Are you a ‘Friends’ superfan? Feel like a member of the cast at this popup in Aventura
Pivot! Piv-otttt!!!!
Fans of the beloved ‘90s sitcom “Friends,” which ran from 1994 for 10 seasons, will recall when this word wasn’t used to transition to your next Zoom meeting.
It of course was a line uttered by a panicked Ross during the hysterical episode “The One with the Cop.” The spendthrift bachelor is moving to a walk-up without having to pay professionals and enlists Chandler and Rachel’s help to carry a couch upstairs, but it’s just not happening. (He eventually saws it in half and attempts to return it to the store.)
Know that episode by heart and every other 235 of them for that matter? The Friends Experience, opening Friday at Aventura Mall, is for you.
Co-created by Warner Bros, the interactive attraction is a superfan’s paradise. You’ll be thrilled by all the set recreations, props, costumes and merch related to the ultimate ‘90s show about six inseparable pals living in NYC.
So go on, pretend to hoist Ross’s couch up a set of stairs in one of the 12 rooms, and get a picture for the ‘Gram. Of course yell “Pivot!” instead of “Cheese!” when you pose.
Speaking of posing, there’s another plush orange couch just like the one the gang sits on during the opening credits that will take you wayyy back. A fountain like the one they all splashed in is right behind you (no water to douse your perfect Rachel hair, though).
You can also relax in Joey and Chandler’s La-Z-Boy recliners in their dingy apartment, complete with foosball table; chill at the crew’s boho coffeehouse, Central Perk; hang out in Monica’s immaculate kitchen and peek out her purple door.
The evocative experience is a lot of fun, and you really feel like you’re an extra on the set. The nostalgia factor is off the charts here, and it’s OK to get a little emotional reliving your younger days sitting carefree in front of the tube.
“Some people cry when they’re here because it feels so real,” says Stacy Moscatelli, CEO of OGX Productions, which mounts this massive installation all over the world in such cities as Amsterdam, Dublin, Detroit and of course, New York. “There is still such a cool emotional tie that viewers have to all of the cast and where the scenes were shot.”
And because reruns are still on constantly, even almost 20 years after it ended, there’s a new multi-generational appeal, with Gen X moms and their TikToking daughters coming together to enjoy it.
“Something about ‘Friends’ was just magic,” Moscatelli says. “It’s like comfort food.”
THE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE
Where: Aventura Mall, 19501 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura, Treats Food Court, Third Level Venue
When: Open Friday through March 24, 2024
Cost: Timed entry tickets from $27.50
www.FriendsTheExperience.com/Miami.
