Burning Up With Excitement...Thanks To Fever!

For a person who loves to try new things and is all about an experience, I was shocked that I didn't know about the Fever app sooner. I was always the one doing research and coming up with suggestions for the next activity - so I was pleasantly surprised when my friend Ben told me about the app a couple of years ago. 

If you are not familiar with Fever, it's a platform where you can purchase tickets to various events, museums, exhibits, food experiences, etc. - basically it's a collection of activities in the area near you. Some of them are exclusive to Fever, like their Candlelight Music series, while others are just discount offers on entry tickets, like the Museum of Sex. 

Over the past two years, I have purchased tickets to a variety of the experiences provided by Fever. Below you will find an overview of the different events, plus a grade my husband and I gave to each. There has definitely been a mix in the quality and enjoyment we have gotten out of these activities - some have been amazing and others were definitely overpriced and disappointing. 

Overall I would recommend using the app, as it offers access to an excellent variety of experiences you can't find anywhere else. Just be sure to read the reviews and look at the prices before deciding if a specific event is worth the investment. Also, if you use the app frequently you receive a percentage of each purchase back in "credits", which you can take off the cost of your next activity. Be aware though, these expire after 60 days of inactivity (no purchases). 

Stranger Things: The Experience

Grade: A+

Our niece is a big Stranger Things fan (as are Craig and I) and we bought tickets to this experience as a birthday gift for her. The tickets were a bit pricey, so I was nervous it would not live up to the cost. However I am happy to say that it did and that I think it might have been the best Fever event we've gone to. The first part of the experience was interactive and put you right into the Stranger Things story. You went room to room and each had it's own unique experience and special effects, including a 3D finish. The second part consisted of replicas of locations and scenes from the program - you could get Ice Cream from Scoops Ahoy, a slice from Surfer Boy Pizza or take a photo with a Demogorgon. It was well put together, a great mix of experiences and we had an awesome time - the kids loved it too.

 

Santa's Secret Immersive Holiday Experience

Grade: C-

This was a very poorly thought out and executed event, with extra costs for small pricey drinks. The event was broken up into two parts - the first was a walk-through of risque holiday themed scenes. There were about 6 small scenes crammed into a little space at Hudson Yards with hundreds of people trying to go through at the same time. Each scene had an actor that was dressed up, putting on a show and that attendees could take photos with, but it was nearly impossible to find space to really watch or interact with them.

After we made it through these exhibits, we were brought into a big space that was turned into a theater with a stage and chairs lined up on top of each other (if you paid more for a premium ticket, you got a closer row or a small table). Once there, we waited almost an hour for the show to start - there was a band playing to keep us entertained and there was the options to buy drinks, at a crowded bar, to pass the time. However, after paying almost $20 for a very small cocktail, we decided our money was better spent somewhere else. The show felt like they were forcing the risque/dirty aspect and we really only enjoyed one or two of the acts and ended up sneaking out during the last performance.

Small is Beautiful: Miniature Art Exhibition

Grade: B

Let me start this one by saying that Craig and I are not big art people - we don't appreciate it to the same extent that other individuals might. Despite that, we found the miniature exhibits and artwork that were presented to be extremely impressive and interesting. The exhibit was broken up into sections for each artist and we admittedly found some of them to be a little too "artsy" for our taste - although we could recognize the talent that was needed to produce the pieces. 

Without giving too much away, our favorite pieces were the ones that incorporated shadows into artwork and the tiniest miniatures that you need a magnifying glass to really appreciate. The art that was made out of a single piece of paper (think origami!) and those made from the lead at the top of a pencil were incredibly impressive as well. 

The exhibit was a little small (we got through the whole thing in 50 minutes) and I am not sure that children would necessarily appreciate it. Overall we were happy with the experience and left feeling astonished as to how artists could create such tiny replicas. 

 

Candlelight: A Tribute to Taylor Swift

Grade:  A

Candlelight is a series of string-quartet concerts that are exclusive to Fever. Each event focuses on a specific artist or musical genre and the performances take place throughout the city. They decorate the selected space in thousands of flameless candles, which creates an extremely romantic and enchanting atmosphere. Our show was hosted at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity in Brooklyn and the church's natural beauty added to the overall ambiance as well. For our show, they offered three pricing levels (A, B and C) and had open seating options based on the ticket you purchased (show up early for the best seating choice in your section!). 

