My husband and I love creating lasting memories with our kids by focusing on experiences rather than gifts. Some of my fondest childhood memories come from traveling with my family, so we’ve made it a priority to do the same for our children. This year, as part of their Christmas present, we visited the Mall of America (MOA) in early December. MOA is a haven for families, packed with attractions for kids of all ages. One of our stops was the Crayola Experience.
What to Expect at the Crayola Experience
Tickets cost $29.99 in person or $27.99 online (plus a processing fee). We bought ours online in advance and arrived at 10 a.m. when they opened. Unfortunately, their computer systems were having issues and it took about 15 minutes to check in.
At check-in, we received a bag with some goodies: two tokens, a map, a scavenger hunt sheet, and a Scribble Scrubbie to color. If you aren’t familiar with a Scribble Scrubbie, it’s a washable, colorable fuzzy “pet toy”. Fun for kids, but in my experience, an activity best done outside. The tokens are used to make a custom crayon wrapper at Wrap It Up and to get clay for Modeling Madness.
The Hits and Misses
The Hits
Excited to begin, my kids (who are 7 year-old boys) raced to Cool Moves, where a crayon character mirrors your movements. The dark room made it difficult to find the marked spot to stand on. Once we figured it out, they enjoyed dancing and jumping around. They spent about 15 minutes moving in the wildest ways and laughing at the crayon character as it mirrored them.
In the freezing December weather, the play areas gave us a much-needed escape. Toddler Town was perfect for little ones, while the Color Playground, a two-story climbing structure with slides, was a hit with older kids. My kids had it all to themselves and happily burned off energy while we relaxed on nearby benches. They ran, climbed, and crawled to the top then slid down to do it all over again. We went on a Monday and the Color Playground was empty except for us.
Rockin‘ Paper, where a paper creation you make dances to music, was fun. First, you pick out something to color. My boys picked cars and then colored the page with markers. We gave the decorated sheets to an employee who scans them in and then you watch them move across the screen. This is also where we turned in completed scavenger hunts for a prize.
The Misses
Wrap It Up, where you design your own crayon wrapper, was unfortunately a letdown. One machine wouldn’t accept our tokens, another didn’t dispense wrappers properly, and we had to call staff several times to fix issues. It was especially frustrating because it affected the colors my kids were most excited about.
Next up was Be A Star, where you can turn your face into a coloring sheet. The concept was fun—choosing a background, posing for a picture, and printing it out—but there were technical glitches. Some printers didn’t work. Each station is tied to one printer, so we had to start over at another station.
Similarly, at Silly Selfies, kids could take pictures with filters that would appear on a big screen. But again, there were tech problems, and pictures weren’t showing up, leading to a lot of frustrated kids. After some waiting, they got it working, and everyone cheered up.
Was It Worth It?
I had high hopes for the crayon-making demo, thinking it would be like the clip from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, but the theater was closed when we first arrived. Later, they began announcing shows, but we were ready to leave by then.
The scavenger hunt was fun, but the prize—a container of putty—didn’t wow my kids. Before leaving, we browsed through the store, which contained unique Crayola merchandise and a wall of crayons to create your own custom box. You don’t need a ticket to visit the store, and it’s worth checking out even if you skip the full experience.
While the Crayola Experience had its moments, the frequent technical issues and steep price made it a one-and-done outing for us. It was a nice escape from the bustling mall, but not something we’d do again.
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