donnyenglish said:

I sent the following suggestions to Paisley Park for improvements:

1. Let fans walk through the actual soundboard rooms for Studio A and B rather than just the performance areas.

1. Show fans the actual Studio A soundboard room next to the Purple Rain room and perhaps a photo of what it used to look like. I understand that he wanted a Purple Rain room and that the decision was made to use Studio A, but Studio A is an important part of Paisley Park and must be part of the tour. The Plectrum Electrum video would be a good video to show Studio A in action. Prince loved Studio A because of the unique echo effect of the sound. Lots of songs recorded in that studio. Much of his last jazz album was recorded there. Ask Kirk.

1. More music and longer videos in every room. A video monitor should be in every room with unseen footage.

1. No matter what anyone tells you, Prince wanted “The Egg” building to be the place where fans paid their respects to him. He did not want his urn to be in Paisley Park. I know the family designed the urn and wanted the urn to be in Paisley, so that is their prerogative. With that said, most fans who feel closest to Prince don’t think he would have wanted that particular urn and would not have wanted it in Paisley Park, which is about life, not death. He didn’t finish “The Egg” for a reason. I understand that you may have no say in this.

1. Research where the 7^th pyramid is at Paisley Park. There are six that are visible. As you know, there is a 7^th one. Also, there are many more hidden rooms and other treasures to be found.

1. Eventually let fans see the vault. Eventually let them see the wardrobe room. Much later, let them see where he lived.

1. Keep a staff member in his office at all times. That is one of the highlights of the tour and there can be no chance that a fan takes or disturbs anything that is there.

1. You can use the upstairs recreation room above the little kitchen as a place for VIP ticket holders to view never seen before full concert videos from various eras. The last time I saw it he had his arcade games and pool table in that room and a big screen. Perfect setting for VIP’s.

1. January 21, 2016 was a historic night for Paisley Park. You show a brief clip from that night in the main soundstage room. You must show the entirety of both shows, especially the first show, eventually in that mainstage room so that everyone can experience that most intimate and historic show in the history of Paisley Park. Prince fans from all over the world would come to view those shows, but they must be in their entirety. I’m not telling you to rip people off but you could charge whatever you wanted for that and we would come.

1. Re-Paint the symbol on the door to the main soundstage. He painted over it in the spring because he planned to do more piano & mic shows at Paisley in the summer and he wanted to have the fractal mandalas projected on the door behind him without the symbol. That symbol was such an iconic part of that room that it should be painted back on the door.

1. The photo op should be like an amusement park where someone snaps your photos and then you can buy them at the end of the tour. The thumb drive thing takes too long.

1. Lastly, and most importantly, if you are going to serve pancakes at Paisley Park then they can’t be Aunt Jemima pancakes. They must be the lavender pancakes with the special syrup that Prince served to his guests. Authenticity is important to Prince fans.

If even half of this is implemented, I'll be on the next flight to MLPS. Fantastic suggestions. I wholeheartedly agree with all of them. I do think that as fans, we need to guide Graceland Holdings in this process. We are not like Elvis fans-this is a VERY different process than Graceland is/was. Our desires, needs and expectations are unique. I heard the Egg is to become an onsite boutique hotel-like the one at Graceland. I'm not for that at all. It would be an interesting place for the urn. The urn is just there in the atrium and it feels awkward with no privacy. It's just too open and exposed-not intimate or private. As it is a main thoroughfare of the tour, I felt rushed and that angered me. My gosh, if you are letting me close enough to be right there with him, DO NOT rush me on and have people scammering around me. I would love more and longer videos of him performing as well. I hope your suggestions are well received and implemented because that would be AWESOME.

laurarichardson said:

Nooriginalusername said:

