Visiting Funko Hollywood
When I took my Washington road trip in 2018 one of my must visit spots was Funko Headquarters in Everett. I’m not a massive Pop! collector but I love visiting company stores and Funko’s is among the best (you can read about my visit here). So when I heard they were opening a new location in LA I knew I wanted to check it out but I wasn’t keen to wait in massive lines to do so (the fandom is a strong one). Then covid came and, of course, visiting was no longer an option. Luckily, the store has since re-opened (with safety protocols in place) and I decided to finally check out Funko Hollywood.
Funko Hollywood is located near the Pantages Theatre on the eastern end of Hollywood Blvd and has over 40,000 square feet of retail space. It also boasts its own parking lot (complete with validation) which is a rare treat in the area. Although the store is so large, current health requirements only allow so many customers in at a time which means….we had to wait in line. Dang it! I was hoping I had skipped the demand period but with not much else to do I should have figured it’d be a hot spot. And since there really wasn’t much else to do I didn’t mind waiting in line even though it was about an hour long.
Once inside there was ample room to spread around and start roaming the rooms. The most prominent feature of the Funko stores are the gigantic versions of their products that are perfect for photo ops. Because of covid interacting with the objects is off limit but all are still welcome to take photos.
The store is also divided into fandoms so you’ll find the Disney area, the Marvel area, the Harry Potter area and so forth. I’m a nostalgia nut so my very favorite area was Saturday Morning TV which features an array of cartoon and advertising icons.
Here I was in 7th heaven. The Flinstones and Jetsons! Count Chocula and Twinkie the Kid! It was chock was full of my childhood favorites and I enjoyed every minute of it.
It was so much fun wandering around and looking at everything. Really, it’s like a pop culture museum and one could spend a good time exploring without buying anything. Of course, I wasn’t so lucky. I had a specific store exclusive item I wanted and I intended to buy just that. Then I ran into Freddie Funko.
I just can’t resist that spherical head and those perfectly symmetrical freckles and had to buy a few figures. Before I knew it I was leaving with a big shopping bag! But I don’t really mind because when I’m working at my desk and see my Freddie Funko figure’s smiling face I can’t help grinning myself.
During these stressful times Funko Hollywood is the perfect place to go for a little relief. I guarantee it’ll make you smile and, for a little while, maybe forget all the crap that surrounds us. You may leave with a lighter wallet but at least you’ll have enjoyed yourself.