Guests won’t find artifacts of the past at this museum. Instead, visitors to one of the Museum of Ice Cream’s locations will find something sweeter: Instagram-friendly photo ops, whimsical slides, and the famous “sprinkle pool.”
Museum of Ice Cream recently opened their newest location in Las Vegas, marking the latest opening of the experiential entertainment chain, which spans from coast-to-coast in America, as well as a sister location in Singapore.
“When we first opened, Museum of Ice Cream was simply an experiment,” Manish Vora, CEO and co-founder, tells IAAPA News. “We asked: what if joy, design, creativity, and ice cream could live at the center of a cultural experience for all ages?”
The first museum opened in New York City in 2016. Its sold-out success paved the way for international expansion.
“When our first New York pop-up sold out in 2016, and we had a 5,000-person line on opening day, it became clear that people were craving shared experiences just as much as the product itself,” Vora continues.
Museum of Ice Cream offers a way for visitors at popular tourist centers—whether in New York, Chicago, or Miami—a way to come together and live in a shared experience.
“Our goal isn’t to have guests passively consume an experience; it’s to invite them into it,” Vora explains. “Every experience is designed to encourage participation, interaction, and connection with the people around you.”
The vision of the Museum of Ice Cream offers a differentiator to help it stand out amidst a crowded entertainment landscape. The Las Vegas location is the largest yet, with an all-you-care-to-eat ice cream buffet, an ice cream-tasting magic show, and, since it’s Vegas, a chapel for weddings decked out in the brand’s signature pink tones.
“You’re creating memories, rather than simply viewing exhibits,” Vora says. The latest location allows Vora to implement key learnings from the last batch of establishments. They’re lessons that can be imparted to the next location, and to attractions operators worldwide.
“The biggest lesson is that people remember how an experience makes them feel more than what they saw,” Vora says of the emotional importance. “Great attractions create emotional connection, not just visual spectacle.”
Vora also highlights the importance of guest participation and creating destinations that allow guests to interact with.
“We’ve also learned that guests want to be active participants,” Vora explains. “Designing for interaction, hospitality, and continuous evolution has been key to our growth, and those principles will only become more important as experiential entertainment continues to evolve.”
Museum of Ice Cream recently joined IAAPA as a new member. This, as the operator readies their next location just down the street from IAAPA’s Global Headquarters in Orlando. It’s the next step in the company’s strategy.
“IAAPA is our industry Super Bowl, and we first turned to the organization as we expanded our playzones within the museum to find vendors,” Vora says. “As Museum of Ice Cream has grown into a global experiential entertainment brand, IAAPA has naturally become an important part of the industry conversation. We’re excited to join a community that’s shaping the future of attractions.”
IAAPA brings the attractions industry together, to create memorable moments. “It’s an opportunity to share what we’ve learned about designing experiences centered on joy and human connection while learning from operators who continue raising the bar across the industry,” Vora says.