We took the General Admission tour because I couldn't afford the VIP with the expense of getting there and the concert. I was beyond pleased with our experience. The tour guides need ALOT of training. I had to feed them the information and correct misinformation about basic stuff several times. The ones we had clearly weren't big Prince fans, if at all, so that was an odd vibe. I was the only one in the group who immediately started the tears as soon as I got past the entrance and was standing to enter the atrium. The urn was really well done, beautiful actually and I was skeptical. The guides presentation of though was very sterile - "Now its time to pay your respects" then they put their heads down had a moment of silence and then popped up their heads, put on the smile and led us to the other rooms. I didn't let them herd me off, stuck around, grabbed a few tissues and took my time. From that point, we just followed the groups. There was a feeling of being rushed but I just didn't move with the group and no one complained, so I went with taking my time to take it all in. Studio A was very special. Just to absorb all that has happened in that room over the years was overwhelming. It's truly a magical music factory in those walls. Overall, the themed rooms were very well done, the artifacts were wonderfully chosen and it was just a priviledge to be present in his space. There were wonderful videos of Prince performing throughout but the loop in the rehersal space with footage of his Piano and Microphone performance at Paisley is phenomonal-particularly since the set is still there-as it was the night he performed. But the highlight for me was at the end. There is the full video of Prince's SuperBowl performance on large screens. I have always loved this performance and was so completely in the moment. I wasn't aware of anyone else in the room, just standing there wiping my tears but with a smile. I felt a very gentle pat on my arm and heard "Thank you so much for coming." I looked beside me and there was Tyka. She was there with other family and they had joined the group and were watching our reactions to the footage. It was a really beautiful moment. She went around and shook hands, gave hugs and thanked us personally. She was completely gracious and sincere and it was obvious that she loved how much we loved her brother. There are issues to be worked out at Paisley but it was a once in a lifetime experience and I hope they are able to make this work. I just hope that the management will implement more training and more exhibits that provide a deeper and wider knowledge of Prince and who he was for future generations and those who aren't as familiar with him.

-- Thanks this was so heartfelt. As for Tyka a few people have met her and no as had anything bad to say about her. Almost everything bad we have heard comes from the stupid tabloids. I wish people would understand that 90% of what they write is bull.

I have always been considered a unusually perceptive reader of people-their body language, etc. After being around her and the family in that room, no one can convince me that the crap she gets is deserved. She was genuinely touched by the love for Prince that was in that room. No one had to come speak to us-there were many other ways around the crowd, but she chose to reach out. Personally, I don't care if every one of them become gazillionaires as long as Paisley Park, Prince's legacy-and MOST important, those masters and every thing in the vault are well cared for and protected.

My experience:

I did 2 VIP 9pm tours on 10/14 & 10/15 and is my first time both in Paisley Park. I knew for a fact that one time wouldn't be enough for me.

10/14

Kind of surprised it was busy and crowded for a late night tour. From what i understood, there are suppose to be 15 per group (VIP & GA). Before the tour started we were all meshed together as we enter the atrium, once i saw what was on display in the center...i walked away and cried. At the moment, i didn't care for what one of the tour guides were saying. I went to look at the kitchen and look up at the 2nd floor. I don't want to go into every detail on what i saw but will skim through what was important and stood out to me.

When i entered the office, at one moment i had to room all to myself and became emotional. Afterwards, we went to editing room, which looked cozy and warm. Kirk was there and we saw clips from musicology tours (which i am guilty to have seen some of it online). After the clips, Kirk was introducing himself in a playful way since some people did not recognize him, telling the story of how he ended up as one of dancers in purple rain and answering questions (some were asking silly questions).

Before Galaxy room, one of the staff was checking wristbands for VIP and found 2 people did not have them and were GA so they were removed from group. Inside Galaxy room, i couldn't believe it was smaller than editing room. Then we were lead to Studio A*(hope that's the right one) where we heard live performances from P&M in Sydney, ping pong table in the center and the photo session with the piano/guitar. For that you had to wait on line and it took a while but i don't mind. I forgot what happened but one of the stands that was holding a unlit candle dropped and broke in pieces (uh oh!! ) and placed back on. I peek into recording studio and remember seeing it from Prince instagram videos.

After that we went to Studio B? where i guess the magic really happens and listening to 2 snippets of unreleased jazz tracks (which we could hear the whole thing). In one of the hallways, it was awesome to see the mural of him with influences and protoges upclose.

Along the way, we finally entered the main stage area and suprised how big and spacious it is with displays around and giant green showing clips from gold experience tour, P&M in PP and purple rain. To see the recent customized piano & guitar on display became surreal .

On to NPG room,(i imagined it would be located downstairs) but i love how dark, intimate and loungy it looks. By then our tour guide was done with us and were lead to last section, which played superbowl performances and display of mementos from months ago.

10/15

My attitude was upbeat through out the tour and noticed those in my group were more emotional than the ones from last night. I remember walking into a room and saw one of them alone crying and next thing i know i was giving this person a hug.

Once everyone else had entered Studio A*, I had a moment inside Galaxy room by myself. There were technical issues with having the pictures taken so we were taken to studio B and waited. Then one of the staff brings Kirk into the room and it became a Q&A session.

Someone asked him about revolution working in studio and about roadhouse garden and he replied stating that prince had no interest with the revolution. Someone else asked any last advice Prince gave him. He replied within the words of "buy all the property you can" and couple of things i can't seem to remember. Then a few people were asking similar questions about releasing new music/album and he kept replying with the same answer. He did mentioned there are no plans and never to "REMIX" his music. He stayed in the room for several more minutes and mingled with others. It made me realize how much he is involved with Paisley Park more than ever or maybe he always been this involved.

