A Visit to the PEZ Visitor Center

PEZ Visitor Center

Avery is a PEZ fiend. She loves those little candies, but I think she loves the fun dispensers even more. he’s been growing her collection for a couple years now, and this weekend we surprised her with a trip to the PEZ Visitor Center in Orange, CT (just outside New Haven, ad right off I-95)

We didn’t tell her where we were going, and when we arrived, and she saw the giant PEZ candy sign she was speechless! We walked inside and purchased out tickets. Tickets are $4 for Children ages 3-12 (and seniors) and $5 for adults. Children under 3 are FREE. Super reasonable, AND with your admission you receive a $2.00 credit on your receipt good toward any merchandise purchase valid on the same day visit, souvenir PEZ lanyard and opportunity to win a free PEZ dispenser!

The Close-Up Contest (to win a PEZ Dispenser) was a great way to explore the visitor center. It ensured that we checked out every display, and gave Avery a mission, which kept her from getting bored, or begging to just buy something from the gift shop. These games change regularly, and are easy enough for kids, but also offer a fun challenge for the grown-ups!

Avery had a blast checking out the displays, searching for the contest dispensers, and learning a bit about the history of PEZ!

Of course some of our favorite displays were the Disney dispensers, and the sports dispensers! I loved seeing the classic Disney characters, including some that were a bit more obscure. Avery was thrilled to see the original Jungle Book represented, since the film is her latest movie obsession!

If you visit during the week, you will have the opportunity to see the factory at work! While we didn’t get to see them actually making the PEZ, we did get to peek into the facility through large windows as well as watch a video on how PEZ are made!

Another fun activity was the PEZ dispenser personalization station! Avery chose a cool truck dispenser and got to work adding her own beautiful artwork.

We had a lot of fun exploring, and learning about the history of PEZ, and seeing some pretty cool dispensers.

We couldn’t leave without taking advantage of the great photo opp. Because, “You’re not famous until they put your head on a PEZ Dispenser!” And, we had make a few purchases as well….

We loved that we could fill a bucket with our favorite flavors of PEZ and try some new ones as well. (We loved the Cola, but were not fans of the Sour Watermelon!) For $5.99 it was a pretty good deal!

We each picked out a new PEZ Dispenser (which will go to Avery’s collection) With our $6 credit, our total purchase (5 PEZ dispensers and the bucket of PEZ Candy) was only $8! And we received 2 free dispensers for completing the contest! (We could have gotten 3, but didn’t want to be greedy haha)

So, in total, our visit cost less than $20!

We had a great visit, we felt OK about the hour and a half drive from Providence, since Avery is such a big fan. The drive was brutal (traffic!!) but Avery’s excitement made it worth it. We spent about an hour (It would have been longer had we gone on a day when they were manufacturing) at the PEZ Visitor Center. However, for most people, I think it’s better suited as (and definitely worth) a stop, if you’re passing through the area.