Many schools around Arizona are about to be out for spring break, so what is there to do to keep the kids entertained while still social distancing? Aside from spending some time in the great outdoors there are several options around the valley that will allow you to stay safe while still having fun. One of those options is the Crayola Experience which is located inside of Chandler Fashion Center. Due to covid they had to close down for a little while, however they recently celebrated their grand re-opening on March 3rd and have several safety protocols in place to keep their guests safe. Tickets are $17.99 online or $19.99 if purchased at the gate, they also offer annual passes for guest who would like to visit several times through out the year.
What are they doing to keep everyone safe during these interesting times? First they are limiting the amount of guests allowed in the building at one time, and they are doing temperature checks at the front desk which are being done by a trained EMT. Activity stations have been limited as well, some of them have had a spot or two shut down for the time being to keep families separated. Masks are required and at this time they are asking that you only bring in see through bags (you can ask for one if needed). While there we also noticed several staff members wiping down all the machines, and helping keep everyone six feet away from one another. During our visit there are a few other families, but we never felt like we were too close to another family or being over crowded, it was a delightful and quiet experience.
The Crayola Experience can be a lot of fun for children of all ages and even adults! Let's go over some of the fun activities they have to offer you during your visit. Once you get through the ticket station you will be handed a clear plastic bag that has tokens, a pack of crayons and two chalk sticks. Normally they have art supplies out for you to use, but to prevent cross contamination they have given you a set of your own to use and keep. We've found tokens vary from bag to bag, some of ours have two while others had three, if you want to purchase more than that they have a coin exchange machine, each token costs $0.50. When you first enter the building you will be greeted by two big round machines, each machine has four stations where you can create your own crayon label.
To use the label maker you will select a color you'd like, this time around the only options were green, pink and orange. Standing in front of the color you want you will insert one of the coins found in your bag you were given at the entrance, then it will ask you to select a symbol you'd like on your label. They have a nice selection to choose from, I went with a star as you can see above. It will also let you name the crayon, I named mine after my blog! Hit "Print" when you are happy with how your label looks and it will spit out your label along with a naked crayon. Next stop at the station next to these where you place the label and crayon, then pull downwards on the handle and it will apply the label to the crayon. Tada! Look at how cute the crayon turned out.
The only other station that takes the coins is a vending machine that has a variety of model magic baggies. They have a few tables set up where you can sit and play with the model magic, however we decided to just put ours in our bags and safe it for when we arrived home. We bought a few extra coins so the kids could each get four colors. My son had a blast playing with the model magic when we arrived home. From here you can explore the rest of the facility. Directly next to the vending machines is a small area with three tablets spaced six feet apart that kids can play with. Across from the tablets you'll find two areas where "Be A Star", this spot is a lot of fun.
Why is this spot such a fun stop? You get to create your own coloring pages where you are the star of the show. Who wouldn't want to get a printed page of themselves as a coloring page? You will get to select which background you'd like, strike a pose and get your photo taken. There is a printer directly next to this station so you don't need to go anywhere to pick up your print. Take a family photo or let the kids take a few snap shots on their own to color in when they get home.
You will also find two crayon melting stations. The first station an attendant will have you select two different colored crayons and instruct you on how to use the machine, each crayon will be added in one at a time. As the crayon is melting there is a spinning paper directly under it where the wax will land, you can use a control to adjust how fast or how slow it will spin giving you a different splatter pattern each time. The attendant suggested I do one that looked like my hair, so I happily agreed and think it turned out great.
The second station is right next to the spinner and you'll have your choice of one crayon color. It will be inserted into a different machine that will melt it, dripping it into a car shaped mold. Depending on the color of crayon the person before you used, you might end up with a multicolored crayon like I did above. It is a exciting experience getting to see the crayon made right before your eyes.
If that wasn't enough excitement they also have a area where you can color in a magical create, scan it to a computer and have it come to life on the screen or you can see a fashion show featuring a outfit you colored in yourself. If fashion shows aren't your thing, you can also see a race featuring a car you designed yourself.
There is also a large chalk wall, a giant light up peg board, a interactive wall that makes it look like you are walking through melted crayons, arcade games that give tickets you can trade for prizes, a gem mining station and more. Due to the safety protocols in place the crowd was much smaller than the last time we visited, we could actually walk around and enjoy the experience more with the smaller lines. We thought they did a fantastic job keeping everything clean and safe for everyone visiting, the staff were friendly, helpful and seemed to be in high spirits while interacting with everyone. We didn't experience any issues while on this trip, and I honestly can't think of anything but great things about our trip.
Before you leave they will ask if you want an arm band so you can come back later in the day if you are just heading out for lunch. The exit leads into their retail store located next door, you'll find dozens of colorful gifts and souvenirs available for purchase, and you'll be greeted by a giant wall of crayons.
They have a number of tins and buckets available for purchase that you can fill up with any crayons or markers you can fit inside of it for a set price. We were able to fit quite a bit in the tin we had, we filled it mostly with crayons, but we also had enough room for a handful of markers. They have a lovely selection of colors including metallics, glitters and neon choices. The tin shown above cost $18.99 which might seem like a lot but you get the tin and everything you can fit inside. We ended up with ten markers and 103 crayons, plus the tin itself, so I would say that is a pretty good deal.
On our way out we also spotted a display of candy bars that had crayon wrappers. It was early morning, and the bars were a little more than I typically pay for a candy bar coming in at $3.49 a bar (the size of a regular Hersheys bar), however they had some pretty intriguing flavors so we let the kids pick out a bar and we each grabbed one as well. My daughter went with the milk chocolate caramel, my son selected the S'mores, and my husband and I went with dark chocolate sea salt. They are delicious!
Above you can see some of the goodies we brought back from our trip. The eight pack of crayons was in your entry bag, the two crayons by themselves and the model magic are what can be purchase with the tokens. The spin art and car crayon are from the melting stations, the tin full of crayons and the crayon shaped piggy bank can be found in the retail store and the tickets in the middle are being used for a Giveaway for my readers!
Now that you know all of the excitement the Chandler Crayola Experience has to offer you it is time for me to give away some tickets so you can go check it out for yourself. The tickets do not have an expiration date so you are able to go when ever you'd like! I will be mailing these out to the winners.
Prize Alert: Five lucky winners are each going to receive FOUR tickets to take their family to enjoy a day out.
This is open to Arizona Residents! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email!
This giveaway ends on 03/16/2021
Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment telling me which activity mentioned above you think your family would enjoy the most.
Disclaimer- The Crayola Experience provided me with four tickets for our entry, a tin to fill with crayons, a piggy bank and a gift card for lunch for the review + twenty tickets to use as a prize for a giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.
6 comments:
My family would like the melting crayon station.
I really liked the station where it takes your picture and prints out a coloring page for you of it!
this looks so cool
The “create your own coloring pages” station is amazing.
inserting crayon in machine
I am sad I missed this one! I will have to look into taking my kids here during the summer.
Post a Comment