Once we go into main stage room, i stared up on the giant screen and sang along with Free yourself. I wanted to channeled myself on Jan 21 2016 and pretend i was in the audience. I stayed much longer in that room and by the time i got to NPG Room, it was time to go to superbowl & mementos section. I looked again at the mementos and realized that people are placing new mementos( whether a piece of paper or small gift). Few of us sang along to whole superbowl performances. I noticed with the setback from photo session, we were there longer than i was last night. While getting on the bus, i looked back at paisley park and full moon and blew a kiss.

sidenotes:

* The layout of Paisley Park is not really designated for a walk through when it is crowded with people. The studios, main stage & npg room are but the smaller rooms and narrow hallways feels like you are squeezed in.

*As comfy and tempting it is, you can not sit on the furnitures (it's a no-no but couches in NPG room are ok). I noticed people tried sitting on them and were told to get off.

*In some rooms you feel cool air circulating

*The original candles that Prince had all over PP were replaced with LED candles (for safety reasons)

*There are talks of what we see now in Paisley Park will change in the coming months or by next year. There are plans of expansions and doing special events

Overall:

I am grateful to be inside Paisley Park despite the disorganization

I tried absorbing and savoring every section and nook & kranny those two nights. If only these walls, doves and instruments could talk. My favorite rooms are office, galaxy, hallway mural, main stage & npg room.

I personally think tour guides should be an option, they should instead offer an all day reserved pass for us to roam around as long as we want from 9am-9pm. Have rooms that play full live peformances and songs (old, new and unreleased), VIP packages should allow being inside the recording studios that are currently restricted from public (right now they have allowed friends, family & those who have connections to be allow inside). Having event gatherings like dance parties or movie nights after closing time.

I secretly hoped Prince would appeared from a mystical fog (stage or natural). I guess Kirk was the closest to being connected with Prince since he personally knows him and part of his inner circle . Don't get me wrong you do get the presence of Prince through out the building, it's just that the atmosphere i experienced was distorted with how it is being currently managed and restricted (i guess it will take some time to be handled smoother and enhance).

Being inside Paisley Park, i felt like in another world where time is non-existent, welcoming and loving. The interior designs, colors, scents, furnitures, "toys & gadgets", food is my sanctuary and i never want to leave.

[Edited 10/19/16 7:19am]

[Edited 10/21/16 8:18am]

donnyenglish said:

Besides incompetent issues that have come up at the PP museum.....

(Putting tickets onsale before receiving final approval from the city. Staff allowing offensive photo ops not only to take place - but staff actually took the photos, then provided individuals a copy of said photos. Doesn't matter if staff is newly hired, they shouldn't need advising on common sense and decency. And if they do, perhaps they're in the wrong position.)

What year is this? Is it true that Paisley Park visitors are asked to purchase 2 USB flash drives in order to take more than one 'VIP' photo? A USB flash drive could certainly save more than ONE photo on it.

Does the food/merch tent connect directly from the exit doors? Or do people have to exit and walk outside to enter the tent? Pretty soon it's going to be cold as ______ in MN. Would visitors check their coats at the beginning of the tour, then go back to the front entrance, to collect their coat and walk back to the other end of the building, in order to go outside to the tent?

Nooriginalusername said:

laurarichardson said:

Nooriginalusername said: -- Thanks this was so heartfelt. As for Tyka a few people have met her and no as had anything bad to say about her. Almost everything bad we have heard comes from the stupid tabloids. I wish people would understand that 90% of what they write is bull.

I have always been considered a unusually perceptive reader of people-their body language, etc. After being around her and the family in that room, no one can convince me that the crap she gets is deserved. She was genuinely touched by the love for Prince that was in that room. No one had to come speak to us-there were many other ways around the crowd, but she chose to reach out. Personally, I don't care if every one of them become gazillionaires as long as Paisley Park, Prince's legacy-and MOST important, those masters and every thing in the vault are well cared for and protected.

Wow, what date was this?

They also posted other dates to tour.... https://www.officialpaisl...om/tickets

It is definitely worth it

[Edited 10/19/16 6:38am]

partyup77 said:

I am anxious to hear more about the unreleased song that visitors got to hear and how the food was.

I had VIP on Oct 13th.

The experience is something for everyone to go feel. Whether you are a Prince fan or not, it is definitely worth seeing how this man created, his legacy, hear his music, see his awards, - unreal how many, and pay your respects.

The food was excellent. The pancakes should have been made with lavendar the way Prince liked them. Try the sampler. You don't need to be a vegetarian to enjoy it. Even though I am. The Kale chips are delicious. Prince was a fan of curry too, so some food has mild curry in it, some doesn't.

