Journey to another world!

Otherworld: A unique adventure less than two hours away from Cincinnati

Teenagers and preteens are hard to please. Gone are the days of trips to the zoo and park making them happy. So when it came time to plan a family adventure day we had to think outside of the box. Otherworld without a doubt fit the bill! Located in Columbus Ohio it was a perfect spot for a weekend trip away. I had heard positive things about the safety procedures they had in place so I figured it would be perfect for what we needed.

Otherworld is a 32,000 square foot immersive art installation. As soon as you walk in you're transported to the set of an otherworldly sci-fi movie. Guests are welcome to touch and interact with all of the art, and each room opens up a new world to explore.

At A Glance

Pros:

*Very interesting for all ages*

As long as you don't have a toddler that's easily startled by lights and sounds even they will enjoy this adventure.

The building is also handicapped accessible. Except for less than 5% of the building that requires crawling and such.

*Very unique*

The only thing we have ever done close to this is the Burning Man exhibit that came through the Cincinnati Art Museum. Otherworld is like that exhibit on steroids. There's so much to see and I love the interaction aspect.

*Open exploring*

There's a great free flow aspect to Otherworld. There are several ways in and out of a lot of the rooms, and they even have hidden spots tucked away. Guests are welcome to roam around as they like.

*Very hands on*

Guests are encouraged to touch and interact with things. I have spent years at museums keeping panic attacks at bay as I wondered if it would be one of my hellions that broke something. Otherworld eliminates that fear since everything is built for interaction. Clearly, this doesn't mean let your child hulk out on the displays, but you get the idea.

Cons:

A little pricey.

For five of us to go it was right around $150. Given the extremely unique concept of the building that cost didn't totally throw me off. I did feel like with a little tweaking it would be worth the money. My hangup came from the next con...

No reentry.

This was a big issue for us personally...

There wasn't any food or drinks available to buy, and you're not allowed to bring anything in.

My kids turn into little asshats when they're hangry. Had we been able to eat on site, or at least leave and come back, it would have allowed us to make a day of it.

Thus getting more bang for our buck!

Even without masks, which our family will still wear if the crowd is packed, it does get a little stuffy in the building. It's a warehouse style layout, and with the crowds it gets a little warm. Had we been able to step outside for a little breather I think we probably would have stayed a few more hours.

If I'm going to drop over $100 for a family day adventure I want to be able to make a day of it. No reentry or food made that impossible for us.

It took us about two hours to see everything. Had we been allowed re entry or food to take a break with I think we would have definitely stayed a few hours longer. The details of this place are wicked it takes a while to see everything. With all the little hidden hallways and nooks plan for at least a few hours to take it all in.

They do have a timed ticket system. If you're over 15 mins late for your time there is no gurantee that they can get you in on another slot. Our ticket time was 11:30 on a weekend, and by 12:15 the crowding was beginning to get a little tight for my liking. There are a lot of pretty open rooms, but still a ton of tunnels and spaces that were not created with crowd size in mind. Visiting again we will try harder for the earliest spot; giving us more time to take in the amazing artwork with less people in the way.

Overall, I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. My kids had a blast, and the uniqueness alone was worth the trip!