It’s safe to assume that most people in Toronto have already had a chance to visit Happy Place exhibit at the Harbourfront Centre. The widely advertised exhibit filled with brightly coloured rooms, confetti and rainbow treats had me running to the door as soon as I heard they were coming to Toronto for two months. Toronto has been getting a lot of unique art exhibits this year including Infinity Mirrors, that I was excited to see what all the hype was about this time around for Happy Place. Before arriving, I was expecting to see an interactive exhibit in a fun-filled space where I could take plenty of colourful shots in. Pictured above, I’m in one of my favourite rooms filled with kisses. It was definitely a very playful room with a large mirrored XO sign that couples could sit behind and take pictures in. I loved having fun in this particular room but how happy did I really feel at Happy Place? Read on to find out.

Upon entering Happy Place, we were promptly greeted and entered straight into the exhibition space after having our tickets scanned. The first room consisted of a giant pair of heels, bubblegum dispensers and a candy bar serving every guest with a small cup of M&Ms. It was a nice start to the ten-room exhibit with the bright pink and yellow walls setting the mood for our hours-long experience. However, I could feel from the moment I stepped in and started taking photos that this would be the general theme of Happy Place – a neverending photo-op against Instagram-worthy backdrops. You’d think I would’ve found Happy Place close to heaven for me but unfortunately, I found myself more stressed than happy for most of it.

For what I expected to be a joyful experience, Happy Place turned out to be more hectic than anything. For some rooms, we were given time limits for how long we could stay and for those that didn’t, there’d be a line of people waiting and watching as you took your photos. I’m not sure about you but nothing stresses me out more than when there are ten pairs of eyes staring at you as you try to pose happily for the perfect shot. Pictured above in the sunflower field room, we were only given one minute to take our photos. With such restricted time limits put on us, I just mainly focused on not messing up on our 60 seconds in this otherwise lovely room. For this photo, we had to climb up a short ladder and peek ourselves through a small hole, where we’d find ourselves in a sea of flowers. It was great in concept but as soon as the timer went off, we were ushered out and into the next one.

Of course, in between the hectic lineups and people impatiently waiting for their shots, there are also some memorable rooms in Happy Place. Pictured above is my favourite one of the exhibit – the metallic sequin room – made up of all things shiny and bright. This particular room didn’t have much of a line, which was a godsend. Most people were in line for the most Instagram-worthy rubber ducky room. Even though I loved the aesthetics of the metallic – which looked great against my all black outfit – I came to realize how tiny most of the rooms in Happy Place were. Compared to what you’re led to believe on social media, the rooms are miniature in comparison, with thin walls separating one from the next. Once you find yourself at Happy Place, you’ll realize rather quickly how crucial it is to get the perfect shot in record time while all eyes are on you.

Alas, after the initial warm-up of photo taking, we made it to the rubber ducky room (pictured above) halfway in. I’d seen it strewn across numerous IG posts and here I was, about to take my own shot inside the fascinating all-yellow room. However, as we approached the line for this infamous room, we were told we’d only be given 40 seconds each for photos. FOURTY SECONDS! At that point, my stress level was through the roof because there was a slim chance I’d be able to nail my shot in such a short amount of time. I was literally running around trying to get the perfect shot while one of the staff members had her timer ticking away. The room itself was, once again, very tiny but it’s definitely the one room most people come to Happy Place for. It has an ultra-meta and modern vibe to it, with the rubber duckies reminiscent of your happy childhood days. I only wish I could’ve stayed longer.

All in all, I thought I had come to Happy Place to be amazed by various art installations but nope – it was more or less just a photo competition against quirky backdrops. There were definitely some fun parts of the exhibit such as the confetti dome where you get to throw confetti amidst a wind blower. There was also a cookie room, which smelled of cookies and a ball pit, which you get to jump into at the end of the exhibit. I’d say, all the rooms I didn’t feel pressured to have the perfect shot in, I enjoyed. Otherwise, it just felt more like a war zone half the time. To be fair, I also visited at a very busy time (on a Saturday night) so if you’re planning to go, definitely try to visit during early weekday hours.

There are only 2 weeks left for the Happy Place exhibit in Toronto. I’d recommend going if you really want to fill your IG feed with some fun photos. However, coming from someone who loves taking photos, for the price of $40 a ticket, Happy Place felt more like a money grab than a place to have fun in.

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Happy Place

Harbourfront Centre
245 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2K9

November 1 – January 6

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