I was super-excited when The Friends Experience was announced it was coming to Birmingham and me and Dad went to check it out.
The Friends Experience: The One In Birmingham is taking place inside the NEC in Birmingham and is running until 3rd September. One of my friends had posted on Facebook when they went to the event in London a few years ago so I was very much looking forward to the Birmingham one and it didn’t disappoint.
We also paid for VIP passes as I wanted to get the fan pack and also a digital copy of the photos taken around the attraction to print off and keep. You are also given a VIP lanyard as well as 20% of the Friends store at the end of the attraction which has some great souvenirs.
There is also a queue-jump for the VIP passes but as we went on a Friday it wasn’t too busy so we didn’t really bother using that.
The Sets
The Friends Experience has recreations of many of the sets from the show and it is definitely a great experience to stand inside the sets.
The attraction has the iconic sofa in front of the fountain from the title sequence, as well as Joey and Chandler’s and Monica and Rachel’s apartments and Central Perk which are all accurately recreated with plenty of photo opportunities.
Each set did have a queuing system in place but you were let in in groups and there was no rush to move you on so you had plenty of time to check each set out. The staff also allowed each group to take a photo of the empty set before entering which was a nice touch and were very happy to take photos for you. This was great as it was only me and my dad who went to we had some nice pictures together as well.
Here are some of our photos from the sets:
Photo Ops
As well as the actual sets, there are a few photo ops throughout the attraction where you can get your picture taken in a few iconic Friends moments. These are:
- The orange couch at the fountain in the title sequence.
- The sofa from the “Pivot” scene in “The One With The Cop”
- The Monica’s door scene from “The One With The Late Thanksgiving”
- Pat The Dog which you can sit on which Chandler and Joey famously rode on in “The One With The Embryos”.
The photos are available on a QR code for VIP pass holders which we can then download, though you also have the option at the end to scan the come and purchase some prints of them.
The Props
In between the sets there are also a variety of props and costumes from the show which many fans would love to see.
There was too many things to mention in here but iconic props and costumes included:
- Rachel’s veil from the pilot episode (also called The One Where It All Began)
- The cheesecake that fell on the floor in The One With All The Cheescakes
- Rachel’s meaty trifle from The One Where Ross Got High
- Also on the wall you will see Rachel’s 18 page letter from The One With The Jellyfish and Science Boy from The One With The Mugging.
Here are a couple of photos of these.
Overall The Friends Experience is a fantastic day out for any fan of the show and I would recommend checking it out. The One in Birmingham is on until the 3rd September and you can book your tickets here.