There are soy candles everywhere throughout Paisley Park.

Also, Prince had a sweet tooth, and his chef kept his favorite chocholate mouse cake in the fridge for him. It is really good.

Nooriginalusername said:

donnyenglish said:

I sent the following suggestions to Paisley Park for improvements:

1. Let fans walk through the actual soundboard rooms for Studio A and B rather than just the performance areas.

1. Show fans the actual Studio A soundboard room next to the Purple Rain room and perhaps a photo of what it used to look like. I understand that he wanted a Purple Rain room and that the decision was made to use Studio A, but Studio A is an important part of Paisley Park and must be part of the tour. The Plectrum Electrum video would be a good video to show Studio A in action. Prince loved Studio A because of the unique echo effect of the sound. Lots of songs recorded in that studio. Much of his last jazz album was recorded there. Ask Kirk.

1. More music and longer videos in every room. A video monitor should be in every room with unseen footage.

1. No matter what anyone tells you, Prince wanted “The Egg” building to be the place where fans paid their respects to him. He did not want his urn to be in Paisley Park. I know the family designed the urn and wanted the urn to be in Paisley, so that is their prerogative. With that said, most fans who feel closest to Prince don’t think he would have wanted that particular urn and would not have wanted it in Paisley Park, which is about life, not death. He didn’t finish “The Egg” for a reason. I understand that you may have no say in this.

1. Research where the 7^th pyramid is at Paisley Park. There are six that are visible. As you know, there is a 7^th one. Also, there are many more hidden rooms and other treasures to be found.

1. Eventually let fans see the vault. Eventually let them see the wardrobe room. Much later, let them see where he lived.

1. Keep a staff member in his office at all times. That is one of the highlights of the tour and there can be no chance that a fan takes or disturbs anything that is there.

1. You can use the upstairs recreation room above the little kitchen as a place for VIP ticket holders to view never seen before full concert videos from various eras. The last time I saw it he had his arcade games and pool table in that room and a big screen. Perfect setting for VIP’s.

1. January 21, 2016 was a historic night for Paisley Park. You show a brief clip from that night in the main soundstage room. You must show the entirety of both shows, especially the first show, eventually in that mainstage room so that everyone can experience that most intimate and historic show in the history of Paisley Park. Prince fans from all over the world would come to view those shows, but they must be in their entirety. I’m not telling you to rip people off but you could charge whatever you wanted for that and we would come.

1. Re-Paint the symbol on the door to the main soundstage. He painted over it in the spring because he planned to do more piano & mic shows at Paisley in the summer and he wanted to have the fractal mandalas projected on the door behind him without the symbol. That symbol was such an iconic part of that room that it should be painted back on the door.

1. The photo op should be like an amusement park where someone snaps your photos and then you can buy them at the end of the tour. The thumb drive thing takes too long.

1. Lastly, and most importantly, if you are going to serve pancakes at Paisley Park then they can’t be Aunt Jemima pancakes. They must be the lavender pancakes with the special syrup that Prince served to his guests. Authenticity is important to Prince fans.

If even half of this is implemented, I'll be on the next flight to MLPS. Fantastic suggestions. I wholeheartedly agree with all of them. I do think that as fans, we need to guide Graceland Holdings in this process. We are not like Elvis fans-this is a VERY different process than Graceland is/was. Our desires, needs and expectations are unique. I heard the Egg is to become an onsite boutique hotel-like the one at Graceland. I'm not for that at all. It would be an interesting place for the urn. The urn is just there in the atrium and it feels awkward with no privacy. It's just too open and exposed-not intimate or private. As it is a main thoroughfare of the tour, I felt rushed and that angered me. My gosh, if you are letting me close enough to be right there with him, DO NOT rush me on and have people scammering around me. I would love more and longer videos of him performing as well. I hope your suggestions are well received and implemented because that would be AWESOME.

Donny, great ideas. Did you know Prince? Please excuse me for asking. I am assuming you were in PP before?

You can also go to the office PP facebook page or the official PP website and send an email with your suggestions. They do listen. https://www.officialpaisleypark.com/

..or email them here: info@officialpaisleypark.com

[Edited 10/19/16 6:55am]

musicfan77 said:

Nooriginalusername said:

If even half of this is implemented, I'll be on the next flight to MLPS. Fantastic suggestions. I wholeheartedly agree with all of them. I do think that as fans, we need to guide Graceland Holdings in this process. We are not like Elvis fans-this is a VERY different process than Graceland is/was. Our desires, needs and expectations are unique. I heard the Egg is to become an onsite boutique hotel-like the one at Graceland. I'm not for that at all. It would be an interesting place for the urn. The urn is just there in the atrium and it feels awkward with no privacy. It's just too open and exposed-not intimate or private. As it is a main thoroughfare of the tour, I felt rushed and that angered me. My gosh, if you are letting me close enough to be right there with him, DO NOT rush me on and have people scammering around me. I would love more and longer videos of him performing as well. I hope your suggestions are well received and implemented because that would be AWESOME.

