Photo Courtesy of Guinnevere King
It was a few months ago when I first heard about this new pop up experience at the Museum of Ice Cream happening in Los Angeles. By my curiosity, I did further research only to find out tickets were sold out! I was like, “How can this be? I am only hearing it for the first time ever.” So, I decided to sign-up for their newsletter, subscribe to all social media and check back for more updates. It’s the Museum of Ice Cream! Who doesn’t want to go check it out and taste all those crazy flavors?
After the new semester began at college, I found out there was a pop up shop opening in San Francisco. I kept thinking to myself, “Could it be…? Is it… OMG, yes, it’s the Museum of Ice Cream!” I was so excited and made sure I planned appropriately to ensure I got a pair of tickets before they sold out again.
Expectations vs. Reality
The experience to purchase the tickets for me was fine, because I was able to wait patiently 20 minutes in the online queue and successfully purchase a pair of tickets. On the other hand, others may not relate. Everyone was trying to get tickets for their own party, so it was hard to plan a specific date and time. At the calendar option to select tickets, it sold out instantly and there was either one ticket available or none. So, it was slim pickings and having a flexible schedule was definitely an advantage. Some people had zero luck and were logged out of the queue to purchase tickets and had to wait all over again. It was already a struggle to wait patiently to access the link to purchase tickets, but to do it all over again was too much stress and anxiety to willingly relive.
Upon arrival, we already saw the popular Instagram pictures, Facebook posts and reading the comments about everyone’s ice cream visit, which made their inner child wishes come true. Waiting in line, wasn’t too bad and they did start the tour on time. All the employees were bubbly, fun, charismatic, dressed in bubblegum colors and very personable to excite the crowd for our first ever experience to the Museum of Ice Cream.
Photo Courtesy of Guinnevere King
Throughout my visit, there were a few samples of ice cream plus cotton candy and each room was painted pink, candy themed wallpaper and a room filled with life size lollipops and gummy bears. It was definitely cute and fun to take pictures of everything, but the museum part was misleading. Usually, when I visit museums, there is a lot of information to learn from and fun souvenirs to take home to remember your trip forever. My experience at The Museum of Ice Cream was different than I had imagined because I didn’t leave feeling like I actually learned something or wanted to purchase souvenirs from the store to remember my visit. Instead, I left scrolling through my phone to see how many cute pictures we took and deciding what to post to Instagram.
According to the founder MaryEllis Bunn, the Museum of Ice Cream was a whole new way to create an interactive experience for millennials, which it did accomplish just that. It was a smart, entrepreneurial move on her end because it appealed to A-List celebrities, sold out dates instantly and is soon going to be opening new locations throughout the upcoming year of 2018. It gives the opportunity for the Museum of Ice Cream to grow and expand their team in new locations. Be sure to subscribe to their newsletter and follow their social media to stay updated with ticket sales.
Photo Courtesy of Guinnevere King
The Museum of Ice Cream was definitely worth the experience! The pop up shop demonstrated how we are evolving as consumers and how we use technology to immediately share our experiences online with families and close friends. It wasn’t exactly how I anticipated my visit, but I still had a fun time exploring the Instagram-worthy themed rooms with my bestie.