The Friends Experience in London

As an avid Friends fan, it was in my best interest to go to the Friends Experience. London, baby!

SPOILER ALERT: Don’t continue to read this post if you are intending on visiting the Friends Experience yourself.

My husband absolutely lives by the motto: ‘happy wife, happy life’! He understands better than anyone that when his wife is sick she needs Friends. When she is upset, happy, content, bored, hungry or any other feeling in the world, she needs Friends. She won’t describe herself as being the ultimate fan as this is just weird. And a little sad to be honest. But she is a fan. A massive fan.

The husband truly delivered when he got me tickets to experience the Friends Experience as a Christmas present!

If you know me well, then you’ll know that I live my life through my nails and this experience was no different. You can read on how I created this set of nails by clicking on this link here: Friends experience: nail art

Just to note: there were a lot of people at this experience and where possible I have erased people to protect their identities which might seem like the photos are a bit funny looking (my photoshop skills are ZERO).

The venue and journey

Since the opening of the (now not so) new Elizabeth line getting to the London Excel just got so much more accessible. We hopped onto the Elizabeth line at Paddington station and rode the train all the way to Custom’s House. We got ourselves psyched up to walk a long way to get to the Friends experience from the station’s exit, but in reality this was probably around a 5 minute or so walk. As we alighted at the station we were pretty much already undercover and therefore shielded from the rain as it stops right at the Excel’s main entrance and, as luck would have it, a giant Starbucks. We stopped for an Eggnog and disappointingly left with a Caramel Macchiato – it seems like Eggnog after Christmas is a rarity!

Coffee in hand we made our way towards the Friends Experience that was very well sign posted. Upon our arrival we were told that we were too early and that we had to come back 5 minutes before our slot. We went for a stroll up and down the river, taking in the beautiful views of London, before returning to the entrance. Our disappointment was most likely written all over our faces as the once non-existing queue exponentially grew in size. It really wasn’t that big of a deal as every ticket is timed and therefore they only let you in at the time stamped on your ticket.

The entrance and start of the experience

Our bags were searched by the door before you are allowed to enter the venue. This was quite thoroughly done and we felt reassured of our safety in the current climate we find ourselves in.

We were told to make use of the loos as there won’t be another opportunity to go to the loo until you’ve reached the end of the experience. We were placed in another queue that was moving literally at a snail’s pace. Both my husband and I took turns to go to the loo and upon each of our return, the queue really didn’t move at all. After what felt to be ages it turns out that everyone got their picture taken in front of a giant gold frame (like the one behind Monica’s front door) before being guided into a holding room.

Once they have enough people into the room, they close the doors and play a video narrated by the one and only Janice. Once Janice says her peace, the opposite doors open and just like that (pretend I’m clicking my fingers here) you are in the magical world of Ross and Rachel, Joey and Phoebe, and Monica and Chandler. Living your best life.

Right from the offset you have tonnes of photo opportunities. What I am saying?! The entire experience is one giant photo opportunity!

Rachel and Monica’s apartment

I’ve been so impressed in many ways where the creators of this experience really captured tiny details of the show and snuck those details into each scene, almost like easter eggs. It was so much fun to discover each set. If you know the set well, you could spot some rather iconic scenes within the bigger set that was just delightful!

I loved how the tv was showing the Friends series, but in Spanish with English subtitles. This was so hilarious as Marcel the monkey changed the language on the tv and they couldn’t change it back. Since we went around Christmas time, the entire set was decorated for both Christmas and Thanksgiving. The table in Monica’s apartment groaned under the Thanksgiving food, including the very famous Chanberries!

Hidden in the fridge was Rachel’s trifle and Ross’ very questionable thanksgiving sandwich – I couldn’t see the moist maker in the middle and the ‘turkey’ looked more like a slice of bologna…

Of course we got to sit on the sofas and gaze out the bay window onto the balcony and Ross’ apartment, too. I tried to take a peek into Monica’s locked cupboard, but in true Monica fashion the door was locked.

Joey and Chandler’s apartment

I can legitimately claim that Rosita was super comfy! And she really was placed in an optimal position from Stevie the tv.

Hugsy was a giant! This hugsy was probably 7-foot tall but still oh so huggable. After a game of foosball, a rest on the yellow sofa and writing on the doodle behind the door, it was time to move onto the next part of the experience.

London, baby!

This scene was one of the first scenes in the experience and probably also one of my favourites. I am not going to divulge all the details here as I think some things should just be experienced, but I loved how they incorporated Monica and Ross’ list ticking

Once you step off the ‘plane’ you immediately step into Joey’s map. This has been wonderfully immersive and so well thought through! The real ‘map’ was also on display.

We had a bit of a romantic moment when we stepped into Ross and Emily’s church wedding scene. This was truly stunning and even more beautiful than the actual episode!

Central Perk

I can see why Central Perk was the friends’ favourite hangout! It was spacious, the cakes looked delicious, the cups were huge and the sofa was super comfy! We had so much fun here as we discovered the tray spot, which coffee is decaf (yes, Rachel, it really is on the handle!) and could spend some time on the orange couch with (someone else’s!) coffee.

A trip to Central Perk wouldn’t be complete without trying to recreate Ross punching the pillar when Joey ducked!

Random scenes

Throughout the experience random scenes or storylines were dotted around. I loved the one with Rachel’s letter. The entire 18-page letter has been put on display (front and back!) and in Ross’ defence – it really was just a load of waffle!

One of my favourite scenes is where Chandler finds the cheesecake that was addressed to Mrs Braverman. Instead him and Rachel ate the whole cheesecake and also the subsequent cheesecake that was sent as a replacement. There was a small scene where there was a bit of white schmoosh on the ground. This was supposed to represent the cheesecake, but honestly it hasn’t been done well. What I did like was the poster on the wall introducing the scene.

We had a brilliant opportunity to PIVOT! too but it is a bit of a wait whilst you get the opportunity to admire Pat the dog.

Will I go again?

Yes. No questions asked. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I will definitely do this again, especially at a different time of year when it is perhaps decorated for a different holiday. I think there was some missed opportunities such as the Gellar cup, when Phoebe was in charge of cups and ice, Monica’s race car bed, Ross’ love of palaeontology or a bigger feature of smelly cat. I also felt that there was surprisingly very little of Phoebe other than a couple of bits here and there (her bike in front of Central Perk and her grandmother’s taxi cab was the only real features).

That said, I still loved every moment! Have you been to a Friends Experience? Let me know in the comments.

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