Home to interactive entertainment and curated retail, alongside SMiZE ice cream and special events, ModelLand opened in Santa Monica last month.
America’s Next Top Model‘s Tyra Banks announced the ModelLand theme park in 2019, and the supermodel-themed experiential attraction was expected to open in 2020. However, the project was delayed due to the pandemic.
“I believe all shapes AND all sizes AND all ages AND all shades deserve to feel beautiful, powerful and be the fantasy versions of themselves,” says Banks. “ModelLand is not just an attraction,” she added. “It’s a place full of story that challenges what ‘attractive’ means.”
Discover your best poses
The attraction, which takes its name from Banks’ 2011 novel, is billed as a multi-sensorial experience. During the Posing Party Experience, guests are invited to put on their most fashionable outfits and strike a pose on the mock runway. ModelLand’s eight themed rooms also include a wig room and a dance studio.
Visitors can also have a taste of Banks’ SMiZE ice cream, while ModelLand’s Posing Professions will show them the secrets of working their best angles for the best photo ops.
The experience’s website describes it as a “tasty world of luxury” where you can “discover your best poses” and “feast upon gourmet ice cream while surrounded by out-of-this-world environments designed to enhance your unique beauty.”
Talking about the attraction in a recent email to Women’s Wear Daily, Banks said: “For so long, I’ve been describing ModelLand as an immersive experience. In our final night of rehearsals, someone told me they felt it was beyond an immersive experience; that it was interactive and that they had no idea how much the show is truly about the guests that come.
“But it didn’t start this way. Years ago it was much more story-driven, a narrative about fictitious characters. But because our opening was stalled due to COVID-19 challenges, we had time to reevaluate the creative and tweak it to make the guest the star.”
