Have you ever wanted to walk through Monica & Rachel’s apartment with your friends or poke the Ugly Naked Guy in real life? If so, then the FRIENDS Experience is the perfect place to visit. Located at 130 East 23rd Street on the corner of Lexington Avenue, the FRIENDS Experience’s flagship location consists of two floors of interactive activities filled with various set recreations based on the hit television series Friends. And now, you have the chance to sleep over at the FRIENDS Experience thanks to Booking.com and Superfly X.
First airing in 1994, Friends was an American sitcom series that revolves around the trials and tribulations of six friends in their 20s and 30s living in New York City. Each episode dives into the character’s comedic, romantic, and career adventures as they lean on and laugh with one another. Over the course of its 10-year run, the show received critical acclaim, earning 62 Primetime Emmy nominations.
Though the show ended more than a decade ago in 2004, enthusiasm for it has remained high, helping to spark the exhibit’s creation. In celebration of the show’s 25th Anniversary, the FRIENDS Experience first opened its doors in 2019 in SoHo on a much smaller scale. After one month, the planned pop-up closed, but came back two years later this past March bigger and better than ever before.
With over eighteen rooms to explore, guests can view original props and costumes directly from the show such as Chandler’s bunny shoes and Rachel’s cow jacket. Some of the highlights of the FRIENDS Experience include a recreation of the Las Vegas Wedding Chapel Ross and Rachel tied the knot together in and an interactive display that allows for guests to take a victory lap on Pat the Dog. Walking through the exhibit, guests are drawn into the world of the show, and can even interact with the set to take one-of-a-kind photographs. Who wouldn’t want a shot peeking through Monica’s purple door or sitting on the iconic orange couch?
As well, the FRIENDS Experience’s special coffee shop, Central Perk, offers guests the chance to try coffee, pastries, and desserts based on iconic moments from the show, including ‘Rachel’s Oops I Dropped the Cheesecake.’ On your way out, you can also visit the FRIENDS Experience store which holds all the Friends merchandise you could ask for such as the ‘The Jam Stand: Monica’s Strawberry Bread Jam’ enamel pin and an ‘How You Doin’?’ spirit jersey to name a few.
However, the excitement doesn’t stop there. Recently, the FRIENDS Experience has also partnered with Booking.com and Superfly X in the organization of two special overnight stays in the exhibit on May 23 and May 24, 2021. Coming on the heels of missed out occasions as a result of the pandemic, Booking.com and Superfly X hope to aid long-time fans in coming together with their friends to celebrate and pay homage to Friends. Each night, two lucky individuals will have the opportunity to sleep surrounded by all the exhibit’s memorabilia. To accentuate the experience, a full custom-designed tour with a photographer is also provided. Those interested in staying overnight at the FRIENDS EXPERIENCE can book their trip at Booking.com starting on May 21, 2021, at 10 am EST for $19.94 per night.
With the upcoming Friends reunion just around the corner, the FRIENDS Experience offers the perfect opportunity to relieve some of the show’s most memorable scenes. As Janine would say, ‘Oh. My. Gawd.’ This couldn’t be a more perfect dream come true.
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