I Lived Like Kevin McCallister In 'Home Alone 2,' And All Good Things In My Life Are Ruined
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Even 25 years later, it's hard to watch Kevin McCallister in Home Alone 2 without having one resounding thought: Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta. The kid mistakenly winds up on a plane to New York, while the rest of his family heads to Florida for the holidays, and instead of freaking out, he vacations so hard he'd make DJ Khaled, the Kardashians, and the cast of Floribama Shore jealous. Oh, and he outwits seemingly immortal bandits who are continually out to kill him.
His impromptu New York getaway was so lavish it inspired waves of people to contact The Plaza — the lavish hotel where McCallister stayed in the movie — to book their own trips. It even prompted The Plaza to start its own Home Alone 2-themed packages. It only makes sense, then, that on the sequel's 25th anniversary, they're reviving that offer with a few updates for 2017.
BUY IT NOW: Home Alone 2 DVD, $7.99; Amazon
There's a section of the ground floor set up to mirror Duncan's Toy Chest, the F.A.O. Schwartz-esque toy store from the movie (which, fun fact, was actually filmed in Chicago!), as well as a photo booth where you can re-enact scenes from the movie, like hurling paint cans at those bandits who just won't die. As part of the package, you'll get a Home Alone 2 backpack and a paint can filled with DVDs from all five — yes, five — Home Alone movies. The real thrill, though, is the ice cream sundae cart.
Just like the movie, it's wheeled up to your room and features a massive platter of chocolate-caramel and vanilla ice cream, along with a bevy of toppings like caramel sauce, M&M's, cherries, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate pearls, and fudge sauce. This isn't discount-brand ice cream, either — I was blown away by its creamy texture. It turns out it's made in-house, and the secret, chefs said, was the caramel in the ice cream: It makes the chocolate smoother and easier to scoop.
The Plaza even whipped up a '90s Throwback Menu in honor of the film, which is served at the Todd English Food Hall in the hotel's basement. Executive chef Sani Hebaj and his team started brainstorming the most iconic kids' snacks of the decade, then gave them an upscale twist. There are SpaghettiOs, featuring homemade pasta shaped into the Plaza's P logo; Luxe-ables, a sophisticated twist on Lunchables that trades slimy ham and cheese for prosciutto cotto and fresh burrata with a tomato vinaigrette; even Funyun-dusted onion rings with a truffle aioli. The scenestealer, though, were the pepperoni-and-cheese-stuffed Todd Pockets, which come in cardboard envelopes that look just like Hot Pockets.
When it comes to nostalgic treats, you tend to remember things as better than they were. In this case, they're truly better, given the top-notch ingredients and chef-y, artisanal riffs on packaged foods. I'll never be able to enjoy Chef Boyardee again, now that I've had made-from-scratch mini meatballs.
"It's upgraded, everything's upgraded," Hebaj said, adding that it'd probably be McCallister's favorite dish, even though he wasn't so big on pepperoni.
Even classic drinks get a grown-up twist. The Plaza Punch is essentially a spiked Capri Sun, served in a similar pouch. It's loaded with Vermentino white wine and St. Germain, an elderflower liqueur, and while fruity, it packs a potent punch.
The more dangerous drink is the Sunny Te, a riff on Sunny Delight that's amped up with pineapple juice, light rum, dark rum, Cointreau, and Angostura bitters. It has such a tropical, pineapple-OJ flavor that you don't notice the booze — until you stand up.
The sundae cart will set you back about $200, Hebaj said, and even if you order one of everything off the throwback menu, that'll add up to another $116. Pricey, but it's still a far cry from the $967 McCallister famously spent on room service in the movie.
Rates for rooms with the Home Alone 2 package start at $895, though if you want a palatial, multi-room suite like the one featured in the video above, you better start saving now. The Royal Suite, which comes with its own kitchen, a personal gym, and a private elevator, will set you back $40,000 a night. No, that's not a typo. There's a reason they call it the Royal Suite, after all.
You can live la vida McCallister until Oct. 29, 2018, though the throwback menu will only be available until the end of January. To book a reservation, check out theplazany.com, or follow the phone number used in the movie — it's the actual reservation number for the hotel.
If a trip to New York isn't in the works, you can also pick up the 25th anniversary edition of Home Alone 2 on Blu-ray or DVD.
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