Fight the Pandemic Blues at Happy Place Drive Thru!

Visit Happy Place Drive Thru to fight the pandemic blues! Driving through this event is sure to bring a smile to your face and up the fun factor of your day! Learn more about Happy Place Drive Thru, at the Westfield Century City Mall November 20th through January 10, 2021.

Thank you to Happy Place: The Drive Thru for inviting A SoCal Way of Life to this drive thru experience. Happy Place provided tickets to this event in exchange for our review of the experience. However, all opinions are honest and my own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links. A SoCal Way of Life earns a commission on purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

What is Happy Place: The Drive Thru?

The Happy Place Drive Thru is a drive thru experience packed with rainbows, lights, music, and all around happy vibes. From the minute you pull up to check in, you are greeted by staff members that have genuine smiles on their faces. You hear the music blasting before you even enter the experience.

This drive thru covers 50,000 square feet of space and is filled with 18 scenes and interactive exhibits that make you smile. There is even a scavenger hunt that you can complete on your phone as you go through the experience. Although some scenes appear to be meant for individuals to take a picture in the scene, they are still beautiful to look at.

I am looking forward to the next time that Happy Place comes to town and I can jump into one of these exhibits for a picture of me making smores in front of a camper (because honestly, that’s the closest I’ll ever get to camping 😉

You drive through from one scene to the next seeing things that are meant to make you smile. That’s the best way that I can describe it!

Some highlights of the drive-thru include a night club experience where you choose the music, a piano that you play with your car, and a magical floral exhibit.

What’s included in your admission?

In addition to driving through, you will receive a QR code that follows you throughout the experience. This QR code will unlock your ability to participate in a scavenger hunt as you drive through. You will also receive two videos via email of you and your passengers as you drive through particular parts of the exhibit. Staff members will greet you at both points where the videos will be taken. They let you know exactly when the video will be taken and give suggestions on what to do to make the video extra fun.

Admission also includes 2 free hours of parking at Westfield Century City Mall.

What was your favorite part?

My family’s absolute favorite part of the entire experience was the drive through club, aka, “Club Happy.” As you drive up, you will see a list of 8 possible songs to choose from when you drive into the club. Once you pick your song, you’ll be ushered into the club by the bouncer. The bouncer (who is dancing as you enter), will then video tape you as you dance to the music in your car and have a great time. You’ll get an email of the video shortly after you complete the drive thru!

And a secondary favorite for me was just all of the music blasted throughout the experience. We are a musical family and it instantly put us in a great mood when we started the drive-thru.

Tips for making the most of this experience?

There are just a few things that I would recommend as you drive through Happy Place.

Buy tickets online BEFORE you go!

Tickets are not sold on the spot. Please be sure to reserve your tickets and purchase online before heading out.

Check different days and times for different pricing

Weekends and holidays tend to cost more. If price matters to you, try reserving tickets for off days.

Take a selfie stick!

If you have a sun roof, poke the selfie stick a little out of the roof to capture some neat video and pics.

Also, use your selfie stick to pan around the car (assuming you’re the passenger!) and capture the giggles, dancing, and joy of the passengers.

Bring a mask for everyone!

You’ll want to drive with the windows down to get the best photos and video. Happy Place requires masks for everyone age 3 and up.

Use the restroom before you go!

Make sure everyone does this before you head out. This experience follows COVID safety protocols and requires everyone to remain in their car.

Don’t arrive more than 15 minutes early.

Happy Place sells tickets for specific time slots to allow maximum enjoyment of the experience. We arrived a little too early and hung out for a little bit. We didn’t mind it, but in case you or your passengers don’t like to wait, be aware of this fact.

Have a fully charged phone!

Your phone will be your best friend during this experience. You will need to scan a QR code upon arrival that will send you to the scavenger hunt page. You win a prize if you successfully complete the hunt! You’ll also need your phone to present your QR code to staff members at each video station.

Go at night!

I think the event will more magical because of all of the lights involved.

Come in the right vehicle.

You must be in a car to experience this drive-thru. Participating vehicles cannot be larger than 6 ft 7 inches.

Happy Place Drive through restricts the following vehicles from entering: bikes, scooters, cars with attachments, passengers in the bed of a truck, RVs, limos, buses, and mini buses that accommodate more than 8 passengers.

Be a kid again! You’ll have as much fun as you put in. Don’t take yourself too seriously and you (and your passengers!) will have the best time possible.

Why support Happy Place Drive Thru?

Happy Place Drive thru is presented by Subaru. Subaru and Happy Place will donate net proceeds of this event to the Los Angeles Food Bank. Enjoying a night out with the family while knowing your ticket purchase will help others? Amazing!