MANHATTAN REMAKE
New reasons to see Times Square
Just when you thought Times Square had it all — monster LED billboards, Broadway shows, roaming cartoon mascots, a grown man crooning in his underwear — four new themed attractions have opened near Manhattan’s main tourist drag, all vying for your attention, selfies and dollars.
While the Big Apple is known for its cultural landmarks — the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, to name a few — these pricey newcomers hope to cash in on the city’s record numbers of visitors with immersive and interactive exhibits, engaging and educational virtual displays and, yes, loads of Instagrammable content.
But which, if any, are worth the cost of admission? I spent two afternoons criss-crossing midtown Manhattan to find out. Thankfully, all four sites are within a dozen blocks of each other and each takes two hours, at most, to explore.
GULLIVER’S GATE 216 W. 44th St. Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. US$36, seniors and children ages six-12 US$27, younger free. Buy tickets online and save $5. gulliversgate.com
It’s a small world after all — or at least it feels that way at Gulliver’s Gate, which bills itself as “the most technologically advanced and interactive museum of miniatures on the planet.” Inspired by Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, the whimsical wonderland includes 300 miniature displays of world landmarks and cities, scaled down to 1/87th of their true, towering size. I was mesmerized by the remarkable precision, care and artistry displayed by more than 600 model makers in moulding this tiny, but expansive, 3D universe.
The 4,645-square-metre exhibit space, which is divided by region, is a labour of love inspired by Israeli entrepreneur Eiran Gazit. It cost a whopping US$40 million and took 10 years to complete. While professional model-makers from around the world were tapped to build their respective regions, a small team of in-house professionals maintains the displays and develops new components.
As I moved from room to room, I was transported from the chilly foothills of Sochi, Russia, to the sun-drenched pyramids of Egypt. While most displays are recreations of historical events, such as the salute to the Stonewall Inn in the New York City section, others reflect current events, such as the tribute to the March for Our Lives protest rally in Washington, D.C., in March.
Along the way, visitors use a special souvenir key, which has an RFID sensor, to unlock and activate moving displays, including trains, planes, parades, carousels and even a tiny Loch Ness monster hidden in the depths of the Scottish Highlands. And Nessie’s not the only Easter egg in this high-tech, miniature mecca. Fun characters are sprinkled across the exhibit: Spider-Man hangs from the Brooklyn Bridge; the Beatles cruise along Abbey Road; and Santa Claus disappears into Scandinavia’s skies. Picture an interactive visual adventure, in the vein of Where’s Waldo? and the I Spy book series.
I regretted having to leave this Lilliputian world and return to life-size reality. Part of me wanted to leave a permanent mark on the attraction. For US$44, I could have had a pint-sized version of myself added to one of 20 scenes, thanks to a 3D printer. The Ellis Island model is the most heavily populated by visitors’ mini-me creations, which have been plopped down steadily since the attraction opened last year.
NFL EXPERIENCE TIMES SQUARE 20 Times Square Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. US$34, children ages five to 12 US$29. nflexperience.com
The Monday Night Football jingle is playing on a loop in the lobby, pumping me up like a rookie before game time. OK, ESPN, I’m ready for some football.
Opened last December by the National Football League, in partnership with Cirque du Soleil, this US$40-million, 3,715-squaremetre attraction isn’t a football museum so much as a tribute to the sports juggernaut and its 32 teams. Fans on the first floor flock to a sea of memorabilia, which includes jerseys, signs, helmets and some questionable fan headgear. (I’m looking at you, Buffalo Bills wing heads.) While the display text is mostly promotional and pithy, I did learn some things, such as the fact that the citizens of Green Bay, Wis., have the only communityowned major professional team in the nation: the Packers. The fictional Rod Tidwell jersey in the Arizona Cardinals section — a tribute to the Jerry Maguire character — prompted me to whisper an impassioned, “Show me the money!”