ORLANDO, Fla. -- Chandler, Ross, Rachel – you know 'em all.
You probably even know their catch phrases. Could I be any clearer?
Well now – and for the next few months – you can step inside one of the most iconic apartments in pop culture history. Here are five things to now about the replica Friends set in Orlando.
- A company called Fourth Wall in Orlando recreates sets from some of your favorite TV shows, like Friends. “Man, it's a show I grew up on,” said creator and owner Dustin Anderson, who is a local high school history teacher.
- So just what is a fourth wall? “On that side of the set is where the cameras and the lighting and the audience would be, so it's an invisible wall. The actors pretend there's a wall there.” Anderson's replica of the iconic Friends Apt. 20 unit exposed that fourth wall.
- Anderson said the walk-through attraction is to-scale. He watched a lot of episodes, repeatedly, to achieve accuracy. “I'd start on one side of the room, freeze it, search the Internet. Nonstop. 9,000 pages on Etsy.”
- Anderson included a bunch of “Easter eggs” throughout the attraction. For instance, guests who try and open the fridge (that he bought from a lady in Tampa) aren't able to, as it's taped down. On the tape, he's written “Keep Out, Joey.” (Joey loves his sandwiches). Oh, and the 1990s phone in the living room cost him $80 on eBay.
- The replica of the Friends set is located at Pointe Orlando behind Maggiano's. Guests must make appointments, as only one family or group is allowed in at a time due to social distancing and sanitation guidelines. The hours of operation are Mon – Thurs: 3 – 8 p.m., Fri: 1 – 8 p.m., Sat: Noon – 8 p.m., and Sun: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.