Nov 2, 2020

Event Review: Los Angeles' Stranger Things The Drive Into Experience

By Michelle Mallek

Halloween I was able to travel back in time to the 80s in Hawkins, Indiana, and was not disappointed. If you are a Stranger Things fan you have to go to THE STRANGER THINGS DRIVE-INTO EXPERIENCE! From the moment you enter the parking lot you feel like you are transported to the show and the 80s. You initially pull up to StarCourt Mall and have time to munch on some food and snacks. During this time you get to jam out to some awesome 80s tunes and you might see a familiar character or two from the show.

The actors for the characters were spot on. You could instantly tell who was who from the show. They were interacting with the cars and did a good job of roaming around the parking lot. Even the people you were ordering food from were in character and interacting with you. Then it was time to enter the experience. They used a parking garage for the different parts of the show, which I thought was genius! What a great idea to use a compact space and still have room for different scenes.

You watched 3 different scenes that were all inspired by season 3; they took place in a Russian lab and the upside down. The amount of detail that went into each scene was 5-star quality. There was never a point during the whole event that you felt like you were just driving from one spot to another. Between the lights, signs, and the music playing you felt like you were in the show the whole time. The upside down was probably my favorite part.

You can tell they really planned and thought this out. This was not just thrown together quickly to give people something to do. Even the traffic cones were dressed to play the part. It’s little details that make it a true experience. A montage of scenes was played at two of the scenes and it just made me want to rewatch the series again. I would recommend watching season 3 before going if you haven’t already.

It did not matter where your car was at each part or what kind of car you were in. I drove it with a corolla and had no problem getting in on the action. They made sure to have enough screens and actors to make sure everyone could see what was going on. I would say the only thing I was let down about was the lack of demogorgons. There were some but I was hoping for more.