Candytopia: Sweet Treat Comes to Scottsdale

I want candy! If you're a big fan of sweet treats (or have children who are) and like to let your imagination run wild then you'll need to tweak the "I want candy" notion a little bit to "I Want Candytopia!" Candytopia is a "pop-up" attraction that's now open at Scottsdale Fashion Square in metropolitan Phoenix that is thrilling visitors of all ages with its creative fantasy candy scenarios, some of which are interactive, and liberal doses of free candy. Visitors to the sweet wonderland wait for the gates to Candyland to swing open and then move from room to room to enjoy amazing displays including sculptures made entirely out of candy. Each room has a "treasure chest" filled with candy that can be freely taken; signs indicate whether you can have a few pieces or just one. Some of the goodies in the chests include Smarties, Jolly Ranchers, Zotz, Laffy Taffy, Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Fruit Chews, Tootsie Pops, Dum Dums and chocolate coins. Adults may want to pocket some of their candy for later; kids will enjoy the sugar rush as they eat the treats that lead up to the big Candytopia finale.

In the first room guests are greeted by a large dragon whose mouth is gaping open like he just might bite you. Of course he won't, and amusingly the guide in the room advises that you should not bite him either, maybe tempting for some as he is constructed solely of candy. The dragon is just the warmup for all the other candy sculptures that await at Candytopia, but wait, where is the free candy in this first room? We won't spoil the surprise, but before you move to the second room the candy appears from someplace that is initially hidden. Chocolate coins, yummy!

Subsequent rooms are filled with more candy sculptures and guests will see a pig (and unicorn pigs), a unicorn, a lion and lioness, an elephant, a crocodile, a lizard and more. There's a whole section devoted to sea life where a candy shark lurks among candy seahorses, fish, starfish and a full-size diver in diving gear (alas the "man" inside the dive suit, whose face you can see, is not made of candy. Make sure to look down at the floor here too as there's a projection of sea life swimming by. There's a section that is dedicated to replicas of famous artworks, like Rodin's "The Thinker." Each sculpture or piece of art has a tag noting some details about it; "The Thinker" is made of 25,000 pieces of candy, took 79 hours to make and contains 25 kilos of sugar! Kids will love this section as they do every part of Candytopia but there are references here that the young ones likely won't get, like a candy "painting" of Andy Warhol's famed Campbell's Soup can, cleverly titled as being by Candy Warhol. There's a giant replica of Egypt's The Sphinx here too which besides being totally awesome is also a nod to the fact that the ancient Egyptians were the first-known candy makers in recorded history.

One room presents a really fantastic experience that all will love. Upon entering this portion of Candytopia an attendant fires up a blower, not unlike a leaf blower, and shoots colorful confetti throughout the room. Guests can't help but smile and laugh as the paper bits cascade and swirl all around them, and fear not, there's a fan at the exit of this room to blow off any confetti that may be stuck in your hair or on your clothes. In between rooms guests will pass a small display that represents a candy lab and see slogans on walls with cute sayings like "A balanced diet is a chocolate in each hand." There are a few near-psychedelic spots with graphics that make for exceptional photo ops too.

The grand finale of Candytopia is the Marshmallow Pit, a large area where guests can frolic in a space filled with cotton marshmallows that's the size of a small swimming pool. To do this guests must remove their shoes and leave anything they're carrying in a cubby by the pit until their experience is over. The fun that can be had here is obvious and the fun level goes up a notch when the "marshmallow cannon" shoots out a batch of marshmallows. Catching this, which happens often (and can be requested), is the perfect time to take a video of the participants. And yes, adults do this activity too. Once the marshmallow play is over guests exit through the gift shop where candy is for sale, mix and match by the pound for the small stuff, with full-size candies like maple flavored Nut Goodies, Goo Goo Clusters, Candy Farm 3 Color Coconut Bars, U-No Bars and throwback treats like Chuckles available. There are Candytopia t-shirts and mugs galore along with lots of other souvenir items. Yep, a pretty sweet adventure. I want Candytopia!

Candytopia is located at Scottsdale Fashion Square, 7014 E. Camelback Rd., Unit 1023, Scottsdale, Arizona. They are open Wednesdays through Sundays through the end of September and all ages are welcome. For more information and to purchase tickets go here.

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