Donny, great ideas. Did you know Prince? Please excuse me for asking. I am assuming you were in PP before?

You can also go to the office PP facebook page or the official PP website and send an email with your suggestions. They do listen. https://www.officialpaisleypark.com/

..or email them here: info@officialpaisleypark.com

[Edited 10/19/16 6:55am]

I have been to Paisley several times and I have "met" Prince several times and have a bunch of stories to tell but I cannot say that I have had an actual long conversation with him. I have been a diehard fan since 1980 and like many fans I feel like I am know him just as much as those that were in his daily life. Those of us that have listened to him through his music know him best. ID did send these suggestions to Paisley.

[Edited 10/19/16 8:38am]

musicfan77 said:

Nooriginalusername said:

If even half of this is implemented, I'll be on the next flight to MLPS. Fantastic suggestions. I wholeheartedly agree with all of them. I do think that as fans, we need to guide Graceland Holdings in this process. We are not like Elvis fans-this is a VERY different process than Graceland is/was. Our desires, needs and expectations are unique. I heard the Egg is to become an onsite boutique hotel-like the one at Graceland. I'm not for that at all. It would be an interesting place for the urn. The urn is just there in the atrium and it feels awkward with no privacy. It's just too open and exposed-not intimate or private. As it is a main thoroughfare of the tour, I felt rushed and that angered me. My gosh, if you are letting me close enough to be right there with him, DO NOT rush me on and have people scammering around me. I would love more and longer videos of him performing as well. I hope your suggestions are well received and implemented because that would be AWESOME.

Donny, great ideas. Did you know Prince? Please excuse me for asking. I am assuming you were in PP before?

You can also go to the office PP facebook page or the official PP website and send an email with your suggestions. They do listen. https://www.officialpaisleypark.com/

..or email them here: info@officialpaisleypark.com

[Edited 10/19/16 6:55am]

What's your rationale for the 7th pyramid?

rap said:

Paisley Park museum management announced today that people can no longer bring their own USB flash drive to use for the "photo op", because a virus could be introduced onto their computer system.

It took them this long to think about that being a potential problem.

fbueller said:

Paisley Park museum management announced today that people can no longer bring their own USB flash drive to use for the "photo op", because a virus could be introduced onto their computer system.

It took them this long to think about that being a potential problem.

That was my thought... i'm just glad i had two flash drives on me when i did the tour. They should allow two pics, period. i think that is reasonable considering the flash drive is at least 8GB...even if it was 1GB.. lol. I also think they should put media on the flash drives they sell. Maybe a digital version of the tour book, or a few rare pics. Maybe a few unreleased songs... it shouldn't just be a blank drive. All in good time.

setecastronomy said:

fbueller said:

Paisley Park museum management announced today that people can no longer bring their own USB flash drive to use for the "photo op", because a virus could be introduced onto their computer system.

It took them this long to think about that being a potential problem.

That was my thought... i'm just glad i had two flash drives on me when i did the tour. They should allow two pics, period. i think that is reasonable considering the flash drive is at least 8GB...even if it was 1GB.. lol. I also think they should put media on the flash drives they sell. Maybe a digital version of the tour book, or a few rare pics. Maybe a few unreleased songs... it shouldn't just be a blank drive. All in good time.

That would be awesome, but to me, one pic was enough (both my husband and I got a pic together and then I had one alone, since we were both VIP...I was in both. haha He didn't mind.) I wish I would have thougth about doing a different position (standing by the guitar instead) on one of them, but oh well. But honetly, one pic of us together was enough. Unless there was another area to do a diff pic, that would have been nice. The flash drive you get is purple and has the PP logo on it, so even without the pic on it, to me it's worth the $10 to have. You can use it for other stuff...like putting some of your own videos of P on! That's what I'm gonna do. I should have bought more

donnyenglish said:

rap said:

What's your rationale for the 7th pyramid?

Lots of sevens throughout Paisley Park. I found 7 tiny hidden love symbols in the galaxy room. Lots of the architecture has 7's. No way he had only 6 pyramids there. There has to be a seventh.

Bollocks!

I went on the tour today. General Admission. It was an awesome experience and I am so glad I got to do it.

Best things:

His recording studios. To get a glimpse of where all that music was made! so great!

