Kringle's Inventionasium Experience (Cleveland) — Attraction in Cleveland

We enjoyed our second year with Mr. Kringle this past Friday, and brought along my nephew for his first experience! My experience was that the customer service before, during, and after was top notch! I purchased early (August I believe) and was entered into a raffle and won a "special gift" for the three kiddos (7, 4 and 2). This was unexpected and appreciated. I didn't purchase the package that included the special gift because I assumed it would be the same gift as last year. It was. The green and blue dragons are adorable and soft. The kids love them. I was afraid that they'd question why Kringle gave them the same thing they got last year, damaging the magical illusion. Thankfully they did not, but I noticed and it diminished the magic a bit for me.

During the experience the chachters/actors were talented, attentive and believeable! I don't recall exact names but Mrs. Goody and the curly-haired elf were my favorites! And Mrs. Claus. And Mr. Kringle, of course! I did feel our experience was a bit crowded and rushed, as opposed to last year. I wasn't a fan of the two stations, really three that seemed to be all together; choosing pieces, constructing pieces, and getting the toy certified. Mrs. Claus had to leave in the middle of certification; bummer. Maybe Kringle could certify next time. This would likely require more time with him but it would truly be "official"!

Mr. Kringle was great and kind and patient. The photographer was also patient with our three littles and 4 adults. I did not feel rushed and appreciated that we could also take personal photos. I would have liked the option to buy additional pieces for the toy the children created, like last year when I purchased the giant bag of colored styrofoam pieces. Perhaps this was in the store and I missed it?

I did purchase an additional photo but did not receive it electronically. I emailed the Elves and the response time was within in moments. Not only did I get a response, but I was emailed several of our photos. My experience with customer service these days seems to lean more toward that the customer is a bother, long wait times or no feasible solution unless you pay additionally. This was not the case with the Elves and Kringle and I so appreciated the kindness, promptness and generosity.

In a rushed world, often times colored with chaos and disregard, this experience provided an opportunity to believe and enjoy some magic - if you let yourself. Thank you for the Christmas memories,...

as i got in the car, i put the very shiny key into the hole, prompting the car to turn on. the engine purred as i proceeded to drive over the curb and drifted out of my driveway. this began our journey to Saint Nicholas's Invention Place. when we got there, we saw some vomit on the sidewalk. nevertheless, we ventured into the building. when we opened the door, a feeling of pure terror filled my body, and tingled my spine. i saw santa and some elves prancing around, showing off a grim smile. nevertheless, we ventured on. after spending $300+, i looked into the empty void that was my wallet. as i looked up, i realized my kid had disappeared. i wandered around the building, shouting for my kid Jason. "Jason! Jason!" i shouted, with nothing but circus music playing in the background, causing my shouts to become unnoticable. as i stepped into santa's funhouse, the stench became unbearable. nevertheless, i ventured on. after hours of seeing slime and mold oozing from every nook and cranney of the walls, i stopped and saw jason, sitting there smiling. i approached him, but quickly, a grim creature fell from the cieling in front of me. a santa, covered in tentacles and teeth, stopped in front of me. i grabbed the nearest candy cane, and got into a gruesome battle with the Horror of the North. in proper dark souls fashion, i dodged all of his attacks, quickly retaliating with an endless battering with the candy cane. santa fell backwards, stunned. i grabbed jason, and sprinted towards the exit, smacking away any tentacles from the elves chasing me. we left the building, jumped into the car, and sped away. the sights and smells of this place still haunts me to this day. i hope...

After going for years including the terrible experience during the closure of tower city/pandemic our family gave then another shot this year. First time we ALWAYS schedule early to avoid difficulty with work schedules and the chaos of downtown. We traveled all the way down just to be told about the email we never received and to reschedule. Paid for parking and had to scramble to figure out how in the world we would make this work for the kids. Not to mention I have a child with a disability who can't always handle the loudness of tower city or understand why Santa doesn't want to see him. So second time we try it's so crowded and overwhelming for even me as an adult that we are refunded because they are packed and take up. Were we late? Sure we were because of a game and than they had the audacity to be rude and say "well we tell you to be an hour early." We did leave early which is lucky with my child actually on his good days. We were told maybe Tuesday we could reschedule which at this point why would I? Who knows if that will be a magical no email and were closed day like it was at the beginning when they first opened or crazy driving. Every year we have always had such a great time and understanding staff. Now I have kids who are not getting to see Santa this year the oldest asking to never return because she is tired of us wasting her time and hurting her baby brothers feelings. Thanks for ruining Christmas we will never return to this waste of space at the mall. Find any of the events with Santa around town especially because they...