Come with me and you’ll be
– Song from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory*
In a world of pureimagination …
To celebrate my birthday this year, I wanted to go somewhere that was different, yet fun and exciting. I heard about Candytopia from posts on social media and pictures from some of my Instagram friends, who had visited previously. So, I thought that this would fit the bill nicely and it would give the feeling of being in a candy factory. From what I read, and from the pictures I saw, all of the art pieces were made of candy and all I could think about was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I mean who wouldn’t want to visit his factory? Going here would make the inner child in me very happy (cue the Pure Imagination song from Willy Wonka lol…)
Are you feeling nostalgic enough yet? Hopefully, you see where my excitement was coming from.
Since this visit was going to be in the middle of the day, during the work week, I asked if any of the girls were available to go and fortunately, Sharaine and Krystal said they wanted to. So, this became
Candytopia is located in Buckhead, across from Phipps Plaza, in the Target/Publix shopping plaza. Parking is free and that is always a good thing. Our tickets were bought online, through the link that they have available on their Facebook page. I am not sure if tickets can be purchased on site, to be honest, I didn’t see an area outside where you could purchase tickets, but, I really wasn’t paying that much attention (sorry).
The ticket takers stand at the door and ask you to pull up the link from your phone so that they can scan it. Once your tickets are scanned, you enter into an area where workers give you an overview of things to know. After they finish, you enter the doors of Candytopia and begin your magical journey. You get to go through the museum at your own pace, but, you do begin with a group of people.
Each art piece has a plaque next to it that tells you what type of candy is used to make the piece, how many pieces of candy it took to create the item and how long the artist spent making it. They had sculptures and portraits all made of some variation of sweet treats (and no, you cannot take a bite of anything). As you go through the exhibits, you’ll see a treasure chest in each room filled with candy that you can take. But, don’t get too excited at this because you can only take a few pieces. Some of the highlights on the museum for me were the marshmallow pit (it was quite interesting, to say the least), the Frida Khalo portrait, the giant sphinx, and the unicorn/pigs room. What was interesting with the unicorn/pigs room was that the pigs shot confetti out of their rear-ends. At first, I thought that was cool but then I really thought about it and it was so weird lol. Nevertheless, when you enter this room just be prepared for the confetti rainfall.
One super important thing to note for anyone visiting here is to use the restroom prior to arriving because you won’t reach the restroom until you’re in the middle of the museum. Also, I recommend going early when the crowds aren’t super large. We were able to move through it freely without feeling like it was too many people there. I read reviews from some people that said it was crazy packed in the afternoon and evenings. So, if you go during those times, and it’s packed like a can of sardines, you can’t say you weren’t warned.
Overall, I thought Candytopia was worth the visit. Kids would find it a lot more interesting, magical, and fun than adults probably would. If you’re thinking about visiting keep in mind that Candytopia is a traveling museum so, it will not be in Atlanta for very long. I think it’ll be here until the end of July 2019. So, if you get a chance to visit while it’s here, do it.
Candytopia is the only place I would likely make friends with a yummy blue shark, Lol.
Source:
*Pure Imagination – Willy Wonka (Song by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse)
Author:
I am a mother and this helped me!
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