His outfits. Everyone said how tiny they looked. WOW. Smaller than I even imagined. My 9 year old toured with me and she is very small and slender. The outfits would have been a good fit on her. But they were elaborate and cool!

The soundstage (?). Were he had concerts and filmed videos. Massive and just WOW.

Meeting some of his security team. A few of them served as tour guides and they had great stories about daily life at PP.

Worst things:

Nothing was terrible. So maybe...things that need a little improvement..

As said in this forum before...besides the security staff..the main people giving the tours seemed to know very little about Prince or PP. Our guide pointed to a pic of Vanity and said..."this lady..I can't remember her name"

Lots and lots of guides that seemed to be sort of running around and getting the tours mixed together..sometimes talking over each other. Seemed like it was everyones first day.

The elevator was obvious but staff must have been instructed to deny it bc several people asked and they denied or said odd things like...there are lots of elevators. Anyway, you can still see the cutout of it in the atrium. No big deal but it was just awkwardly avoided.

Odd placement of the urn. He may have requested that placement. Idk. But it just seemed out of place and in the middle of the room. Hard to explain.

Overall...awesome and I loved it. I just wanted to write this for those that might not get to go.

PurpleGlitter said:

I went on the tour today. General Admission. It was an awesome experience and I am so glad I got to do it.

Best things:

His recording studios. To get a glimpse of where all that music was made! so great!

His outfits. Everyone said how tiny they looked. WOW. Smaller than I even imagined. My 9 year old toured with me and she is very small and slender. The outfits would have been a good fit on her. But they were elaborate and cool!

The soundstage (?). Were he had concerts and filmed videos. Massive and just WOW.

Meeting some of his security team. A few of them served as tour guides and they had great stories about daily life at PP.

Worst things:

Nothing was terrible. So maybe...things that need a little improvement..

As said in this forum before...besides the security staff..the main people giving the tours seemed to know very little about Prince or PP. Our guide pointed to a pic of Vanity and said..."this lady..I can't remember her name"

Lots and lots of guides that seemed to be sort of running around and getting the tours mixed together..sometimes talking over each other. Seemed like it was everyones first day.

The elevator was obvious but staff must have been instructed to deny it bc several people asked and they denied or said odd things like...there are lots of elevators. Anyway, you can still see the cutout of it in the atrium. No big deal but it was just awkwardly avoided.

Odd placement of the urn. He may have requested that placement. Idk. But it just seemed out of place and in the middle of the room. Hard to explain.

Overall...awesome and I loved it. I just wanted to write this for those that might not get to go.

...at least he is near his doves. I think they should have a few more sofas in there for people to sit down and reflect. Or have some candles around even if they are fake.... it appears a little cold. The elevator was on the wall where the awards are going up the stairs. It was a hall that led to the elevator.

musicfan77 said:

PurpleGlitter said:

I went on the tour today. General Admission. It was an awesome experience and I am so glad I got to do it.

Best things:

His recording studios. To get a glimpse of where all that music was made! so great!

His outfits. Everyone said how tiny they looked. WOW. Smaller than I even imagined. My 9 year old toured with me and she is very small and slender. The outfits would have been a good fit on her. But they were elaborate and cool!

The soundstage (?). Were he had concerts and filmed videos. Massive and just WOW.

Meeting some of his security team. A few of them served as tour guides and they had great stories about daily life at PP.

Worst things:

Nothing was terrible. So maybe...things that need a little improvement..

As said in this forum before...besides the security staff..the main people giving the tours seemed to know very little about Prince or PP. Our guide pointed to a pic of Vanity and said..."this lady..I can't remember her name"

Lots and lots of guides that seemed to be sort of running around and getting the tours mixed together..sometimes talking over each other. Seemed like it was everyones first day.

The elevator was obvious but staff must have been instructed to deny it bc several people asked and they denied or said odd things like...there are lots of elevators. Anyway, you can still see the cutout of it in the atrium. No big deal but it was just awkwardly avoided.

Odd placement of the urn. He may have requested that placement. Idk. But it just seemed out of place and in the middle of the room. Hard to explain.

Overall...awesome and I loved it. I just wanted to write this for those that might not get to go.

...at least he is near his doves. I think they should have a few more sofas in there for people to sit down and reflect. Or have some candles around even if they are fake.... it appears a little cold. The elevator was on the wall where the awards are going up the stairs. It was a hall that led to the elevator. Just look at old photos of the stairs with the awards. There is an opening at the end of the wall. That was sealed. Not sure if that opening in front of the stairs leads to the same elevator. But I think the elevator is still there, just not viewable to the public. I believe it led to his private dwelling.

