Is The Friends Experience Worth It? | Review

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to lounge on Monica Geller’s couch, strum a tune on Phoebe Buffay’s guitar, or sip a steaming cup of coffee in the middle of Central Perk, The Friends Experience can make it happen. After establishing a permanent location in New York City in 2019 for the show’s 25th anniversary, the interactive experience — created in partnership with Warner Bros. and Superfly X — opened up seven other US cities, as well as Toronto. On Oct. 13, the experience became available in San Francisco, so I took the opportunity to check it out for myself and see if it truly lives up to ’90s vibes.

What Is The Friends Experience?

Like the iconic TV show, the experience — which took almost eight months to design — focused on the main cast: Monica, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Phoebe, and Ross (David Schwimmer). “It’s so much nostalgia and fun that you can’t help but smile,” Stacy Moscatelli, co-president and chief strategy officer of Superfly . Each of the 12 rooms was themed after a different character and featured real props from the show, including Monica’s turkey head with sunglasses and a fez, actual scripts from before the show was called “Friends,” and more. The rooms also featured TVs with highlight reels of the characters’ best moments and an exclusive interview with the show’s costume designer, Debra McGuire.

The best part of the experience was finding the hilarious callbacks to the show — yep, including the hockey stick from the time Joey was trapped in the entertainment unit. From Ugly Naked Guy and Rachel’s 18-page letter to a wall of Magna Doodles and a tribute to the time when Joey wore all of Chandler’s clothes at once, the nostalgia levels were high.

After pretending to cook up a storm in Monica and Rachel’s apartment — the organization is impeccable — and crossing the iconic beige and green hallway to lounge in Chandler and Joey’s La-Z-Boys, I stopped by Central Perk. Stepping into the coffee shop felt like being on an actual TV set, down to the “reserved” sign on the coffee table and Gunther’s golden barista setup. The New York location also features 18 rooms, more exclusive props on loan from Warner Bros., and a functional Central Perk where you can order a pastry and a cup of coffee and hang out with your BFFs — or propose to your lobster like over 100 other couples have done at The Friends Experience.

“Across all of the experiences and all of the cities, we’ve had over 100 [proposals],” Moscatelli said. “Sometimes they tell us in advance and ask our team to help take a picture or make sure they can get a clean moment and a little bit of privacy. That’s probably up there as one of the most special [parts of the experience] . . . In New York, we have the facade of the wedding chapel from the Vegas episode, so we hosted a wedding in the space at the chapel.”

If you’re looking for somewhere to unleash your inner Janice, get engaged, or just relive your favorite “Friends” moments, this is definitely the place to bring your friends with Chandler, Joey, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, and Ross energy. See photos and find out more about the experience ahead.

How Long Does The Friends Experience Take?

In total, the entire experience took about 45 minutes to an hour to walk through, but you could definitely stay longer if you show up with some friends ready to re-create the show’s most iconic scenes (costumes and ’90s attire highly recommended).

Where Is The Friends Experience Located?

The Friends Experience had temporary runs in Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Washington DC, and Denver and will open in Paris in November. The experience will also be opening a permanent international location soon.

How Much Does The Friends Experience Cost?

Tickets for The Friends Experience start at $43 for adults and $34 for children. Premium adult tickets go for $68, while premium children’s tickets go for $48. Seniors, students, and military personnel can also purchase tickets for $38. If you don’t have time to walk through the full experience or you just want to stop by to grab a gift for a major “Friends” fan in your life, the merch shop is also open to the public without a ticket purchase required.