We explore the brand’s new three-story location at Icon Park, complete with a Scent Bar, Design Studio, Bakeshop and Celebration Terrace
Experiential retail has been at the heart of Build-A-Bear Workshop since its first location opened in St. Louis in October 1997, inviting consumers of all ages to stuff and personalize their own furry friends. Now, almost 30 years and 650-plus stores later, the brand is taking the experience to the next level—three levels, actually.
Build-A-Bear unveiled its largest location yet at Orlando’s Icon Park entertainment complex on Nov. 5. The new Workshop elevates the store’s familiar touchpoints across three floors and adds activations, spaces and IPs that encourage even more customization and shared moments.
We had the opportunity to explore the Workshop ahead of its grand opening, and it engaged every sense. Let’s unpack the new venue’s experiences.
The Classic Workshop, Reimagined
From the outside, the new building is massive and looms over Icon Park’s shops, restaurants and palm trees, but the first thing we noticed was the curved architectural elements that continued inside—no sharp edges.
Upon entering, we were greeted by Orlando-specific touches, including postcard signage, silhouettes of city landmarks, and the collection of Icon Park-exclusive stuffed animals, such as Friendly Flamingo, Green Alligator and Orlando Pretty Petals Pawlette.
In this first “Choose Me” section, the largest selection of furry friends available at any Build-A-Bear Workshop is on display. As part of the event, we got to pick one of the Orlando plushies to take through the store experience.
We chose an orange, flower-patterned cat (very Florida) and headed over to the Scent Bar to sample fragrances to be placed inside the stuffed animal.
Tables standing at three different heights (to accommodate kids and adults) feature 20 scents in tubes that can be pulled out for a whiff. A Bear Builder (the brand’s name for its employees) suggested combining the scents to create a new combo, like putting together coconut and vanilla to create piña colada, and it was pretty spot on.
Ultimately, because we love a sweet treat, we picked birthday cake, but it was a tough call with bubblegum, sugar cookie and cotton candy also in the mix.
For those who feel indecisive, a Scent Finder quiz is on hand to recommend custom scent combos based on answers to three questions, or they can browse all the scent options on the tablet. We received “Coconut + Underwater Dreams = Dreamscape,” probably from selecting “A Tropical Beach” as our dream place to visit.
We moved on to the “Hear Me” sound station. Inside curved booths, we interacted with a touchscreen to select and listen to songs, sound effects and character voices that could be added to the plush via a squeezable sound chip. For a personal touch, guests can record their own voice in the booth for a six- to 30-second message.
With all the inner components chosen, we visited the stuffing station, where Bear Builders were standing by to assist. While a usual store has one or two stuffing machines, this location had a dozen. We stepped on the pedal and filled our plush to its desired fluffiness, and then came the most wholesome moment of the experience: the Heart Ceremony.
The Bear Builder invited us to stand in the center of the stuffing area under a multipronged, two-story heart-shaped light fixture and guided us through imbuing our furry friend’s heart with love by rubbing it on our arm, leg, forehead and back.
The final step was making a wish and holding it up toward the heart chandelier before placing it inside our cat. Attendees cheered as kids and adults alike stepped into the spotlight and powered up their hearts.
Then came time to deck out our plush in clothes and accessories. From the Orlando-themed collection, we went with a palm tree-decorated sun dress. For more customization, a dedicated “Personalize Me” station offers embroidery, screen printing and patches for the stuffed animals and their apparel. A popular choice was ear embroidery of names and initials.
Lastly, we visited the “Name Me” station and typed all our info into a large touchscreen. We printed our furry friend’s birth certificate and then collected a Cub Condo to carry her home. At that moment, Bearemy and Pawlette character mascots emerged to greet and take photos with attendees.
Pop Culture Meets Personalization
On the second floor, a die-hard Sanrio fan like us was in heaven as we encountered the Build-A-Bear x Hello Kitty and Friends Workshop, a pink-splashed room featuring a curated collection of Sanrio plush, apparel and Icon Park exclusives.
Next door is a specialty room for Pokémon and one for Build-A-Bear’s line of Promise Pets, each designed with its own color schemes, stuffing machines, sound stations and photo ops.
The Build-A-Bear Design Studio is a first-of-its-kind, appointment-only experience for the brand, where guests work one-on-one with a Design Consultant to create a bespoke furry friend. Every detail is customizable, from fur colors and fabrics to eyes and paws.
Once selections are made, the plush design is previewed digitally and brought to life by a seamstress, followed by a private reveal of the creation.
In addition to these attractions, the second floor is also home to birthday party rooms, a winding slide that transports guests to the first floor, and a giant, spinning bear sculpture.
Sweets and Celebrations
For the grand finale of the Workshop experience, guests take the elevator up to the third floor. The Build-A-Bear Bakeshop serves up desserts, including brownies, pretzels, cheesecake, cake pops, cupcakes and cookies. After building their own bear, guests can build their own cupcakes and cookies by decorating them with provided frosting and toppings.
Outside the bakery is the Celebration Terrace, an open-air gathering space overlooking Icon Park, The Orlando Eye observation wheel and International Drive. Here, Build-A-Bear hosted a VIP reception following the preview event.
To commemorate the milestone location, CEO Chris Hurt thanked the teams and Bear Builders behind the project and invited attendees to participate in a collective Heart Ceremony. The warmed-up hearts were all placed into a giant teddy bear that will remain at the Orlando location “forever.”
“We’ll have all of your wishes in this bear that will stay right here, and you will always be a part of the very first day that the store opened,” Hurt said as he led the ceremony. “Add a little more heart to life.” Partner: Chute Gerdeman.
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