edited recap of that season, and we were waved to drive forward.
We were guided to the very top level of the parking structure, where we found ourselves in the third season of Stranger Things. The zombie people who were liquified to become part of the Mind Flayer, Billy, the bad boy who made it happen, and of course, Eleven, were all there in person and on video. It was a very interesting mixed media storm of Stranger Things. Again, a recap of the season, but this time not just video, but actors as well. It would have been great, but we got stuck behind a raised truck and hardly saw a thing in front of us. Luckily, this show was U-shaped, so we did get to see a few things to the left and right of us.
It was intense, it was very cool, but for me, I wanted something more.
The website says "... drive into the world of Hawkins and unlock the secrets of the Upside Down." So, I kind of expected to be able to drive-thru the streets of Hawkins. I wanted to find myself in the middle of the town, and all of the places I watched on one of my favorite shows. I'm not sure that watching a few very well done recaps did it for me personally.
Honestly, it was a lot of fun either way, and it was something nice to do as an adult.
Friends, this is a 1 hour experience, so be prepared. While they have clean porta-potties set up at the end, there are no restroom throughout the drive-into experience, so USE THE RESTROOM before you head in.
For a better look, watch our Reel HERE.
For tickets, head HERE.
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