I had heard about Meow Wolf as soon as I arrived in Denver. It was something that my friend had mentioned to me and it quickly became a thing I really wanted to do. It’s certainly one of those experiences that people mention as “must do” in Denver. So I finally did it. I’m here to help you understand if visiting it is worth it for your trip.
Table of Contents
About Meow Wolf
Meow Wolf is an arts company based out of Santa Fe New Mexico. They are known for these immersive multi-level experiences. The organization began life in 2008 as an informal collective of artists. The permanent Santa Fe location was established in 2016, with two additional locations (Denver and Las Vegas) established in 2021.
Each of the sites is different and has different themes. Denver is known as “Convergence Station“, Las Vegas is “Mega Mart“, and Santa Fe “House of Eternal Return“. I appreciate that each one is a unique and different experience. So far I have only been to the Denver Location.
How Long should you Spend at Meow Wolf
Overall, once you are in you can spend as long as you want in Meow Wolf. The folks at the site recommend about 2 hours for the experience. I think that’s about accurate. The Q-Pass helped push me to stay longer. I spent a bit over 2 hours in total wandering throughout the various levels of Meow Wolf.
About Q-Pass
Meow Wolf has an additional “add-on” for $3.00 called Q-Pass. Q-Pass is an RFID card (linked to your entrance ticket) which gives additional “tasks” within Meow Wolf. It seems to add some gamification elements where you search around for a terminals and a few other “characters” who can provide additional insight into the story and world of Convergence Station.
Should you Get Q-Pass
In my opinion. Yes. You only need 1 Q-Pass per group. The folks at Meow Wolf say you may want to “wander around the first visit” without Q-Pass and then get Q-Pass on your next visit. This doesn’t seem very practical. I don’t personally see myself wanting to visit the same Meow Wolf again unless it significantly changes.
I initially wandered around Convergence Station without Q-Pass and it made no sense. It felt a bit detached from the experience. The Q-Pass gave me something to do and it was fun finding the various different terminals and watching the story.
I can say however that I soon stopped exploring and looking at specific art-details to look for terminals and story. But it helped me “understand” or at least connect more of the story. And it added a few story elements I would have missed without it.
If you get Q-Pass be sure to pay attention to the story. Some of the videos have Easter eggs that translate into things you can do in the “world” of Convergence Station.
Visiting Meow Wolf Denver
Meow Wolf is an art installation and immersive experience. Or at least this is how my friends sold it to me.
I think it’s a bit of both and a bit of neither. It certainly is art. However, I was overwhelmed and overstimulated by the various displays and areas. It feels a bit of a hodge-podge of things thrown together into a multi-story facility.
Although as I walked around more, it definitely became a bit more fun. There are a bunch of doors and other places you can explore. One of the downsides there are a lot of “duplicates”. Such as the same kind of style of just enter a door see what’s in the room, walk out of room. Look for another door.
Each of the floors is definitely different although a bit samesy as I said above. Certain areas feel along a specific theme while others a bit more random. I really liked the area on the main street and the temple and the forest area. Both of those really have some interesting elements to them. I’m not sure if I always appreciated the art. Especially the random things from the modern world just kinda thrown into background decoration.
I liked the areas that had a certain level of interactivity. I think they did a good job with some of the places where you could pull handles and trigger events to happen by your actions. But they were very limited.
The Q-Pass activity I did enjoy. I think I found all the terminals, and the one downside is that the terminals don’t translate to specific memories. I was expecting that I’d have to find specific ones to get the events I need.
I soon realized you could just wander to the same few terminals (just not the same terminal right away). This meant I didn’t have to really explore to get all the memories. They had a few events that required you to visit specific “characters”, however they are very limited, albeit fun. I wish there was more effort put into these.
There are a lot of flashing lights and weird sensory things. They have warnings for people affected. There are also things that could be questionable to some people as a family activity. There were definitely young kids running around, so just something to be aware of if you are with a family.
Was it worth a visit?
Overall, I’m glad I did it. Would I repeat the experience? No. There’s not enough here to warrant a second visit to the site. I think the story was a bit of an add-on. It tried in some ways to tie in the “story” however, it was both important to the experience as well as tangential to it.
There are interactive elements both with characters (employees dressed in the exhibit) as well as terminals and other levers. It didn’t feel like it was as well fleshed out as it could be.
The characters were very passive and you didn’t know how or what to interact with them. And they didn’t always interact with you. there were a few cool characters dressed up who did funny things, but it wasn’t as immersive or frequent or even knowable as you’d want it to be.
Cost
The price is not cheap. When I visited, my ticket was $52.50 and I paid an additional $15 dollars for parking. That’s $67.50 for a 2 hour experience. If you add in additional folks, it’s a really pricey excursion for families. For me it’s definitely a one-time experience.
I did like that the Q-Pass was only an additional $3. I think it was some ways good that it was extra otherwise all the terminals would have been packed. I’m surprised how few visitors opted for Q-Pass.
I think it was worth it if you plan to visit Meow Wolf. The little extra helped me feel like I had something to do there. And it certainly helped me stay longer. I don’t think I would have stuck around or talked to characters if I hadn’t bought Q-Pass.
Covid
Also if you are worried still about Covid or other exposure. Meow Wolf is a very high-touch and crowded experience. I know it made me feel a bit weird sometimes how close quarter things are. They do have hand sanitizer in many places though.
Basic Information
Address
Meow Wolf Denver is located at 1338 1st St, Denver, CO 80204.
Hours
- Sun – Thurs: 10:00AM – 10:00PM
- Fri – Sat: 10:00AM – 12:00AM
Price
Ticket Website: Meow Wolf Tickets – Denver
Tickets are time-based and require booking a specific time-slot for your visit. You can buy tickets day off (or on-site), however it is not recommended as you might have to wait between when you buy until your entry time. They’ll generally let you in if you are a bit early but may deny entry if you are significantly early.
- Adult: $45 – $53
- Child: $40
- Senior: $40
- Military: $40
- QPass Add-on: $3
If you are a Colorado resident you are eligible for an additional $10 discount
Getting to Meow Wolf
Meow Wolf | Convergence Station is located at 1338 1st St, Denver, CO 80204, close to Empower Station in downtown Denver. The site is located at the intersection of I-25 and I-70 which makes it easily accessible from quite a lot of places in Denver.
By Car
Car is by far the easiest way to get to Meow wolf. Especially if you are going outside of rush hour times. When I visited on a weekday evening the roads around it were pretty empty. The downside of driving is that you’ll need to pay for parking at meow wolf or other nearby parking lots.
By Light Rail
The closest Light Rail station to Meow Wolf Denver is the Auraria West Campus Station. It is about 1/2 mile from the station to Meow Wolf.
Parking Information
There is paid parking available at Meow Wolf in Denver. Parking at the site is $15 per car and even the lots near the site are also $15 dollars. I had tried to find if there was a good way to park for cheaper, however nothing that was reasonably close.
If you know of a good free place to park do let me know!
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