If the Funko Headquarters in Everett is on your Seattle Bucketlist with kids

I had no idea what a “Funko Pop” was when I heard that Funko Headquarters opened up to the public in Everett about a year and a half ago.  I still don’t totally understand them but they seem to be vinyl collectibles of pop culture icons like Jurassic Park and Marvel characters, movies stars and singers and even Hello Kitty.  My kids aren’t total collectors and even though we love pop culture they aren’t avid fans of any characters or show (not even Star Wars or Harry Potter! Don’t all Seattleites love Star Wars and Harry Potter?).  But my guys are into sports and when I started to see sports-themed Funko Pops (I think maybe at Bartells?) I knew they might start getting interested.  And when they started hearing about more friends visiting the Funko Headquarters at school it ended up on our Seattle bucket list for Summer 2019 because now we totally had to check it out.

A stop at Funko HQ on a drive between Vancouver BC and Seattle

Vancouver BC is about 2.5 hours north of Seattle (and sometimes more with traffic) and we are always looking for stops along the way.  On the way home from a recent trip to Vancouver BC we had time to take the leisurely route so we drove along Chuckanut Drive, just off the main highway and stopped at Bow Hill Blueberries and the Breadfarm for some snacks.  Funko HQ is midway between Breadfarm and our house (about 45 minutes on each end) so it was nice to break up the drive a bit and stop.

What is Funko HQ like?

We managed to get (FREE!) street parking right in front of Funko Headquarters and we also saw a zillion Lime scooters parked right in front too.  We have Lime bikes in Seattle but not scooters yet, so this already caught our eye.  There were also really cool giant Funko Pop sculptures all around the block and this made the kids really excited to see what was inside the actual store.  When we entered, we were greeted at the front by someone who gave us a map of the layout and a Funko Pop Price Guide because the items in the store don’t have price tags because they are collectibles.  There are even some Funko Pops that are exclusive to the Funko Everett Store.  There are a quite a few different areas to explore, among them a Harry Potter area, a Star Wars area, a Marvel themed area, a castle with Disney Princesses and an area where you can make your own Funko Pops.  This place reminded me a little of the Disney Store but on a much larger scale. You can’t bring big backpacks into Funko Headquarters but there are lockers in the front of the store that you can use too.  We spent about 45 minutes at this store-it was more crowded than I thought it would be on a Wednesday afternoon but it wasn’t so crowded that we couldn’t look around or have a good time.

Funko Headquarters in Everett has restrooms!

I have been to so many places that don’t have restrooms lately or have outhouses passing off as restrooms, so I was pleasantly surprised that Funko HQ has restrooms for their customers.  This makes Funko an even more appealing stop between Seattle and Vancouver because sometimes there is a lot of traffic in the area and sometimes some Seattleites I know drink too much coffee on road trips.

Make your own Funko Pop!

There is a make your own Funko Pop section at Funko Headquarters that I wanted the kids to do but they ended up choosing different souvenirs.  The make your own characters switch every so often and when we were there you could choose between two characters I didn’t recognize but there were a bunch of people making their own custom pop so they seemed pretty popular. You can also “Funko Pop Yourself” and make your own Pop! online on the Funko website.  I wish this would be something that kids could actually make online and then purchase in real life but hopefully one day.  I love customizable products and the coolest thing we’ve customized lately was a pair of  NIKE ID shoes for the hubby for Father’s Day.

Places to eat nearby the Funko HQ

Right next door to the Funko Headquarters, I noticed  Karls bakery because it had a cool sign for donuts and quite a few people came out with donut boxes in hand while we parked.  They have such a great location and it sounds like they have been there for a long time.  But because we already had our bakery fix, we ended up stopping at Chik Fil A in Lynnwood because we don’t have one near our house.  I also saw a Bahn Mi place called “Yummy Bahn Mi” about a two minute walk from Funko HQ and it looked like it would be a good option if we wanted to eat while we were in Everett.  I also found Narrative Coffee pinned in my Google Maps so it’s a place that’s caught my eye before too.

And don’t forget the Everett Children’s Museum

The Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett is one of the coolest children’s museums-we have spent a lot of time in the water play area and on the roof top playground. It’s less than a 10 minute walk from Funko HQ and combining the two would make an epic trip for any kid.

Are your kids fans of Funko Pops?  And if you’ve been to Everett do you have a favorite place to eat in the area?

(PS. if you are in the Hollywood area, a new Funko store opened up in November 2019 and if you can’t get to Seattle, this might be a fun Funko place to visit too.)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)