Yes, I dreamed of Ice Cream, wistfully looking at #MOIC Instagram photos for the past year. When it was announced that the Museum of Ice Cream would be popping up in my own back yard, my amazing sister was quick to scoop up tickets for our whole crew!

With ample time to plan my perfect pink outfit, I knew just who to go to! Fashion designer Isabelle Batz created a gorgeous sequined dress for me which she calls the Siren Cut Out Dress. The peek-a-boo cutouts and holographic pink sequins had an out-of-this-world vibe, so I had to rock some space buns which I dressed up with mini seashell clips from Star Stuff Boutique. I completed my outfit with black antigravity Jeffrey Campbells which I picked up at LF and socks from Forever21. PS Anthony’s shirt is from Target– what a find!

Donned in all pink and black, we arrived early and sat beneath the pink palms out front awaiting our turn to I-scream our favorite ice cream flavor at the door attendant and enter through the sparkly pink stanchions. We then had our ice cream fortune told by a girl who spoke as if she had recently consumed some – ehrm –  *medicated* ice cream moments before. Her delivery was way off, but it made it made it even funnier for us.

SHAKE YOUR BUNNS

We then found ourselves in a 50’s-styled diner complete with mini juke box decor, pink bar stools, gold glitter floors, and even a two-player arcade game.

Shakes readily rolled out on a conveyor belt and were topped I love Lucy style with pink whipped cream and a pink cherry. Wall decor included framed ice cream puns of celebs, such as the (Ariana) Grande Shake, Sorbet-yonce, & Major Key Lime.

LOST BALLOONS – OCEAN FRIENDLY 😉

The next area was outdoors, the center of the venue. A high energy woman going by “Lemony Lisa” let us know that we would have as much time as we’d like in every room except the sprinkle pool, and then reminded us not to *lick* any of the art, as some people had tried to taste the popsicles in one of the rooms previously. This is important for later, just trust.

A handful of “lost” balloons were suspended in place above a circus-esque pedestal. Lemony gave us some tips on where to stand for the best photo angles.  

As we traveled upstairs, we discovered that the balloons were positioned so that they would be visible and getting closer as you progressed through the museum, such a whimsical centerpiece!

DANCING CONES

The next room got us moving with some Ice Cream-themed Dance moves. We learned “The Scoop” and the “Sprinkle.”

We made quite a few attempts to pop out from behind little pinwheel ice cream statues for an Instagram Boomerang before deciding that we have terrible timing and giving up. The result was underwhelming and needless to say, did not make it to the gram. You saw it here first, people.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

In the next room, we were greeted by a safari woman giving out chocolate covered frozen bananas. We found ourselves immersed in a pink jungle, with bright yellow bananas and golden chocolate bars hanging from the ceiling like a scene pulled straight out of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. 

This room also featured two amazing photo ops- a banana swing and a cherry swing! PSA for parents: just because your kid wants to sit on the swing, doesn’t mean he gets to skip ALL the adults waiting in an actual line to get take their photos taken. This is not a playground. GET. IN. LINE.

COCONUT MINI ROOM

In the corner of the room was an even smaller room that you had to duck or crawl to get into depending on your height. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out what these silver bulbs were when I stalked others’ photos online. Turns out, the walls were artfully lined with halved pink coconuts with mirrored insides. Just a reminder that you can’t always get the full picture from social media, sometimes you just have to experience it in person!

DON’T CRY OVER MELTED ICE CREAM

The next treat was Melted Ice Cream, AKA a vanilla shake in a pink milk carton.
The melt room had ice cream scoops dripping down the walls and a selection of toppings that looked real enough to eat! The gummy bears had the perfect opacity and the freshly cut strawberries had a wet shine.

SANDCASTLES AND CANDY

The next room was all about child-like exploration, and encouraged you to play in the sparkly pink sand surrounding adorable sand castles.

Following this was a sweet treat room with giant stackable candies that you could rearrange. Probably the least interesting room in my opinion, but I did get one of every gummy candy offered at the end of it.

ROOFTOP KEY LIME PIE ICE CREAM 

We made it to the rooftop where we got Key Lime Pie Ice cream- FINALLY a treat that came in a CONE!

Anthony and I played a game of Ping pong and ya girl dominated! He blamed it on the light weight of the ball but, a win is a win! Unfortunately, it was raining outside so we didn’t exactly get to enjoy the outdoor rooftop, but the view was still nice through the tall windows.

THE POPSICLES (told you this would come back)

At the end of this room were hundreds of popsicles hung like wind chimes. With the museum being so hands-on and interactive, we immediately began touching and posing with the popsicles. An angry woman came running from around the corner declaring, “You were told in the beginning not to touch the popsicles.” We apologized for touching them and then Anthony politely corrected her. “Actually, we were told not to *lick* the popsicles,” to which she replied (quite annoyed) “Same thing.”

Minutes went by before the family behind us came bursting through the popsicles. The dad ran by with both hands outstretched and played the hanging popsicles like a giant harp. We sat back smiling and watched as the angry lady came running back around the corner to spend the next 5 minutes coaxing 3 wild kids out from within the display. The parents recited similar apologies and explained that they were only told not to lick the pops. Guess they’ll work on their spiel for next time- poor Lemony Lisa.

THE SPRINKLE POOL

Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for. The photos that took over our Instagram feeds and said YOU HAVE TO GO DO THIS! The sprinkle pool. The elevator doors opened and I imagined hearing a heavenly “ahhhhhh” as the pool came into view. The pool attendant directed us to some lockers for our shoes and warned us that we would only have 2 minutes to get our shots and get out.

My sister and I ran to the pool, hopped in and immediately began making sprinkle angels. It was magical! – But so short lived! Our timer must’ve started the second that the elevator doors opened because by the time we got in the pool she gave us a 30 second warning… which means we had wayyyyy less than two minutes in.

We weren’t too pleased with how rushed the sprinkle pool experience was, not to mention we had to share the pool with another group. But we did manage to get a few decent shots, and we may have lingered a bit longer “shaking out the sprinkles.” 😉

We posed for a few final photos in their golden showers (hmmm maybe they should’ve made them pink to avoid that word play.)  

GIFT SHOP

Then it was off to to the gift shop. There were so many cute enamel pins and patches with ice cream and pops. While the pins were adorable, I was disappointed that they were quite generic in that only the packaging included the Museum of Ice Cream branding. Luckily, they did offer one pastel pool buoy pin that read “Sprinkle Pool,” and I was sold!

Since it was still raining when we got out, Anthony being the gentleman that he is, ran to get the car. While waiting, we listened in as a Miami Beach Code Compliance officer rolled up and began talking to a museum employee about the tiny plastic sprinkles that trailed from the exit and into some nearby drains. As a mermaid concerned for the nearby oceans, I agreed with the officer and am glad to hear that they have since changed the layout of the museum. Now, the tour begins at the sprinkle pool so that any sprinkle stragglers shake off in the building throughout the tour, rather than getting carried right out the exit at the end.

If you are looking to go to the Museum of Ice Cream Miami, you’re in luck! They have extended their dates and tickets go on sale this week! If you’ve been to any of the MOIC locations, let me know what you thought about the experience in the comments!