5 reasons to bring your teen to The Office Experience
by Angelyn Kwek
In the immortal words of Michael Scott: “Oh my God, it’s happening! Everybody, stay calm. Stay f**king calm!”
That’s right, The Office Experience has landed in Toronto.
Following its successful staging in Chicago and Washington D.C, the widely-acclaimed sitcom brings its immersive fan experience to our shores where you can make like a Dunder Mifflin employee and re-live your favourite moments from the show.
Between its iconic one-liners and pride of place in pop culture, everyone from Boomers to Gen Z can certainly relate despite the series having ended its run over a decade ago. In fact, the enduring hilarity of the show is such that we couldn’t resist a visit ourselves.
So we moseyed on down to Yorkdale mall, dutifully scrawled our names on our complementary staff badges, and became employees for the day at Scranton’s most renowned paper company.
It’s from personal experience when we say you’ll want to bring your teen (and other assorted household members) to The Office Experience to level up family sitcom night. We give you five reasons why you ought to go ASAP as possible:
The Memory Lane
You start off reminiscing the finest displays of tomfoolery this century has ever seen, courtesy of Jim Halpert. See the original props and costumes right after stepping foot into Scranton Business Park, from the infamous ‘Stapler in Jello’ to a display case dedicated to achievement certifications—Creed’s fancy plaque declaring him a genuine survivor of the 1960s, anyone?—and the all-important Dundie Awards.
Facilities Review
Reasons to bring your teen to The Office Experience
Take a minute (or ten) at Dwight’s Caffeine Corner before entering the Dunder Mifflin office where the entire set has been recreated, right down to the industrial grey carpeting. Try your hand at being a receptionist at Pam’s desk, or gun straight for branch manager by claiming Michael’s seat so you can issue orders while waving around your ‘World’s Best Boss’ mug. And if you’re invested in WUPHF.com, be sure to pop into Ryan’s closet.
Picture Day
There are photo ops aplenty, with a handful of designated spots where you can commemorate iconic scenes with your picture taken by the pros. You’ll be given a card with a handy QR code to capture your re-imagining of Kevin’s Chili Spill, the Office Olympics, and even your dance moves as you shimmy down the aisle at Jim and Pam’s wedding ceremony. After which you can revisit your antics whenever you like and download them with a click of a button.
The Factsheets
Reasons to bring your teen to The Office Experience
Whether you or your teen are walking troves of quotable quotes from The Office or if you need a refresher, references to the show’s best jokes and lines are sprinkled throughout the Experience. For instance, a graph tracking Jim’s pranks over time (FYI, he pulled off the most in season three). There’s even an entire wall charting every single romance and liaison, because who doesn’t need the visual mapping to remind us of all the wacky back-and-forth in Dwight and Angela’s relationship?
The Gift Shop
Of course, no fan experience is complete without merch. Grab yourself and your teen matching T-shirts and caps and a Dwight bobblehead or two. Perhaps a notebook and pen inscribed with the letterhead of ‘The Finer Things Club’ if you’ve always fancied joining Pam, Oscar, and Toby in their exclusive group. You could even go old school with a classic game of Cluedo, The Office edition for all-around family fun or to give away as a present. So go forth and celebrate the beauty in ordinary things.
The Office Experience is open from now till 4 June 2023 at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, 3401 Dufferin Street. Get your tickets here.