Grapevine, TX

Let me start by saying Meow Wolf is difficult to explain – one just has to experience it. Clear as mud, right?

If I delve too deep into explaining Meow Wolf – The Real Unreal, it gives away the whole story/surprise/mystery. Let me just say that it is a sensory overload of sights, sounds, colors, designs, art, lights, tunnels, closets, rooms, refrigerators, slides, music, creatures, aliens, etc. I hope that cleared it up for you!

Our Colorado kids introduced my husband and me to Meow Wolf in Denver last year and we loved it. Several of our friends have visited the Meow Wolf in Santa Fe and said great things about it. These places are creative, unique and interesting but definitely aren’t everyone’s “cup of tea.”

What the heck does “Meow Wolf” even mean or stand for? My research says the original founding group had each member write two words on separate pieces of paper and threw them facedown in a pile on the table. They blindly chose two of these, put them together, and here we are! My family tried this naming method once with a puppy and we almost ended up with a yorkie named “Carrot,” but that is a story for another day!

Located in the old Bed, Bath & Body location at Grapevine Mills Mall, Meow Wolf is a great adventure for those wanting something different. It may not look like much from the outside, but the inside is where all the magic happens.

You enter the “immersive experience” through heavy doors and step right into a pleasant night scene. A nice, suburban, two-story house stands in front of you. The sky is lit with stars. Lights shine through the curtains in the home – someone is home, or are they? A vegetable garden is on your left. A gardening shed and a garage is on your right. The porch light is on. Let’s head inside!

At first glance, this is a normal, middle-class home. There is a grassy yard, flowers, hanging baskets and landscaping. Every room is an average room with normal furniture, photos, pictures, pillows, rugs, books, a piano, stacks of papers, a fireplace, etc. There are “MISSING” flyers with the photo of a ten-year-old boy, Jared Fuqua, scattered about and on the refrigerator in the kitchen. Hint #1 – what happened to Jared Fuqua?

My husband and I explored the house room by room. This is where the more serious puzzle-solvers will spend the most time. Look around if you choose. Search for clues. Watch computer videos. Study things in Jared’s room. Notice the melting wallpaper and skewed floor tiles. Crawl through the fireplace. Exit via a closet. What is that thing sitting on the toilet? Slide down chutes in the washer or dryer. Step into the refrigerator. Another world awaits!

The next “world” you enter is beautiful, strange, creative and entertaining. Evidently, there are clues all around if you know what you are looking for! There is even a scavenger hunt you can participate in with your cell phone.

We are simple folk and didn’t work too hard at solving any mystery or searching for things “unknown”- we just took it all in! Dozens of local artists worked tirelessly for months creating some of the most colorful, whimsical, technical and beautiful sculptures, walls, scenes, rooms, murals, alcoves and ceilings. You just have to see it to believe it.

Every hallway leads to the unexpected. Doors lead to somewhere or nowhere. Touch certain things and they light up, play musical notes or both. Walk through the stars. Climb stairs to a different dimension. Look up and see what is suspended overhead. Get lost in a maze of rooms. Press that button. Been here before? Find a different “pathway” to another area. Are you still with me??

I hope you now have some kind of idea about what Meow Wolf is! It may be different things to different people. There really is a story to follow, if you so choose to. I was more interested in the visuals – the art, the colors, the creativity. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there and then came home and read the “spoilers” online in regards to the narrative. I am one of those people that goes to an escape room and lets all the other clever people figure out the clues. I just enjoy the immersive art experience!

To be perfectly honest with you, I would have never figured this one out anyway!

Note: I suggest buying tickets online ahead of time since there are timed entries. You may also try going during non-peak times to avoid crowds (it is much more enjoyable then). Lunch time on a weekday worked out perfectly for us. Tickets cost $40 per person for adults. Ladies, don’t carry a big purse or wear heels. Big bags are cumbersome going through some of the openings/slides/chutes. Just sayin’!