The new season of Stranger Things has finally been released after almost three years, and it is an understatement to say everyone has been excited!
With Stranger Things being one of Netflix’s highest-grossing series, there is no surprise they have created some exciting events and pop-ups to make us Stranger Things fans feel at one with the mystery of the Upside Down.
So, Stranger Things tweeted coordinates in multiple cities, with one of these being London. What was it, you say? I turned up to investigate.
I showed up early, and was greeted with what seemed to be a door into the ‘Upside Down’. Before the pop-up even opened, the queue reached a two-hour wait and only got longer. It was full of Stranger Things fans, wearing iconic ‘Hellfire’ shirts, merchandise and anticipating what exactly was behind the portal-like door
While fans waited patiently in the queue, there was a group of Mac workers making their way down the line. They were offering 80s themed makeup, so we could all live our best Stranger Things lives.
They used the new collection, which was actually a collaboration with Stranger Things too!
Inside the Stranger Things Upside Down
After waiting in the line for a couple of hours, we finally made it to the front. We were handed an old fashioned flash light and were wished ‘good luck’ before being ushered through the gate and into literal darkness.
Inside, it seemed as if we were in the Upside Down! There were vines all around us, and we slowly made our way through the darkness, eventually faced with a dark and misty diner. An actor jumped out, wearing a protective overall and a mask. He queried our group, and checked our hands and pupils, before telling us we were unfortunately effected.
We then had to hide, we were pushed into a photobooth and we were in complete darkness. I was anticipating a demogorgan would jump out of the shadows. Instead, we were greeted by a woman in a Surfer Boy Pizza outfit, and creepy special effects makeup. She pulled the curtain open, and our terrified reactions were photographed by the photo booth.
Despite the Surfer Boy Pizza worker being extremely scary, she did hand us all free pizza, and the man in protective gear moved us on and away from the abandoned diner. We were photgraphed after making our way out of the experience in one piece and alive, and were back in the real world after surviving the almost too realistic experience.
The exclusive pop-up only took place in London from 27 to 29 May, with the lines reaching up to a seven-hour wait.
I am very thankful I got to experience the pop-up, and I can safely say I survived the Upside Down after learning from the teens of the Stranger Things world over the last four seasons.