Making our way north on I‑95—muscling through extremely heavy, slow rush‑hour traffic from the state line to Milford—we stumbled upon a fun little “find.” Actually, Carl found it while plotting our route from Williamsburg to Bar Harbor.
That find was the PEZ Visitor Center, tucked into an industrial area just outside Milford.
PEZ gets its name from the German word PfeffErminZ (peppermint). The company began in Austria in 1927, originally selling peppermint candies in tins. When PEZ opened its U.S. headquarters in New York in 1952, fruit flavors were introduced, and the company shifted from tins to the playful dispensers we know today.
Over the decades, PEZ has produced hundreds—if not thousands—of dispenser varieties: giant, mini, holiday, character, non‑character, plush, presidential, historical, automotive, animal, sports, trucks, tractors, footed, non‑footed, and more. If you can imagine it, there’s probably a dispenser for it. The most popular of all time is Santa Claus.
PEZ even had a “PEZ Girl,” PEZ‑mobiles, and dispenser‑shaped costumes. Their novelty quickly turned them into collectibles, and the first PEZ convention was held in Ohio in 1991.
There is a small admission fee to explore the Visitor Center: General, $5; Seniors, $4; Children, $4; Under 3, Free. Each paid admission also includes a $2 store credit, which is a fun perk since most individual dispensers cost $2.49. The Visitor Center opens at 10 a.m., and we spent about an hour exploring.
Be sure to do their Scavenger Hunt to earn a free dispenser. Right now, the hunt involves finding the Seven Dwarfs, each assigned a letter. Once you locate all seven—some on the first floor, some on the second—you’ll reveal a message and claim your prize.
Large windows let you peek into the production area, where employees package dispensers and candy. Historical notes line the walls, and the displays of memorabilia and dispensers are pure eye candy.
Most of us have owned a PEZ dispenser at some point in our lives. After seeing the sheer number of designs, it’s tempting to start a collection of your own.
[We are making our way up the East Coast. See our previous posts: Cape May, NJ—Now an East Coast Favorite! and Highlights from Washington, D.C.]
