Page 56 - December 2021 / January 2022

SPECIAL FEATURE - IMMERSIVE ATTRACTIONS & EXPERIENCES

Gravity Wandsworth
London, UK

One recent attraction that has been wowing audiences in London is Jeff Wayne’s The War Of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience. This
award-winning attraction features ‘layered reality’ as well as music from the classic musical. It is far from passive, as guests must walk, crawl
and slide in order to escape the Martian invasion. A range of techniques, from high to low tech, immerses them in this strange new world.
From the minute they enter the experience, a new world is created and brought to life, with sets that guests can walk around, encounter
live actors and even witness pyrotechnics. Cutting-edge virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) technologies and holograms further
enhance the atmosphere. The War Of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience stimulates every sense in order to make the experience fully
immersive. There are changes in temperature and sets they can touch and feel.
Welsh attraction company Frontgrid has revealed a new attendant-free VR attraction and the new compact ParadropVR Pod allows
operators to capitalise on the esports and competitive socialising trends. This latest innovation brings the fun of multiplayer gaming to the
company’s successful ParadropVR attraction, which can be found in popular venues such as Skytropolis at Genting Highlands Resort, VR
Park Dubai and Universe Science Park. Over the last 18 months, Frontgrid’s R&D team have been working to introduce a compact, portable,
attendant-free version, ideal for entertainment centres and arcades, and the result is the ParadropVR Pod. With the new ParadropVR Pod,
venues can safely operate the attraction without an attendant, for lower operating costs, and also generate a higher spend per visitor as guests
return to compete with friends and beat their previous scores.
Headquartered in France, ECA2 has offices in Paris, Dubai and Hong Kong and connects people and emotions to places through dazzling
stories, technology and artistry, immersing audiences for almost 30 years. At ECA2, they create and produce the world’s most renowned
spectacular multimedia shows and their knowhow spans every speciality needed for spectacular multimedia projects that stand apart. In the
past they have devised unique creations for special events such as World Expos, Olympic Ceremonies and permanent shows for theme parks
and tourism destinations. Due to their flexibility and bold vision, ECA2 has succeeded in producing more than sixty emblematic shows in
seventeen countries.
Based in Belgium, BattleKart is an innovative attraction that mixes karting with augmented reality. Whilst driving a kart, the player is
immersed into a virtual projected environment. More than just racing, it does not focus on the ‘race’ component of traditional karting and
caters to a wider audience that offers a more immersive experience. With family, friends or colleagues, BattleKart offers a unique immersive
experience with a guaranteed excitement and due to its projected nature; the concept can be easily integrated into shopping centres,
exhibition halls and other leisure destinations.
Meow Wolf is an arts and entertainment company based in Santa
Battlecart Fe, New Mexico. They create immersive and interactive experiences
Antwerpen, Belgium that transport audiences of all ages into fantastic realms of story and
exploration. Meow Wolf began in 2008 as an informal DIY collective
of Santa Fe artists. These collaborative roots lay the foundation for
Meow Wolf’s distinctive style of immersive, maximalist environments
that encourage audience participation and their mission is to inspire
creativity through art, exploration and play so that imagination will
transform the world. The company currently operate three sites in
Santa Fe, established in 2016 and Las Vegas and Denver in 2021 with
more in the pipeline.
AREA15 is an experiential art and entertainment complex in Las
Vegas, home to immersive activations, art installations, state-of-the-
art technology, retail and F&B. Art experiences include a permanent
gallery called Art Island that showcases artwork inspired by festivals
and an ever-changing Japanese maple tree and canopy with more than
5,000 LED lights. The site is an immersive playground that is rolled into
a vast and vibrant space. Throw an axe, wander through a bamboo
volcano, race on a zip line, or explore other mesmerizing realms. From
the futuristic to the thrill-seeking, there’s an experience for everyone
at AREA15.
M+, billed as Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual
culture, has opened to the public in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon
Cultural District. Dedicated to collecting and showcasing visual

54 RETAIL AND LEISURE INTERNATIONAL DECEMBER 2021 \ JANUARY 2022