............also no more sitting at the purple piano or guitar. It has been roped off. I am glad I had the opportunity to sit at that piano, and pose near his purple guitar. I respectfully touched the keys, they were heavy....and I recall words written above the keys - as explained by the guide, was for Prince to add instrumentation of vocals during his solo tour. Their were also words written in white on the piano.

PurpleGlitter said:

I went on the tour today. General Admission. It was an awesome experience and I am so glad I got to do it.

Best things:

His recording studios. To get a glimpse of where all that music was made! so great!

His outfits. Everyone said how tiny they looked. WOW. Smaller than I even imagined. My 9 year old toured with me and she is very small and slender. The outfits would have been a good fit on her. But they were elaborate and cool!

The soundstage (?). Were he had concerts and filmed videos. Massive and just WOW.

Meeting some of his security team. A few of them served as tour guides and they had great stories about daily life at PP.

Worst things:

Nothing was terrible. So maybe...things that need a little improvement..

As said in this forum before...besides the security staff..the main people giving the tours seemed to know very little about Prince or PP. Our guide pointed to a pic of Vanity and said..."this lady..I can't remember her name"

Lots and lots of guides that seemed to be sort of running around and getting the tours mixed together..sometimes talking over each other. Seemed like it was everyones first day.

The elevator was obvious but staff must have been instructed to deny it bc several people asked and they denied or said odd things like...there are lots of elevators. Anyway, you can still see the cutout of it in the atrium. No big deal but it was just awkwardly avoided.

Odd placement of the urn. He may have requested that placement. Idk. But it just seemed out of place and in the middle of the room. Hard to explain.

Overall...awesome and I loved it. I just wanted to write this for those that might not get to go.

Thanks for sharing. You are aware that the urn is just for show right? No real ashes in there. It's sad to me that this was done in such a hurry. If they had taken time and had real fans involved I think I would be more interested. To me it just sounds like going through a dead person's closet without their permission. No offense. Glad you had fun.

3rdeyedude said:

PurpleGlitter said:

I went on the tour today. General Admission. It was an awesome experience and I am so glad I got to do it.

Best things:

His recording studios. To get a glimpse of where all that music was made! so great!

His outfits. Everyone said how tiny they looked. WOW. Smaller than I even imagined. My 9 year old toured with me and she is very small and slender. The outfits would have been a good fit on her. But they were elaborate and cool!

The soundstage (?). Were he had concerts and filmed videos. Massive and just WOW.

Meeting some of his security team. A few of them served as tour guides and they had great stories about daily life at PP.

Worst things:

Nothing was terrible. So maybe...things that need a little improvement..

As said in this forum before...besides the security staff..the main people giving the tours seemed to know very little about Prince or PP. Our guide pointed to a pic of Vanity and said..."this lady..I can't remember her name"

Lots and lots of guides that seemed to be sort of running around and getting the tours mixed together..sometimes talking over each other. Seemed like it was everyones first day.

The elevator was obvious but staff must have been instructed to deny it bc several people asked and they denied or said odd things like...there are lots of elevators. Anyway, you can still see the cutout of it in the atrium. No big deal but it was just awkwardly avoided.

Odd placement of the urn. He may have requested that placement. Idk. But it just seemed out of place and in the middle of the room. Hard to explain.

Overall...awesome and I loved it. I just wanted to write this for those that might not get to go.

Thanks for sharing. You are aware that the urn is just for show right? No real ashes in there. It's sad to me that this was done in such a hurry. If they had taken time and had real fans involved I think I would be more interested. To me it just sounds like going through a dead person's closet without their permission. No offense. Glad you had fun.

Who told you the urn was just for show?

Gotta admit....I'm skeptical of the whole "urn" thing too. Part of me hopes there really aren't ashes in there. Cause if there are....it's not "all" of him. And I've hated that since I was little....people being cremated, and then the ashes being separated. Maybe some spread at sea, some home to different family members, etc etc. I've always felt ashes should be kept together. (whether it be in an urn or spread somewhere). Just creeps me out thinking "oh so and so has some of the ashes, this other person has some..." I like keeping the person all "together" for lack of a better term. Its all just my personal preferance. I don't think it's WRONG to divide them up....just makes me personally uncomfortable!

3rdeyedude said:

PurpleGlitter said:

I went on the tour today. General Admission. It was an awesome experience and I am so glad I got to do it.

Best things:

His recording studios. To get a glimpse of where all that music was made! so great!

His outfits. Everyone said how tiny they looked. WOW. Smaller than I even imagined. My 9 year old toured with me and she is very small and slender. The outfits would have been a good fit on her. But they were elaborate and cool!

