The Franklin Institute, Pennsylvania, United States

4PiperNYC 5:00 PM Mar 12, 2023

Disney exhibit was great, but a bit crowded
This review is just for the Disney 100 special exhibit evening hours. We had a 6:30pm entry. When I called on the phone, they said the exhibit takes about 90 minutes and that it closes at 8:00pm. It does take time to get into the actual exhibit since they let a few people into the exhibit at a time. I think we waited 15-20 minutes. However, this meant that we didn't technically have 90 minutes to see the exhibit. I was done before 8:00pm anyway, but I'm curious how long they let people stay (it didn't seem like they were going to kick everyone out at 8:00pm). I attended a sold out time slot and there were too many people in the first few rooms. They do let small groups in at a time to space people out, but it's difficult when everyone is trying to read the same couple of signs. I ended up skipping most of the signs in the first room becuase it was too hard to read them. After the first few rooms, people naturally spread out since the rooms are larger and there's more to see. The exhibit was well done and it was great to see so many pieces from the Disney archives. As others have said, while there are some interactive elements, it's not designed for kids (which may be confusing to some, since it's in a children's museum). It takes about 60 minutes if you're not reading/listening to everything. But I think 90 minutes seems average. I could see spending 2 hours in there if you wanted to do everything, but I found it was a lot to take in in one visit (besides the crowds in the first few rooms). The merchandise in the gift shop at the end wasn't strong... I was surprised! A few Disney 100 exhibit items, but mostly Disney stuff you can also get elsewhere (so not exclusive to the exhibit).

4Pyrochicky 5:00 PM Apr 14, 2022

Great Experience
Went to the museum on 4/14/22, a weekday during spring break. The line to get in was a bit long right when they opened, but it moved quickly. The layout was hard to understand with so many people in line for the Harry Potter exhibit. We were able to experience the whole museum in a few hours we were there before our timed entry to the exhibit. Def geared towards children 13 and under. My girls 9 and 11 loved the climbing structure in the Brain exhibit area. Harry Potter, plan days if not weeks in advance for tickets. Order online ahead of time. They sell out quickly. you will not get in until your exact timed entry time. It was crowded, but not terrible. We were able to see and experience the whole exhibit without much issue. I read a lot of previous reviews that a lot of the things weren't working, the only thing not working were the crystal balls in the one classroom. Other than that my harry potter fanatics had a blast. My 11 year old is obsessed and she loved every second of it. My 9 year old isn't as much into it as the older one and she still loved all the different things to do. Lots of movie props, extra info, and interactive things to do. We did it in around an hour. if it's a warm day bring a change a clothes there's a splash pad on Logan Square by the little cafe, there's a huge fountain too, but lots of homeless people were in it cooling off so we opted for the spalsh pad right past the fountain