The Zone: A Britney Spears Fan Experience
When elementary-aged me saw the music video for “I’m a Slave 4 U”, I proclaimed that I would someday get my belly button pierced. Years later, with the image of Britney Spears sweatily dancing ingrained in my mind, I did.
What I’m trying to say is that Britney (also known as Godney to some) is an Icon. At only 38 years old, she’s changed pop music, pop culture, and survived a very public mental crisis in 2006.
If you can’t already tell, I am a HUGE Britney fan. I know every Britney lyric (even her unreleased music) and remember rushing to Target in 2007 to pick up a copy of “Blackout”, an album released in the midst of her breakdown that is also arguably her best record.
When I saw Britney promoting The Zone, a temporary immersive fan experience based on her albums and music videos, I knew I had to go. Unfortunately, tickets were going for $60 and up, an extremely unaffordable price if you ask me. Luckily, a few months after it opened, Groupon was selling tickets for $27 and so, off I went into The Zone.
As this post goes up, we’re in the midst of a pandemic. I went to The Zone before things started to get crazy and before everything closed. As of now, The Zone is also closed (though it was supposed to be open until April 26th).
I have no idea if or when they will reopen and if they will extend their closing date. Regardless, I wanted to share this experience and hope this takes your mind off of things for a little bit.
When you walk into The Zone, you first enter through a Britney merch shop that has everything you could possibly imagine, including Britney sweatpants and Britney lighters. Some of her iconic costumes are on display like THE Toxic outfit. I couldn’t believe I was seeing it was my own eyes.
Immediately upon entering, my friend Brigitte and I (who accompanied me on this adventure) were greeted by an employee who asked us to download an app called “The Zone”. This was to be used to download photos/videos we took during the experience using a digital bracelet. After we downloaded the app, we proceeded to check-in, check our bags, and get our digital bracelets (seen below).
Now, it was time for The Zone! We entered the first room, a classroom inspired by “…Baby One More Time” where a video was played to discuss the rules of the experience. After, we were taken to another room that resembled a school gym/hallway, also inspired by “…Baby One More Time”. The walls listed Britney’s accomplishments and I took the opportunity to take some photos (of course!).
Next up was “Oops I Did It Again”! The room was designed to look like we were on mars and had the music video playing on a loop. Here, I used my digital bracelet for the first time to take the photo below. You simply tap the bracelet where it tells you to and it automatically uploads the photo you take to the app.
The next room was inspired by “Me Against The Music”. This is probably my least favorite Britney Video and so, I moved on to the “Toxic” room. “Toxic” is ICONIC AF. The room looked like the inside of an airplane and the lighting was everything and changed from red to pink.
Now, it was time for the “Circus” inspired room. This room was known for its massive ball pit, but by the time we went, it was already closed due to COVID-19. However, we could still go in and take photos. I loved how much detail they put into it. It was covered in 1920’s inspired circus posters and I think it was the largest room out of the whole experience.
The circus room transitions into the Blackout church inspired of course by the album and these controversial photos Britney took for the inside jacket of the album. Not going to lie, it felt pretty calm and spiritual in here. The stain glass detail seen below is beautiful and truly felt like it belonged in a real church.
Moving on from the Blackout church, you are lead into a green-tinted room that looks like a forest. I quickly realized this was inspired by Britney’s performance at the 2001 VMAs where she danced with yellow python. I too got to dance with a yellow python here but instead of looking sexy, I look like a fool and I’m totally okay with that.
Now, for the last section of the experience. This is the “Piece of Me” room. In “Piece of Me”, Britney criticizes the media and public for criticizing her as a person, artist, and mother ( a bad ass move if you ask me).
First, we took photos as if we were on the cover of magazines then, we were lead to a hallway that looks exactly like the “Piece of Me” set. Here, I pretended as if I were also in the music video.
Before exiting, you walk into a room that has this “Piece of Me” quote and Britney’s 1999 Rolling Stone cover plastered on the walls as a final send-off. After an hour or less, we had finished the total experience.
My Thoughts on The Zone:
I had SO much fun during this experience. In a way, I knew this might be the last time I would be able to go out for a while due to the Coronavirus, so I relished every minute of it.
If you are a Britney fan, you’ll LOVE this experience. The detail that goes into all the rooms and even the merch is incredible.
That being said, I don’t know if or when they will reopen, but if they do and things are okay, I encourage you to visit, especially if you can find discounted tickets as I did.
I loved the digital bracelet aspect of it. It took high-quality photos and sent them straight to my phone. You also get to keep the bracelet as a keepsake.
