Friendsfest

Friends.

The iconic show that ran successfully for over a decade.

It's a right of passage, if you haven't watched Friends, who are you? How do you sleep at night not knowing that Joey doesn't share food, that Rachel is Ross's lobster or you haven't heard Janice say 'Oh. My. God.'

The show is still incredibly popular despite the final episode airing fourteen years ago. So, it's not surprise that Friendsfest has returned for a third year running. 

Friendsfest launched in 2015 and proved to be a huge hit with tickets selling out in minutes. It's the ultimate celebration of everybody's favourite show! This year it was back with brand new features that I was lucky enough to experience, including a full-scale version of Ross's apartment and the chance to recreate the Pivot! scene- voted the fan favourite moment.

Similar to last year the event is touring six locations, I went to Heaton Park in Manchester. Getting there was easy enough, it can be tricky to find when driving because there's no advertisement around at all.

One thing I will say is that I thought there'd be more to do. You book your tour around the set in advance and plan your day around it, at least that's what we did. Our tour was at half four and we arrived around half twelve thinking there'd be much more on-site. We still had a super fun day but I thought it would be worth mentioning. 

Central Perk is the first thing I noticed, it's not included in the set tour so is something you can choose to do. There are a few great photo opportunities, you can queue up to get a picture outside in front of the shop window like I did in the image above. If you go inside you can get a picture on the infamous orange couch where there is also a Phoebe Buffay tribute act who performs a number of songs- including Smelly Cat. Hot drinks and snacks are available at Central Perk, they serve a phenomenal hot chocolate with whipped cream and a flake.

Before going to look at the other entertainment bits we went to get some food, there are a lot of options which cater for everybody and are all themed. Joey's Pizza Truck, Phoebe's Vegetarian Buffay, Oh. My. God! Hot Dogs and Mockolate are a few examples. I went for a hot dog which was delicious and my sister had a pizza which she said was very tasty!

I wanted to mention the @omgstfood team, they're a Buckinghamshire based company that use only good quality ingredients from their local butchers and all they're packaging is compostable. It's a brand with an ethos that's important and of-course absolutely tantalising food- I wish I'd tried the halloumi fries.

Later on, my sister and I tried something from the Mockolate stall too! She had a Mockolate milkshake and I had a waffle with Nutella which I've been dreaming of ever since.

We had some more spare time before going on the tour so went around doing all of the photo opportunities- my favourite was Pivot! Comedy Central had set up a big screen which played episodes of the show continuously, we sat for a while watching and it was a nice way to pass the time (any chance to watch Chandler Bing makes me happy).

Now, let's talk about the tour.

Whilst you wait to go on set there's a clip played which was actually made for the last episode of Friends! It takes a look back at the pilot episode and includes interviews from the cast at the time as they talk about what they thought the show could become. I didn't know that the taping of the last episode was only open for family and friends to watch, you learn something new every day. Here there's also a few props that were used by the case, including Phoebe's guitar and the Gellar Cup.

The first apartment you see on the tour is Joey and Chandler's. It looks exactly as you'd expect but has Chandler's Lazy Boy (which you can sit in) and the canoe. Inbetween Joey and Chandler's and Monica's apartment is the hallway which I got a super cute picture in. Honestly, it's actually weird going in because it does really feel like you're in the show. After having a set amount of time in each area, you're asked to take a step back sp people on your tour can get a photo of the end of each apartment.

Next up was the one I'd been waiting for... Monica's apartment! Just me or is Monica's apartment the one you'd associate with the show. I'd absolutely love to live in a place like that, it's got so much character.

Fun Fact- did you know the yellow frame on the door was actually a meant to be a mirror but was broken by a crew member in the early days of filming.

The apartment is what you'd imagine with the kitchen, couch and even the window looking out across to Ugly Naked Guy. Like Joey and Chandler's apartment, Monica's includes some extras the most noticeable being the white-board used to play Bye Bye Birdy.

Finally, we move onto Ross's apartment which is the newest addition to the tour. If I'm completely honest this is the one I found least exciting simply because it's just not as iconic. Either way, it was still super interesting and fun to look around! 

Our final stop was the gift shop and I was pleasantly surprised. I expected the prices of t-shirts and hoodies to be much more but you can buy a Friendsfest t-shirt for only £15! There were notebooks, posters, doormats, something for everyone really. I bought myself a keyring, mug and tote bag because I wanted to get stuff I know that I'd use. 

So, the verdict? 

Friendsfest was most definitely the happiest day ever. If possible, it makes me love the show even more and now I want to live with some of my best friends, in NYC with apartments across the hall from each other. 

Click HERE for any information you want on tickets to Friendsfest or to find out if there's one near you! It's very popular so you might have to wait until next year. 

Any of you reading that may have been to Friendsfest, please leave a comment below letting me know at which location and what you thought!