HERO — Attraction in New York

If you’re a parent of a toddler looking to enjoy the Hero NYC Sleepy Hallow Experience, here’s a heads up based on our recent visit. We live in Midtown and love exploring NYC’s kid-friendly events with our 3-year-old, sharing our favorites with our online community of over 100K followers, even collaborating with many.

Having truly enjoyed this space in the past on a Saturday, we were excited to return after its Halloween transformation. However, we encountered a very different experience this time around.

The bouncy house and ball pit—expectedly popular spots—were overrun by older kids (around 6 years old) playing rough and wildly, with no supervision or time limits. This left no room for younger children like ours to play safely. We took turns with our little one in the bouncy house before deciding it was too much. Similarly, at the ball pit, older kids were throwing balls and jumping wildly, while many parents were too distracted to intervene. We also witnessed other families with younger children express the same sentiment.

Appalled, I decided to speak to a manager (something I’m usually reluctant to do, especially with my background in hospitality), but felt obliged to. Unfortunately, we were told nothing could be done. Understanding that kids will be kids, but still feeling disappointed because we wasted our time, energy & money, we decided to leave only an hour after we entered. Thankfully, a visit to American Girl turned our day around, but we wanted to share our experience so other parents with toddlers know what to expect & we truly hope they make the experience suitable for ALL AGES...

This felt like a waste of $44 dollars. The experience does a very good job at advertising itself for people of all ages, but I would argue without a child under 6 years old the experience was a bit of a scam. The magical train and "charming train conductor" was a 2 minute brief to the space. Upon seeing a screen in the train room I thought there was going to be some sort of video that played to take us to the experience... but no. Just a two minute brief about it being self guided and to follow the path. The cozy mountain chalet with treats would have been great had prices been more reasonable or treats been complimentary. The Museum of Ice Cream, which is roughly the same price as this experience, offers several complimentary treats. Having to pay an additional 20+ dollars to enjoy a drink and snack was not worth it. And the interactive Northern Lights room was so unrecognizable compared to the advertisement that the person I went with and I did not realize that space was the Northern Lights until we had left.

I will say kuddos to the wishing tree moment. It was the only moment that felt magical. The best part of the entire experience was chatting with the individual in the store for a moment while purchasing a book. In and out in 8 minutes.

TLDR - save your money and go to Mercer Labs or the Museum of Ice Cream if you are only going with adults or older children. Better interactive experiences, which are actually worth your...

I rarely ever write a review. And when I do, it is usually to praise the establishment I visited. However, after the experience I had, I have nothing to express but frustration and regret.

My friend and I bought tickets to the BLOOM event and arrived at the exact time and location listed on the ticket. Upon arrival, the entrance doors were locked. Only 40 minutes later did a single staff member notify us that the space was not open.

My question is: why sell tickets for a time and day with no intention of running the event?

I reached out through email in hopes of reaching a reconciliation, but have to yet to hear back.

Honestly, I’m not even trying to be petty. I hope this review serves as a warning to anyone interested to take their money elsewhere. The lack of communication is horrendous and such a shame for what was going to be a beautiful evening. Don’t be like me and spend your hard earned money at any other experience...