Crayola Experience with a Toddler

The Crayola Experience has 4 different locations in the United States. The locations include Easton, PA; Orlando, Fl; Plano, Texas; Mall of America, MN.

Before we get into the details of the Crayola experience I just want to mention that this fun family activity will be a lot more fun for toddlers up to pre-teen depending on personality. Older kids and teens might not be as interested in the activities.

Things to do at the Crayola Experience

Each Crayola Experience location may have different activities available, many of the activities are the same. The activities listed below are those that are available at the Crayola Experience PA.

Activity Studio

This is the perfect area to make colorful crafts. There is a variety of art supplies provided in this area to make a craft. The theme of the craft changes monthly. While we were there the kids got to decorate a knight’s shield.

Adventure Lab

Use tablets to solve colorful puzzles and riddles. We didn’t do this attraction with our kids. Since they are both still in the preschool and toddler age range.

Art Alive!

Create digital artwork and project them onto the wall. We didn’t design anything in this area but the kids loved chasing the artwork that was moving along the wall.

Be a Star

Go to this photo-booth attraction to get a coloring page of yourself. Jared and the little miss did this, the little man didn’t want to stop playing. But when we got to the car he was sad that he didn’t have a coloring page. This is definitely a great attraction for younger kids. 

Colossal Caddy

Coloring pages and thousands of Crayola crayons are available in this area for an awesome coloring experience.

Meet Big Blue!

Big Blue is the largest crayon it is made up of 123,000 blue crayons and weighs 1,500 lbs. The crayon is in a glass case perfect for a photo.

 Cafe Crayola

The Cafe Crayola has a number of different food options perfect for a meal or a snack.

Cafe Stage

The Crayola show teaches about the science and magic of color behind Crayola products. We didn’t make it to any of the shows while we were visiting.

Character Meet-n- Greets

At scheduled times, you can meet larger than life Crayon Characters.

Color Magic

This is an augmented reality experience, where your coloring creation will come to life.

Color Playground

This is a two-story playground that is so fun but can get a little crazy. If it’s a busy day and you have younger toddler age kids I would avoid this and instead go play in the toddler area.

Scribble Square

Around and below the color playground is color square with some cool animals that the kids can use dry-erase markers to color and the floor is a giant chalkboard.

The Crayola Store

The Crayola store is huge with a large selection of products and souvenirs.

Crayon Factory Show

Watch and learn how crayons are made in this live show.

Drip Art

Create melted wax spin-art. This is one of the activities on the 4th floor.

Melt and Mold

Transform your favorite color of crayon into a wearable ring or a race car.

Cool Moves 

Become a Dancing Crayon. When we got to this area there wasn’t anyone so the kids had a blast being dancing crayons. The little man didn’t want to leave this area, he was having so much fun.

Meltdown

Paint with melted wax!

Modeling Madness

Use your tokens to get your favorite color of Crayola’s modeling compound from a vending machine and then have fun sculpting and playing.

Paint Palette

Paint with watercolors, the themes change monthly in this area. We never even saw this area of the building. With how large the building is and its unique layout it’s easy to miss areas.

Rainbow Rain 

This activity over by the Art Alive! and Cool Moves was a lot of fun for our kids. They loved watching the melted wax fall around them as they walked along the wall in this digital activity.

Stop! Skip! Play!

Play games on an interactive floor, this is perfect for little ones.

Toddler Town

This area has a fun climbing area that is perfect for the younger kids and it’s easier for mom and dad to keep an eye on them.

Trading Post

This is a premium craft area where you can make trending crafts like fabric art, sand art and more. There is an additional fee for any of these premium crafts.

Water Works 

The Water Works or crayon boats as my 3 year old calls them is an 85-foot water table attraction. Captain your own toy boat as it splashes through the lock and canal system.

This area is so fun for kids of all ages, but little ones will need help. The table gets a little high in some areas so the kids will need to be held to be able to maneuver their boats.

Also when we visited the crayon boats weren’t colored they were all white. I’m not sure if this is how it always is or not.

Wrap it Up

Name and Wrap your own Crayon. This is a fun little activity where you get to put your name and an emoji you pick onto a crayon label and then wrap your crayon. It makes a  great souvenir.

Tips for visiting the Crayola Experience in PA

Parking

Park in the parking garage behind the Crayola Experience for $3 an hour. It’s easy to access to the Crayola buildings back entrance.

Arrive Early

We ended up getting to the Crayola Experience about 12 pm and it was already crazy busy. Arrive early to avoid the crowds as much as possible.

Buy tickets online

If you purchase tickets online you can avoid a standing in the ticket line which can get long fast. If you get a Groupon deal or have a coupon you need to wait in the ticket line.

Avoid the Weekends if You Can

We visited the Crayola Experience on a Friday and it was so busy I can’t imagine how crazy Saturday and Sunday are. When we go again I plan on visiting on a Tuesday or Wednesday during the school year!

Wear Good Shoes and Play Clothes

Plan on walking up and downstairs. There is an elevator but it always had a line while we were there.

Some of the stations the kids can get a little messy so stick with play clothes that can handle the markers, wax and everything else.

Go to the Top Floor First

The activities on the top floor had the longest lines so head there early to try and avoid the lines. If they are long when you get there you might want to try something else first and see if the line gets shorter later in the day.

There is a Toddler Play Area

We first visited the regular play area which was a little crazy, there were kids everywhere and it was so big you could easily lose a toddler until they eventually climb down or you go up after them.

The toddler play area was a lot less crowded and it was easier to keep an eye on the kids.

The toddler area also had this awesome light bright board, I’m trying to convince Jared he needs to build us one.

Get a smashed penny

A smashed penny is one of our favorite souvenirs. They are cheap and small, so storage is easy. They are also interactive so it’s another activity the kids get to do.

Take the Modeling Compound Home

At the end of our day at Crayola, we got our modeling compound and took it home so the kids could play with it another day.

Plan at least 4 hours

We spent 4 hours at the Crayola Experience and we didn’t do everything. If it’s not a busy day you could probably do everything in about 4 hours. But on busy days you will need a lot of time to do all the activities.

Reasons to Visit the Crayola Experience during off times

There are a few things you can avoid by visiting the Crayola Experience during the off-season or at off times.

Slow lines

While we were at the Crayola Experience the lines moved extremely slow. We spent more time waiting to do the crayon boats than we did for any ride our last trip to Hershey Park. By visiting during off times you should be able to avoid long lines.

Broken Machines

When we went to use the tokens to make our crayons, almost half of the machines were not working. This made the lines a lot longer. Again if there are fewer people it won’t matter how many machines are working.

Reserved Tables

When we went to the cafeteria to eat in the large dining area only 3 tables weren’t reserved. So finding a place to sit and eat was a little difficult. By visiting during a slower time you should be able to easily find a place to sit and enjoy a meal or snack.

Final Thoughts

Overall it was a fun day. The Crayola Experience has so many fun activities and it really is a fun family day trip. We made lots of memories and the kids had a blast.

Have you ever visited the Crayola Experience? What did you think?

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