We were lucky enough to visit The One in Birmingham, the FRIENDS Experience at the NEC this week, and just so you know… It is a big deal!
The FRIENDS Experience offers fans a chance to explore some of the most iconic sets from the show, with lots of photo opportunities and exciting exhibits along the way.
Upon entry, we found ourselves at the iconic purple door, where a video played from Janice (Oh. My. God!), telling us what to expect from our trip. We were then given the opportunity to have our picture taken in front of the door, before the group moved on into the wider exhibit.
Next up was the orange sofa from the title sequence. We waited in a short queue with the others from our timeslot (and were never queuing for more than about three minutes for any of the exhibits), before taking our spot on the couch. The staff were lovely and gave us some good ideas on how to pose and took several professional photos.
Between the photo opportunities were a series of displays, including a collection of original costumes from the show, a whole series of props, and even Rachel’s entire letter to Ross, all fourteen pages, ‘FRONT AND BACK!’ laid out for you to read.
After these displays, we found ourselves pushing the sofa up the staircase, like in the famous ‘pivot’ scene, and again we were posed by a very friendly member of staff. Alongside the professional photos, you were welcome to take your own, and we quite often traded phones with the visitors behind us in queues, taking turns to take group photos of one another! There really was a spirit of camaraderie, or one may go as far as saying we made some friends of our own!
The experience also included some iconic featured exhibits, like the holiday armadillo, Ross’s Science Boy comic strip, and all of the Magnadoodles from the show. A clever display mapped all of the the characters’ romantic interests throughout the show, and there was also a display with a list of all the celebrity guest stars, many of which we’d totally forgotten about!
The coolest sets in the experience are of course the apartments. We got to stroll around Monica and Rachel’s huge kitchen, and Chandler and Joey’s cosier apartment.
The recliners were immensely comfortable, and we now understand why the pair spent so much time in them! There was no queue for the apartments, and you were free to explore them and take your own photos. You could even open the fridge in Monica’s kitchen, to discover the dreaded trifle!
We stopped to say hello to a giant reproduction of Hugsy, along with his normal-sized counterpart, before strolling down to Central Perk, where again there were ample photo opportunities, including behind Gunther’s counter and on the stage. We very nearly launched into our own rendition of ‘Smelly Cat’, but figured we didn’t want to scare the other visitors.
The charm of the FRIENDS Experience was absolutely the attention to detail. In between the main exhibits, posters with funny gimmicks from the show, screens showing the best bits, and featured displays on all the characters meant there was always somewhere new to look.
We ended the trip with a quick stop in the gift shop, where visitors are able to buy their professional photographs in print, with yellow frames, or on keychains and magnets. You can also grab a digital download of your photographs for an extra £5. This was the only drawback of the experience – we’d have liked to just purchase the digital package without buying printed versions, but ultimately we walked away with some cracking shots, and you have ample opportunity to take your own photos.
The FRIENDS Experience: The One in Birmingham is at the NEC until the 3rd September, with extra times and dates added to meet the high demand. We had so much fun at the experience, which took around an hour to walk around, and was easy to access from Birmingham International station. If you’re looking for a cracking day out with your lobster, or your friends this summer, tickets are available here – get them while they last!
