Is The Museum of Ice Cream in NYC Worth Visiting?
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This month, I went to the Museum of Ice Cream in New York City. I’d seen it all over social media before, and I was a bit intrigued by it. My younger sister really wanted to go, so my brother and I took her during her spring break. This was not a cheap activity to do in the city, but I sucked it up and I hoped it would at least be kind of worth it.
Getting Tickets
We bought tickets online, but we got them when we were already at the door. You can absolutely buy them further in advance, but we didn’t because we weren’t entirely sure what time we would actually get there since we had been spending time in Brooklyn.
The tickets were very easy to purchase on our phone. We got general admission tickets for 5pm, which was only a couple of minutes away. The ticket for me was $48 after taxes and fees. However, tickets can be more or less depending on what day and time you go. I hoped that the supposed “free” ice cream inside would make up for the steep ticket price.
My brother covered his ticket and my sister’s ticket. He added on one drink token to his ticket for $16.33. There were other things you could add on like a themed sundae served in a Museum of Ice Cream bowl you could take home.
Going Through The museum
The Museum of Ice Cream started off well enough. In the very first room, we were offered ice cream. That ice cream was delicious, and it had me looking forward to what was to come. The room was small but decorated in pretty pinks with ice cream accents on the walls. There was seating to enjoy your ice cream, or you could stand.
In this room, my brother was able to redeem his drink token. He got an espresso martini, and he said it was excellent. I hoped it would be good for his sake given the high price for us to go into this place LOL.
Inside this room, there was also a tiny stage with a microphone. It made for a nice little photo opportunity.
As far as I could tell, the next room didn’t really have anything to do. It seemed to be just something to look at. Maybe another photo opportunity? It was literally just a table with fake treats on it.
The next room was designed like a kitchen. It was a large-scale play kitchen, which is great for young children.
Next up were more treats: little popsicles. I got a pink lemonade one and it was honestly really good. 10/10 would eat again.
Then, it was off to the subway car room. This seemed to be a popular spot for photos. There was video on the back wall to make it seem like the subway car was traveling.
After the subway car, we walked through a maze of hanging bananas to get to the next section. Unique and a nice photo or video opportunity.
After the bananas, we came to a room that was lined with pink mini fridge doors. Behind the doors were activities and fun facts about ice cream. Some of the doors had secret rooms behind them.
Before heading to the next area, there was a cute little photo opportunity featuring a banana.
The next room had a wall full of magnets that you could rearrange to spell out anything you wanted.
After the magnet wall, we came upon another ice cream station. This spot had a lot of unique flavors, but I went with plain ole cookie dough. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it. I thought it tasted weird. But, I think it might have been because the ice cream scoop wasn’t thoroughly rinsed between scoops and it might have had the remnants of one of the weird flavors on it. My sister and I both made our brother eat our ice creams from this station.
Then we came to the first portion of the museum that actually seemed to resemble a museum (or at least my idea of one). Up until this point, it had felt more like an experience than a true museum. The mini fridge section definitely had information, but it was really hard for me to really check anything out because there were a lot of children in this space when we were in there.
In this room, there were a lot of ice cream related items on display from various points in history. This was something that truly interested me. I took the time to look at all of the different things and read about them.
There was also a display about ice cream flavors and types in this room.
From this room, you’ll continue on through the rainbow hallway. This was a great spot for a photo.
At the end of the rainbow hallway, you’ll find a slide. My sister did the slide while my brother and I took the elevator down. My sister said the slide was fun. The elevator was as slow as molasses. It was so slow that I thought we had gotten stuck. A woman in the elevator informed us that it was just really slow as she had been in it before.
Then we come upon another treat station. This one featured a bagel with cream cheese gelato. I passed on this, but my brother got one. He’s not picky, but I could tell he wasn’t wowed by it at all.
In this particular room, it was essentially just a play area. There were games, swings, a small ball pit, and more. There were also spaces for adults to sit back and relax while their children played.
Then, the museum ended with the famous sprinkle pool. To go in, no shoes were allowed. It was pretty large with “diving boards” and a slide to go down. There was even a small “adults only” section to the left. Personally, you couldn’t pay me to go in this thing. But, my sister did go in and take a couple trips down the slide.
Is The Museum of Ice Cream Worth It?
It depends. If you have children, I’d say it’s definitely worth visiting. I felt that this museum was extremely child-oriented. There were so many different things for kids to do throughout. If you have teens, I think it might be less of a hit. Although, teens might like taking photos and videos throughout for their social media. Older teens will likely get bored though.
If you’re planning to go with just adults, I can’t really say that I think it’s worth it. I know a lot of adults come here for the photo opportunities, but the steep ticket price just for pictures isn’t really worth it. Not much in this place is geared towards adults. I think what they do have for adults is meant for the parents to enjoy (like the alcohol) while their kids enjoy the museum. I can see a family with kids spending a significant amount of time in here.
If photo opportunities are what you’re after, there are so many better places that are free like Central Park. There are also outdoor art installations throughout the city that are great for photos. Or, for about the same price as admission to the Museum of Ice Cream, you could go to the top of one of the many observatories around the city for iconic New York City photos. Personally, I think this would be better if you’re an adult without children.
I was hoping that the ice cream at the Museum of Ice Cream would make it worth it for me, but unfortunately that just wasn’t the case. I would have preferred to get really good ice cream at one of the many ice cream spots in the city. I would have spent less and probably enjoyed it more. I had high hopes after the ice cream in the beginning, but then it went downhill after that.
I would honestly take my kids here just for all those cute photo ops! Haha! Great post!
Totally fair, my sister was all over those!! It’s definitely a fun place to bring kids!