Spearheaded by installations such as Omega Mart in Las Vegas and Otherworld in Columbus, these unique attractions were popular enough to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, Omega Mart owner Meow Wolf opened a new permanent installation in Texas just two months ago.
However, before Otherworld and Omega Mart, one Cleveland attraction has existed in this space before the term immersive experience was even coined: Kringle’s Inventionasium.
For nearly 20 years, this Christmas-themed experience has mixed holiday magic and STEM, as guests explore Santa’s workshop and invent their very own toy. Each room in the attraction is filled with decorations and actors to immerse guests in the experience.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
The attraction was created by Jimmy Langa, who called it “not only a labor of love, but a lifetime passion.”
Growing up, Langa would create basement haunted houses and large tabletop Christmas displays. As he got older, he even decorated local businesses and churches for the holidays.
After graduating college, Langa was hired by Cleveland’s Tower City shopping center to create the complex’s Christmas experience. “We really wanted to try to create a unique event that would put Tower City on the map,” said Langa. “We want to bring a little bit more whimsy, a little bit of fantasy, and try to offer more of a high end experience for people that really wanted authentic magic brought back into the Santa experience.”
After some time, the education-meets-fantasy experience Kringle’s Inventionasium was born, holding its first season in 2007.
Originally featuring an open-floor, exhibition-style layout, Kringle’s Inventionasium shifted closer to the modern idea of an immersive experience as the years went on, with multiple, highly-themed rooms.
“We’ve worked really hard on covering every square inch of that facility and really trying to hone in on the theming and the details over the years,” said Langa. “We’re trying to really make it a authentic visual presentation to where you really do feel like you’ve been transported out of Tower City and into this fantastical land up north.”
Guests begin the 60-minute experience inside a mysterious corridor, before being transported to the North Pole. After their arrival, guests are told how Santa needs a new, innovative toy. This is followed by a science demonstration, where people witness a “scientific breakthrough.”
After this, guests are given the chance to conceptualize their ideas for a new toy in the Brainstorming Department, with the assistance of Santa’s helpers.
Visitors then go through the process of designing the toy in the I.D.I.D.I.T Design Studio, building the invention in the Whatchamacallit Workshop and showcasing their creation in the Grand Invention hall.
The children’s experience is then capped off with a private visit to Santa Claus himself, where guests can show off their creation and snap a photo with Mr. Kringle.
Once their time at the North Pole is complete, guests get to take their creation home with them as a souvenir.
“From our cheapest classic ticket to the VIP tickets, everything includes what you would need to have a wonderful time,” said Langa.
Kringle’s Inventionasium has proved popular enough to return every year since its creation, with few exceptions. As with many businesses, the attraction was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The building housing the Inventionasium also faced severe flood damage the following year, causing the experience to be cancelled in 2021.
However, the attraction returned in full for 2022, and has since remained opened. The brand even recently expanded, adding a Seattle location this year.
Langa and his company, the Mr. Kringle company, are also developing a family-friendly Halloween counterpart to Kringle’s Inventionasium.
“We’ve garnered so much support from Tower City itself, Bedrock Detroit [owners of Tower City] and the neighboring communities and audiences that support what we do.”
HOW TO GO
What: Kringle’s Inventionasium
When: Select dates through Dec. 24
Location: 230 W. Huron Road, Cleveland
More info: mrkringle.com
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