Downtown Interns Julia and Greer at the Stranger Things: The Experience, Photo: Julia Meyer
Last Weekend I stepped foot into Brooklyn Navy Yard and was instantly teleported to Hawkins, Ind. to participate in a sleep study. The experiment was a part of the Stranger Things: The Experience, a 1-hour immersive experience featuring a brand-new storyline from Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Plunked into Hawkins Lab in the 1980s, ticket holders to the experience have signed up to participate in the study. Suddenly, an interdimensional rift complicates study protocols. This is when participants unlock special powers that resemble Eleven’s in order to escape the lab and save Hawkins.
Stranger Things: The Experience throws you headfirst into an immersive plotline joining fan favorite characters Eleven, Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Max, and Will. Visitors can enjoy the production featuring talented actors, interactive sets and impressive special effects.
With the rift safely sealed, experience-goers are greeted with 80’s-style medley of show specific locations with merchandise, food and drinks, photo ops, and interactive performers. Visitors can indulge in pizza from Surfer Boy Pizza, Ice Cream from Scoops Ahoy, or grab a cocktail or mocktail at the Upside Down Bar. I personally recommend trying the Starcourt Special mocktail! A fiberglass-and-silicone Demogorgon and the Byer’s living room are available for getting necessary Instagram-worthy moments.
The cast members who circulating the 80’s themed arena are trained improvisers, skilled at eliciting responses and sticking to the show’s plot. At one point, I was interviewed by an anxious journalist from the Hawkins Post questioning me about my experience in Hawkins lab and gave me his business card if I had any further information. I also struck up a conversation with a Rink-o-Mania worker eager to spill the latest Hawkins High gossip.
Overall the experience puts on quite a showcase and gives fans a chance to geek out over the Netflix show.