Color Me Crazy

Crayola Experience – Orlando

Photos by Kelsey and Scott Walters

My daughter, Avery, is turning two this month, and like many kids, she loves to color. In fact, she’s so obsessed with coloring and art, she rolls out of bed most mornings and asks to color before she even asks for breakfast.

Family Things to Do in Central Florida

Luckily, nearby Crayola Experience Orlando is just about an hour away and is a kiddo’s arts and crafts haven. If your little ones (or you!) are just as crayon crazy as Avery, this is definitely
the colorful place for you.

After hearing about Crayola Experience for months, but never really seeing what it was all about, we finally decided to make the trip to the Florida Mall and check it out. I was shocked at just how much there was to offer, and truth be told, there was so much we couldn’t make it to it all in one day. The 70,000-square-foot space is like an indoor theme park dedicated to the classic Crayola
crayon, and all of its artsy companions!

Crayola Experience in Orlando is Fun for the Whole Family

We walked in and Avery headed straight for the crayon wrapping station, where you can select a color and design your label with any name and shape you choose, then print and wrap it up yourself. She was so thrilled to have made her own purple crayon that she kept clenched in her fist the rest of the day and proudly showed it off to anyone that would glance her way. Avery couldn’t believe her eyes when she got to meet her hero, Purple Crayon, in the flesh (or the wax?).

What’s Included in Admission to Crayola Experience Orlando?

Admission to the coloring capital can seem a little steep for one day, but when you compare it to other Orlando attractions and take into account that you can easily spend that entire day creating and exploring, it packs a lot of bang for your buck. Your tickets include two tokens which can be used on a number of activities like the crayon wrapping, a Model Magic Clay Station and other colorful supplies like markers and boxes of crayons. More tokens can be purchased if you’d like as well. Admission also includes one of Crayola’s newest products, a Scribble Scrubbie Pet that can be colored and easily washed to color all over again.

The walls of the massive art-filled playground are lined with endless facts and photos detailing the history of the Crayola company and its art supplies – even a ticker tracking the trillions of crayons that have been produced over the years at the factory. Two free shows are offered throughout the day. One details the process of creating crayons from start to finish in a mini stage factory, complete with your own to take home after they’ve made it through the assembly line. Another details the science and magic of color in a fun interactive show.

The rest of the creative space combines classic coloring techniques like a colossal crayon caddy and painting space, and new technology including interactive screens and surfaces that will have everyone in the family dancing and wiggling away.

The Color Magic computers bring your masterpieces to life as they are scanned in and can be animated or even take a selfie with you. You also have your chance to try new things with the colored wax staple that you may not at home. Our favorite was spinning drip art, where you control the spinning paper while crayons melt onto it in a wild pattern. You can also melt the crayons and use them like paint in the Meltdown Station or mold them into fun new shapes.

Avery was in love with the Scribble Square, where every surface – even the floors – can be drawn on with chalk and markers (definitely not something she’s used to at home!). Everywhere you looked, there was something to color on and color with in one form or another. I had to keep reminding Scott to share the supplies with Avery, as he was just as excited as she was. In fact, when I looked around, I saw more adults sitting and coloring than kids. Crayola Experience gives everyone a chance to be a creative kid at heart.