Dallas Dialed Up Nostalgia in 2025 by Partying Like It Was 1999

If you’ve been feeling a strange sense of déjà vu lately, like you’ve stepped into a time machine and landed somewhere in the turn of the century, you’re not alone. Dallas is in the throes of a full-blown millennial nostalgia renaissance, and it’s not just about the return of claw clips and Lisa Frank folders. From landline-like phones to arcades, the city is leaning hard into the past, and honestly, we’re here for it.

Let’s start with the Tin Can phones. No, not the literal string-and-can contraptions we made in elementary school, but close. These retro-inspired devices are popping up in Dallas parenting groups faster than you can say “dial-up internet.” They resemble old-school landlines, complete with chunky buttons and a curly cord, but they operate on Wi-Fi and only make calls to pre-approved numbers. It’s like giving your kid a cellphone, but without the TikTok rabbit holes, Snapchat streaks or the existential dread of doomscrolling. Instead, kids are rediscovering the lost art of actual conversation. Imagine that — talking to your friends without hiding behind emojis.

And speaking of old-school tech in a digitally-dominant age, let’s talk about cameras. With Texas banning cellphone use in public schools statewide, students are turning to digital and film cameras to capture their memories. Yes, film cameras. The kind that requires roll development at an in-person camera shop and makes you wait days to see if your photos are a masterpiece or just a blurry mess. It’s a slower, more deliberate way of documenting life, and it’s bringing creativity back to photography. Plus, there’s something undeniably charming about a bedroom wall covered in photo collages. Remember those? Maybe it’s time to dust off the Polaroid and start snapping again.

But the nostalgia doesn’t stop there. Malls are making a quiet comeback. Sure, some, like Valley View Mall and Lewisville’s The Vista, have mostly gone the way of Blockbuster (RIP), but others are finding new life. Grapevine Mills has Meow Wolf, a trippy, immersive art experience that’s part museum, part playground and all Instagram gold. The Galleria recently added Netflix House Dallas, a pop culture wonderland. And let’s not forget the poetic musings of social media star Hector Alejandro Guererro, whose heartfelt odes to Dallas-Fort Worth malls have us all longing for the days of Orange Julius and Sam Goody. Shopping IRL might not be as convenient as Amazon, but it’s a lot more fun, and it keeps your recycling bin from overflowing with cardboard boxes.

Now, let’s talk about arcades. Remember begging your parents for quarters so you could play Street Fighter or Pac-Man while they finished their enchiladas at El Chico? Those days are back, thanks to places like Free Play Arcade, Cidercade Dallas and Activate Games. Even Netflix House Dallas has an arcade section, because apparently, nostalgia pairs well with Stranger Things merch. For the millennials who want to relive their glory days with a side of craft beer, there’s Barcadia Dallas, where you can play skee-ball and sip an IPA like the sophisticated adult you pretend to be.

There are roller rinks too. Oh, the roller rinks. If you haven’t tripped over your own feet in front of your crush while one-hit-wonder Hanson’s “MMMBop” blared in the background, have you even lived? Grapevine’s Galaxy Skate, Garland’s Texas Skatium and Lewisville’s InterSkate Roller Rink have been bringing back the magic of greasy pizza, disco balls and the faint smell of sweat mixed with regret. Whether you’re planning a birthday party in the neon rooms for your kid or just want to relive your middle school glory days, these rinks have you covered. Bonus points if you can still do the limbo on skates.

We can’t forget the music. Vinyl records, cassette tapes and even iPod-like gadgets are flying off shelves. Blame it on Stranger Things, or the cyclical nature of trends; cassettes are officially cool again. Yes, the same cassettes that required a pencil to rewind when they got tangled. According to AARP, cassette sales are projected to exceed 600,000 copies by the year’s end, so it’s a good time to be a millennial parent or a teenager with a taste for the retro.

Even VHS tapes are making a surprising comeback. Thrift stores and Half Price Books are experiencing a surge in demand for these prehistoric treasures, as people seek the same warm, nostalgic feeling they get from throwing on a vinyl record. With the constant confusion over which streaming service has what movie — and the frustration of finding out your favorite film now costs $40 to buy digitally — why not make an evening of it? Grab a VHS tape, gather the family around a smaller, boxier TV, and embrace the analog vibes. Half Price Books’ flagship location recently expanded its VHS section from a single shelf to an entire aisle, so you’ve got plenty of options. Walmart has jumped on the trend, too, selling VHS copies of new movies like Terrifier 3 and Alien: Romulus, which have been fetching sky-high resale prices.

And we certainly don’t have to tell you that print media is on the cusp of a comeback.

So, what’s driving this wave of nostalgia? Maybe it’s the comfort of the familiar in an increasingly chaotic world. Maybe it’s the desire for genuine connections in an age of digital overload. Or maybe we just really, really miss the days when our biggest worry was whether our Tamagotchi would survive the school day. Whatever the reason, Dallas is embracing the past with open arms. And a pocket full of quarters.