Last week, The Dr. Seuss Experience set up shop at Square One in Mississauga.
The interactive experience promises a fun-filled adventure stuffed with the kooky creatures and whimsical worlds that Dr. Seuss built through his beloved children’s books.
Upon entering the building, there were coat racks struggling to keep all the coats in line and a sea of strollers in the designated stroller parking area. A majority of attendees were families with small children.
The space holds nine themed rooms that all coincide with a Dr. Seuss classic and a maze made out of balloons harking to memories of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.”
The walls of each room are covered in a large quote from the book the room is based on.
Entering the exhibition site, a small hallway prompts you to pay the Once-ler and leads you to a room flooded with pink lights and teeming with truffula trees from The Lorax.
A prime place for photo-ops, children sat on swings and smiled for their picture to be taken.
The Cat in the Hat was brought to life in another room. An animatronic version of the character balanced books and fishbowls. Fluorescent blue and pink bouncy toys shaped like household objects filled two large bins in the center of the room. Children were free to play with the toys as long as they put them away at the end.
The “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?” room was roaring with kids turning large gears on the walls, throwing fuzzy balls into a Seussical machine, and placing clear balls on flows of air to make them look as though they were floating.
In the next room, the Dr. Seuss experience replicated the living room from “There’s a Wocket in my Pocket.” A large bookshelf filled with multicolored books served as an interesting backdrop for Dr. Seuss’s orange couch. We had to look around the room to find strange creatures which added to the fun. There was a wasket in the basket, a zamp in the lamp, and tons of others to find.
The “Horton Hears a Who” room beamed with pink flowers—some with small little voices that presumably belonged to Whos, whereas “If I Ran the Circus” was commemorated with a mini carousel ride in its room.
The room designated to “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” spurred a flurry of activity and competition. Each person received a fishing pole to hook on hoops on a rotating Christmas tree for capturing presents. Appropriately themed, the goal was to save Christmas. Small kids and parents alike laughed as they tried to hook the gifts and fill up the baskets with presents.
The last room was based on “The Sneetches” and fit about five people inside. It was the smallest room out of the other attractions. We had to wait over thirty minutes to enter the room where 10-20 Sneetch statues appeared. Mirrors on the wall, however, gave the illusion there were more.
Outside the attractions, event organizers hosted an art gallery of works inspired by Dr. Seuss.
Overall, the rooms were beautifully constructed and inspired some serious nostalgia with many photo opportunities for the young and old.
Although the Dr. Seuss Experience claims to be for the young and young at heart, it might really just be for the young given how many children were present.
