VR Adventures Roll Out at Theme Parks in Hopes of Ruling the Summer

cageymaru

cageymaru

Fully [H]
Joined
Apr 10, 2003
Messages
22,086
Virtual Reality (VR) adventures at theme parks are still a new phenomenon, but are steadily gaining traction with thrill seekers. Rides such as barreling down a water slide while wearing a waterproof VR headset are becoming a hit with park goers. The entry price for these experiences can be extremely expensive, but the market is adapting and the number of riders is steadily increasing. Home VR solutions continue to languish as the price of entry to try an unknown is very high. "Just like arcades in the '70s and '80s, it's much more worthwhile to do [VR] out of the home," Lelyveld says.

Greenlight Insights, a company that researches the VR and augmented-reality markets, estimates that this market will bring in $1.2 billion this year, up from $579 million last year, with about 6,000 so-called location-based entertainment VR centers globally by the end of the year (a large percentage of these are temporary, pop-up-style installations).
 
Walt Disney World's award winning "Avatar - Flight of Passage" VR experience has been open since May 2017, and is very popular.

From https://www.thisisinsider.com/disney-world-avatar-flight-of-passage-review-2017-6:
Suddenly the screen shows the view from a Pandora cliffside where your avatar sits atop a banshee, and a stream of intense sensations hit you. The depth of the scenery is incredible, and the room floods with smells and sounds that immediately bring you into the world of Pandora.

The seat between your legs begins gently expanding in and out while a soft snorting sound can be heard — as if the banshee is really breathing beneath you.

So not only are there impressive 3D visuals and animation, but the physical chair beneath you moving. The scents in the room even change and shift as you begin to fly during the ride, like when you glide beneath a wave or soar above a stampede of animals.

Actual wind and mists of water come in at key points throughout, adding to the realism of what you're experiencing. The first time the banshee dives, swooping the link chair down, my heart skipped a beat and my stomach did the all-so-familiar "swoop" that I normally only associate with a huge roller coaster.

The ride itself is almost five minutes long, but you'll feel like it went by in the blink of an eye.

Your banshee flies over mountains and into caves, dukes it out with another banshee flying through the sky, and then soars straight down while ducking under branches and cliff sides. I won't give away any more details here, since it's best if you're surprised.​

I'm looking forward to riding it (twice) later this year. :)
 
I've done the VR rollercoaster. It was a 360 video, I can handle and really love rollercoasters of all intensities - but in VR. Christ. I've only been that nauseated after trying to impress a date with the amount of alcohol my Liver can metabolize in a sitting.

Not having the motion vibrations, as well as sound that basic (Doesn't take into account head position), it all did a number on me.
 
I did the Void's star wars VR last weekend. It's about $30. It's pretty fun. You wear a vest/battery pack and the VR head gear/headphones. Headgear is actually pretty heavy, so this isn't really for kids with weak necks/upper body. Teens like 14 or so should be fine. IDK if they officially put a limit on age, but when I went everyone was like mid 20s or older. The experience is fairly short, maybe 15-20 min, but it's high adrenaline. It's best when you play with a group of friends. 3-4 in your group is best because of the size of the rooms even though they let you bring more friends. They also add physical effects like fans to blow wind at you and smells to make it feel like you're in the environment. You also get prop guns to shoot at stuff. Looking from the outside, it's pretty amusing watching people with these VR gear walking around in cubicles jumping around, etc.

I can't imagine this water slide thing though.... how on earth does that work? waterproof VR? and isn't the headgear heavy?? weird
 
Theme parks are adopting this because it's dirt cheap compared to a physical ride.

I like the VR rides when they're done well, but all the newer ones are getting bad by having visuals that are too exaggerated compared to the actual motion of your seat or carriage. The Harry Potter ride at Universal made me feel like I had a horrible hang over.
 
katanaD said:
you joke, but i have actually seen people like that. have one here in our building.. he uses paper towels over his hands to touch any door knob

LOL.. OK.
Click to expand...

lmao why not just buy a pair of gloves, walking around with paper towels to grab door handles sounds kinda ghetto!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top