Meow Wolf Denver Review
By Sydney Corra
DENVER- Over the weekend a group of friends and I had the pleasure of visiting the newly opened Meow Wolf Denver. For those who aren’t aware, Meow Wolf is an interactive, psychedelic art exhibit. Any written description will not be successful in portraying the expansiveness and oddity of the exhibit. It truly was something else. That said, there are plenty of things to be interpreted and reviewed… so here is my take.
“Meow Wolf: Convergence Station is a massive, 90,000 square foot narrative art exhibition built around the concept of quantum travel. Guests will explore four floors and more than 70 immersive, interactive installations designed by more than 300 creatives, including more than 110 Colorado-based artists…At night, Meow Wolf will host events and concerts out of the Perplexiplex, a 488-person immersive performance venue outfitted with interactive tech and projection equipment,” (Donahue 2021).
Right off the bat- the process of attending the exhibit is a little intimidating. Most of the desirable time slots are booked up, so my friends and I went at noon. So if your trying to have a night out- plan in advance. Tickets were $32, so more than a trip to the local art museums, but less than most Vegas attractions.
The drive to the location is pretty neat. If you’re similar to me and you like seeing interesting landmarks and taking unusual routes downtown then you’ll enjoy navigating to Meow Wolf. It’s especially cool for tourist because you get to drive right next to Empower field to get to the location. The building is tightly wedged in between I-25 and Colfax Ave.- both elevated roads. So the building sticks up halfway making the top half visible only from above as your driving in on I-25 and the bottom half being revealed as you arrive and search for parking.
Another thing to consider is parking. The parking lot was pretty jammed packed but we were all able to find spots. It cost $10 to park for 12 hours which is pretty good!
Walking up I was a little surprised. The past two years I’ve been used to everything being super low key because of COVID. Less people, more spacing, limited capacity. That was not the case here. There was a giant line. Thankfully, since we reserved our time, we were able to enter right away. We did have to wear masks though…which I’ll talk more about later.
Upon entering, the crowds do not dissipate. In fact, it was the most people I’ve seen in an enclosed space in years. When you walk in theres all these different avenues you can go down. Which was also a bit strange because no one approached us to tell us where to go. Maybe we looked a little unapproachable. After all, we were dressed up for my friends birthday. Actually, if I had to give one tip to people going it would be to DRESS COMFORTABLY. I’ll explain later.
Once you get past the entrance and into the actual exhibit, you are suddenly transported into another dimension. One only familiar to imaginative children and seasoned psychonauts. You can skip the mushrooms and buy a ticket to Meow Wolf if you’re looking for a mind bending experience. I won’t reveal too much here because that would be criminal. But I would describe it as an endless maze of colors, lights, shapes, textures, objects, creature, themes and sounds. Some spaces hectic and others peaceful, you won’t feel like they missed anything and you’ll leave having some sort of an idea on what inter dimensional time travel would be like.
While venturing through the massive structure, it’s important to stay present and calm. There were so many people jam packed in there. It was difficult to see everything as thoroughly as I would've liked because of that. You will not be alone in any space. If you want to take pictures I would suggest bringing a professional camera- its probably the only way people will consider not walking in front of your photo. Bring a breezy mask, and stay away if you’re claustrophobic. Breathing becomes a little difficult as you squeeze through tight spaces side by side strangers in hot rooms.
This is where dressing comfortably comes into play. I was jealous seeing all the children running around in their tennis shoes, jumping and climbing effortlessly in each of the rooms as I was wearing my night out clothes. Makeup is unnecessary when you’re oohing and awing for 4 hours straight with a mask on while sweating. It’s not a space to be posh and instagrammy. Well it could be, but not if you want to have the best experience possible. Next time- I’m going in leggings, tennis shoes and a t-shirt…maybe consuming a little cannabis before too.
I gave up on trying to take pictures pretty quickly. It was too much of a distraction. I wanted to experience everything, and you will too once you realize how endlessly new things appear. Another huge tip is to go with people who have good energy! And, who aren’t overwhelmed by lots of people. You’re better off going alone if you’re going to be with people who are complaining and unwilling to tap into their inner child.
This may seem like an extensive review, but after all- this exhibit is only a replica of the original Vegas location. It is clearly the type of thing that would be in Vegas. It’s very touristy and family friendly but meant to be unforgettable. It’s a spectacle and should be treated as such. Which I wish I would’ve known before hand. Go! And be ready to have fun.