Craig and I are not huge string-quartet fans, so we don't have much to compare it to - but we loved the concert. Taylor Swift is one of our favorite artists - we even flew to Texas for one day a few years ago to see her perform before the Super Bowl (no hotel - just flew in, went to the concert and then went home!). This Candlelight Tribute in Brooklyn was performed by the Highline Quartet and we found them to be extremely talented and felt like they did a great job of adapting Taylor's songs. They were entertaining in their brief introductions to the songs, and kept the focus on the music. This was a fun and unique date night for us and we will definitely check out another event at a different location in the future. 

The FRIENDS Experience

Grade:  B

It may seem obvious to say, but I would not recommend this experience to anyone who is not a fan of the show Friends or who has not watched many of the episodes. For that reason, I went to this experience with my friend Ben, who is a big fan of the show, instead of Craig who never really got into it.

Overall I would say that I think I enjoyed the experience a bit more than Ben, who found it a little bit boring. This is mainly because its focus was more on being Instagram-able and taking photos more than anything else. I happen to love photos, mainly because they help me remember all the things I would otherwise forget, so I was more than happy to move from room to room snapping away. They did a great job replicating the iconic rooms and scenes and I laughed hysterically poking ugly-naked guy from the balcony. 

Where I struggled with the experience a bit was with the memorabilia from the show, just because a girl with a bad memory like me can't always place the episodes the outfits or items came from. They also rushed us out because we purchased tickets for one of the the last entry-times and they made it known. 

 

House of Spirits: Volkov Manor - A Haunted Cocktail Soiree

Grade: A-

After doing the Christmas experience, I had low hopes for this one - but since Craig loves Halloween and this event included free drinks, I decided it was worth the risk. I am happy to say this one was more entertaining, was hosted at a better venue and the drinks were unique and overall delicious. They had some interactive experiences, like a dark haunted maze and a themed scavenger hunt (albeit a little cheesy), a lot of characters walking around for you to interact with, and a few small shows to watch. They did a good job with the ambience and decorations and it wasn't too crowded (we went to the earlier session). The experience also offered several other "mysteries" in the venue and you had the option to question the characters to find out more. However, this was low pressure and you could also just walk around and enjoy a few drinks. If you don't walk away from this event happy, at least you'll walk away buzzed.

 

Afternoon "Tea" for 2 at MarieBelle 

Grade: A+

When Craig and I were in Egypt, we went to high tea along the Nile River. I am not a tea person, but it was still a delicious and amazing experience. Since then, I have been searching for a similar activity here in New York and I found one on Fever. Actually, I found something even better - high "hot chocolate". At MarieBelle in the city, they have a Cacao Bar where they offer "Afternoon Tea Time" - but through the Fever app, we were able to do Afternoon Hot Chocolate instead. This included a choice of one of their decadent hot chocolates (Dark, Milk or White Chocolate), a mimosa, mini pastries and macarons, scones and jams, and a selection of assorted sandwiches served on the iconic tiered stand to make it more authentic. 

Right now the offer on Fever is only for the option with unlimited Tea, but I would keep an eye out for when they offer the hot chocolate option instead - it was the best hot chocolate I have ever drank. 

 

Titanic: The Exhibition

Grade: C

My friend Billy is really into the history of the Titanic and has been to various exhibits and Titanic-connected locations across the world. When I saw that there was going to be a new exhibit here in New York, I knew immediately that he would want to go. We got a group together one Sunday (7 of us) and made our way into the city for the experience - all super excited after hearing Billy talk about how great and interesting the exhibits have been in the past. Unfortunately we all left pretty disappointed. This was an audio-heavy tour, where you basically couldn't understand what you were looking at without listening to the audio guide. There were a lot more photos and stories than artifacts and the majority of the things to see were actually from the sister-ship the Olympic. To make matters worse, multiple members of our party lost access to the audio guide halfway through because the Wi-Fi and internet connection throughout the exhibit was weak. Although there were some interesting tidbits and things to see, most of us found it to be a let down overall and pretty slow and boring. Billy commented that this exhibit did not compare to any that he's been to and it is not one I would personally recommend.