The soundstage (?). Were he had concerts and filmed videos. Massive and just WOW.

Meeting some of his security team. A few of them served as tour guides and they had great stories about daily life at PP.

Worst things:

Nothing was terrible. So maybe...things that need a little improvement..

As said in this forum before...besides the security staff..the main people giving the tours seemed to know very little about Prince or PP. Our guide pointed to a pic of Vanity and said..."this lady..I can't remember her name"

Lots and lots of guides that seemed to be sort of running around and getting the tours mixed together..sometimes talking over each other. Seemed like it was everyones first day.

The elevator was obvious but staff must have been instructed to deny it bc several people asked and they denied or said odd things like...there are lots of elevators. Anyway, you can still see the cutout of it in the atrium. No big deal but it was just awkwardly avoided.

Odd placement of the urn. He may have requested that placement. Idk. But it just seemed out of place and in the middle of the room. Hard to explain.

Overall...awesome and I loved it. I just wanted to write this for those that might not get to go.

Thanks for sharing. You are aware that the urn is just for show right? No real ashes in there. It's sad to me that this was done in such a hurry. If they had taken time and had real fans involved I think I would be more interested. To me it just sounds like going through a dead person's closet without their permission. No offense. Glad you had fun.

We were told by PP staff that the urn contains his ashes.

[img:$uid]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn378/malbena/Paisley%20Park-Studio%20B-892%202.jpg[/img:$uid]

It was a great experience. The staff was so welcoming and friendly. We got to see a lot of things. The VIP experience was worth it, I say.

[Edited 10/24/16 16:44pm]

ksl1974 said:

Gotta admit....I'm skeptical of the whole "urn" thing too. Part of me hopes there really aren't ashes in there. Cause if there are....it's not "all" of him. And I've hated that since I was little....people being cremated, and then the ashes being separated. Maybe some spread at sea, some home to different family members, etc etc. I've always felt ashes should be kept together. (whether it be in an urn or spread somewhere). Just creeps me out thinking "oh so and so has some of the ashes, this other person has some..." I like keeping the person all "together" for lack of a better term. Its all just my personal preferance. I don't think it's WRONG to divide them up....just makes me personally uncomfortable!

They know they can get away with it because you can't check or verify it. I guess it is not important. It is just symbolic but I feel an unecessary part of the tour. We all know he died.

malbena said:

[img:$uid]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn378/malbena/Paisley%20Park-Studio%20B-892%202.jpg[/img:$uid]

It was a great experience. The staff was so welcoming and friendly. We got to see a lot of things. The VIP experience was worth it, I say.

[Edited 10/24/16 16:44pm]

I'm glad that they have protected the piano. Especially since it was the last piano he played. BUT...with the new angle (which I really like...think it's visually more pleasing angle than the first ones since P is in the pic, etc)...BUT I think they should turn the piano so that people can at least "see" the keys of the piano (not necessarily for the pics, but just to see themselves). The hand written notes on the keys were very special and I feel bad for the people that didnt get a chance to see them up close. They don't have to touch, but if they can see them from a distance, that would be nice. I'm so glad I was able to be there on the 14th and see them up close myself. Very special moment. And my opinion is the guitar should be up on the piano in this new angle. Can't see it very well this way.

QUESTION: Are they still letting you guys play ping pong in there? With the cameras in a new area, is there room? Just wondering. That was one of my fav parts of the tour. I felt like P was watching us play a spirtited game of Ping Pong just like he used to on that very table. Just wondering.

thequeenofthekings said:

malbena said:

[img:$uid]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn378/malbena/Paisley%20Park-Studio%20B-892%202.jpg[/img:$uid]

It was a great experience. The staff was so welcoming and friendly. We got to see a lot of things. The VIP experience was worth it, I say.

[Edited 10/24/16 16:44pm]

I'm glad that they have protected the piano. Especially since it was the last piano he played. BUT...with the new angle (which I really like...think it's visually more pleasing angle than the first ones since P is in the pic, etc)...BUT I think they should turn the piano so that people can at least "see" the keys of the piano (not necessarily for the pics, but just to see themselves). The hand written notes on the keys were very special and I feel bad for the people that didnt get a chance to see them up close. They don't have to touch, but if they can see them from a distance, that would be nice. I'm so glad I was able to be there on the 14th and see them up close myself. Very special moment. And my opinion is the guitar should be up on the piano in this new angle. Can't see it very well this way.

QUESTION: Are they still letting you guys play ping pong in there? With the cameras in a new area, is there room? Just wondering. That was one of my fav parts of the tour. I felt like P was watching us play a spirtited game of Ping Pong just like he used to on that very table. Just wondering.

Yes It was fun to play.