The interior design of the Neverland Experience overflows with intricate details of the Peter Pan universe by author J.M. Barrie, as seen on Wednesday night, May 25, 2022. 

If you spend any amount of time on social media, you’ve probably seen the advertisements. An immersive Alice in Wonderland-themed pop-up bar is coming to San Francisco! A Lego-themed bar is taking over the San Francisco Mint building! Come try a Hansel and Gretel immersive edible experience, the ads urge, or why not try nine holes at a Harry Potter-inspired mini golf course? 

The mysterious company behind all these events — oftentimes with locations kept secret until the day of the event — is Hidden Media Network. The company’s website offers zero information about its origins (all it offers is “all the best virtual and live experiences in over 30 cities around the world”). According to Hidden’s LinkedIn page, though, it seems to be based in Australia. 

I’ve long been curious about the constant stream of “immersive experiences” the company has been unleashing on San Francisco over the past few years. If this company is churning out this many events, can they actually be doing any of them well? A few less-than-stellar reviews and the heavy advertisement of a socially-distanced “floating cinema” in the summer of 2020 that never happened made me wonder if this was all a scam. 

So when the latest Hidden event came to town — a Peter Pan-themed “Neverland” bar popping up at Trademark Bar on Folsom Street from now until August 7 — I decided to check it out. 

I attended a free media night preview, but tickets for the “Neverland Experience” go for $45. The event listing promises "all kinds of magical cocktails sprinkled with faith and a little bit of pixie dust” and “challenges to complete and prizes to be won.”

Peter Pan, as played by Oakland actress Wally Ajayi, hosts The Neverland Experience at 1123 Folsom Street as seen on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. 

Arriving a little earlier than the event’s start time, I stood outside the entrance of Trademark confused. The bar looked totally normal inside — no signs of Neverland or fairy dust anywhere. But right as the clock struck 5:30 p.m., a chipper person dressed in a Peter Pan costume popped out of a side door, and after checking my vaccine card, beckoned me inside.

The private room Neverland had taken over wasn’t huge by any means, but the amount of whimsical decor was impressive. Faux flower garlands, pirate flags and string lights hung from the ceiling, while a vine-covered cage took up one corner of the room. Sea shanties played over the speakers. The smell of incense permeated the air. We were greeted by Captain Hook, who offered us a welcome drink choice of beer or wine.

The Neverland Experience tops the list for the latest theme bar in San Francisco located at 1123 Folsom Street as seen on Wednesday night, May 25, 2022. 

The design of The Neverland Experience, including this giant treaure chest, overflows with intricate details of the canon Peter Pan universe by author J.M. Barrie, as seen on Wednesday night, May 25, 2022. 

Themed games and challenges (with cocktail prizes) provide for a big part of The Neverland Experience currently in San Francisco's South of Market District through August 7, 2022. 

The interior design of The Neverland Experience overflows with intricate details of the canon Peter Pan universe by author J.M. Barrie, as seen on Wednesday night, May 25, 2022. 

Many guests immediately set about taking advantage of the Instagrammability of it all, while I sipped my beer out of a skull-shaped glass and adjusted to the sensory overload. It’s worth noting that while the event’s description states that “masks are compulsory,” zero of the staff or guests were wearing them (perhaps just an outdated decree, as masks are no longer required at restaurants or bars in San Francisco).

Captain Hook, fully in character, handed us pirate flags and instructed us to choose a team name. Halfheartedly, I wrote down “Arr, Arr” on our whiteboard.

“This is really weird,” I whispered to Kevin, the photographer who’d tagged along with me.

Captain Hook, as played by Oakland artist Ember Cobalt, interacts with the crowd during the Neverland Experience in the SoMa District of San Francisco on Wednesday night, May 25, 2022.

I suspected that the staff (made up of bartender-actors hired by Hidden) would be dressed in costume, but I hadn’t realized the event included a performance. Captain Hook set the scene, informing the crowd that they’d stolen Tinker Bell and that they knew Peter Pan would be coming to look for her. I won’t give it all away, but even though the crowd was quite shy, there was one decent joke about mass firing employees over Zoom that got a laugh.

Throughout the hour-and-a-half experience, we were instructed to complete challenges to claim our included cocktails. For our first, we had to win three “gold dubloons” through various pirate training exercises. I endured a series of humiliations, from hooking rings on Captain Hook’s hooks to miserably failing at hitting a target with a toy bow and arrow (I did so poorly that Peter Pan had to “magic” the arrow for me). 

The Wench, as played by performance artist Beatrice Lipton, pours specialty Neverland shots over ice at the Neverland Experience in the SoMa District of San Francisco on Wednesday night, May 25, 2022.

The first cocktail, though, was just as tasty as it was cool to look at. Arriving in a glass barrel filled with smoking dry ice was a Painkiller, a perfectly lethal pastel combination of dark rum, pineapple, orange and coconut. The second was a cocktail made with butterfly peaflower and white rum, which changed color from blue to purple when we were instructed to pour a tiny bottle of citrus inside. 

As the strong cocktails began to hit, I noticed something — I was actually having fun. A combination of alcohol and giggling over silly challenges had evaporated all of the initial awkwardness. I wanted to hate the Neverland Experience, but I didn’t anymore. 

The Wench, left, and Captain Hook, as played by Beatrice Lipton and Ember Cobalt respectively, react to a climactic moment at the Neverland Experience in the SoMa District of San Francisco on Wednesday night, May 25, 2022.

I think it had a lot to do with the staff, with their elaborate costumes and earnest acting. $45 is a lot for two cocktails and a skimpy beer pour (guests also have the option of ordering more cocktails for an additional cost), but not when you consider that you’re also paying for the performance. And yes, it’s cheesy, but I don’t think anyone attending a Disney character-themed “immersive experience” is expecting something refined. 

I guess those innumerable Hidden Media Network events aren’t a scam after all — at least not this one. 

The interior design of the Neverland Experience overflows with intricate details of the Peter Pan universe by author J.M. Barrie, as seen on Wednesday night, May 25, 2022 and through August 7, 2022. 

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Madeline Wells is a reporter for SFGATE covering food and drink in the Bay Area. She grew up in the Seattle area and received her B.A. in English and Media Studies from UC Berkeley. Prior to SFGATE, she was an associate editor at East Bay Express and freelance writer covering the Bay Area music scene. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com