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Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion - CLOSED
Category: Arts & Entertainment Festivals Festivals [Edit]
500 Granville StVancouver, BC V6C
Neighbourhood: Downtown
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
5 reviews for Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion
5 reviews in English
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Review from Johnson C.
Vancouver, BC
Updated - 3/17/2010
The Mint Pavilion is now located inside the main VPL branch (open until the end of the Paralympics). I went there on Tuesday morning at 9AM, doors opened at 10AM and was inside fondling some Olympic medals by 10:30AM. However, by the time I left, the line was already 3 hours long. Be there early to avoid the long lineups.
Unfortunately, for anyone that missed the Mint Pavilion at the original location during the Olympics, there is no more gold bullion bar or the 100kg 1-million gold cold on display. It's just a small room where the gold, silver and bronze medals for the Olympics and Paralympics are on display - so you can touch and pose with the medals. There are also some display about how they are made and the staff was very knowledgeable - answering noobie questions with good humour.
Here's a few things to note:
- they no longer have the nice souvenir gloves that say 'I touched a medal' - it's just a plain white glove as they ran out
- the staff that were handing out the gloves to the line were pretty clear about the strict rules about taking pictures of the medals: "No wearing it on your neck; no pretending to bite, kiss or lick the medals; touch only with your glove hand; no peace sign or thumbs-up or any signs of the sort; you can only take a picture of you holding the medal and doing a pleasant smile." I asked her why and she said that only the winning athletes have the honor of doing that with their medals - makes sense. However, not saying that you should do it, but the staff inside can't really see what you are doing with the medals as your back is to them when taking the photos...
- the let about 10 people into the room at a time and the group is given about 10 minutes. At first, it was a mad dash to the medals and people aggressively trying to take photos - but it's plenty of time to take a picture of/with all six medals (the Paralympics ones are larger and better looking; bronze actually looks the best in person) and check out the displays
Thumbs up again for being open during the Paralympics and giving people the chance to see/touch the medals without a 6-hour lineup (during the last week of the Olympics).Listed in: Olympic Events/Venues
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/18/2010 First to Review
One of the better pavilions in Vancouver during the Olympics - free to enter, running during the… Read more »
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Review from Peter S.
2/21/2010
Didn't bother with the extra long line for medal touching.
The million dollar coin is a big shiny coin. I would be way more excited if they were giving it away. But hey, you can pick up a gold bar for a quick photo op.
Meh -
Review from Natasha L.
2/20/2010
4 hour wait, REALLY!!!!
Got there around 11 today and was dismayed by the wait time. I really don't understand why they don't give you a number and tell you the approximate waiting time so people can just come back.
Cheesecake factory in the Grove is a good example. You get a pager so you can shop around while you wait. Why don't they let people look around and spend money instead of waiting in lines for hours? Not a very well thought up up plan it seems. -
Review from Janel Y.
2/28/2010 1 photo
The wait to see and touch the Olympic medals is a minimum of 3 hours the day we visited the Mint. Since we didn't want to spend that much time in line, we opted for the shorter line (20 minutes when we went) which is seeing everything BUT the medals.
It was cool to see the different coins, listen to some videos of how they make the coins, see the million dollar coin and pick up the gold bar. They're passing out free pins and empty coin holders if you're collecting the special coins.
We passed by the closed off room where those in line go and see the medals close up. From the non-frosted windows of the room, you can see the medals and you don't even have to wait in line! You may not see every detail or be able to touch the medal, but who needs to touch them since most likely, they'll all feel the same! -
Review from Katie P.
Vancouver, BC
3/12/2010
I lined up to see the medals at 8 am (it opened at 9) and was in at 9:20. It was definitely worth it. The medals are beautiful and weigh a ton. While waiting inside with friends I detoured to look at the gold medal coin and other exhibits, and exchange my coins. As for everything, if you don't want to wait long, get there early!
