Australasian Leisure Management
Oct 2, 2016

Warner Bros. Movie World opens Southern Hemisphere’s first virtual reality coaster experience

Warner Bros. Movie World has officially opened the Southern Hemisphere’s first Virtual Reality rollercoaster experience, taking guests on unique and immersive adventure.

The Gold Coast theme park’s Arkham Asylum coaster, which was developed in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products on behalf of DC Entertainment, has launched with Virtual Reality transforming the ride into a 360-degree experience with the technology seamlessly syncing the physical attributions of the popular coaster with the visual to take guests on a multi-dimensional journey while reaching speeds of up to 85km/h and pulling 4.2Gs.

Warner Bros. Movie World General Manager, Greg Yong said this is an exciting addition to the park with the revolutionary technology offering an all new experience for guests.

Young explains “as Warner Bros. Movie World celebrates its 25th anniversary, we are excited to bring this innovative technology to one of the most exciting, signature attractions at the park.

“With the addition of the Virtual Reality technology to the Arkham Asylum ride, which is inspired by Gotham City’s asylum in the world of DC’s Batman, guests can experience the synchronization of thrilling twists, turns and loops of the coaster with the virtual world of high-definition imagery and visuals created.

“Guests wear specialised Virtual Reality headsets as they embark on an epic multi-dimensional journey unlike anything ever experienced at the iconic Warner Bros. Movie World theme park.”

The Virtual Reality experience at Movie World is powered by VR technology and has revolutionised the traditional rollercoaster experience. The Virtual Reality experience is a pay-for-play experience.

Movie World is also developing a further attraction having filed a planning application with the Gold Coast City Council for a “themed entertainment, ride and retail outlet.”

Theme park enthusiasts websites also show site clearance works being undertaken for the attraction while the online Roller Coaster Database lists plans for a steel-structured, sit-down ‘extreme’ rollercoaster for the park with an opening date of 2017.

Gold Coast Tourism Chief Executive Martin Winter said new attractions and rides were the key to keeping large crowds visiting the theme parks.

Winter told the Gold Coast Bulletin “with the proliferation of theme parks around the world and in particular China and other parts of south east Asia, our great parks need to constantly upgrade their facilities to remain competitive.

“We have some of the best experiences available anywhere in the world and this new ride, as well as Dreamworld’s new version of Tiger Island, are perfect examples of how they are reacting to this major charge.”

Village Roadshow Theme Parks are also developing a $35 million Topgolf sport-themed family entertainment centre along with an on-site hotel.

Images: Virtual Reality on the theme park’s Arkham Asylum coaster (top) and Topgolf Las Vegas (below).

15th September 2016 - THEME PARKS AND CINEMAS PERFORM BUT VILLAGE ROADSHOW PROFITS DIP

5th August 2016 - NEW STAR TOUR TAKES GUESTS BEHIND THE SCENES AT WARNER BROS. MOVIE WORLD

21st July 2016 - WARNER BROS. MOVIE WORLD ANNOUNCES VIRTUAL REALITY COASTER

4th July 2016 - VILLAGE ROADSHOW TO INTRODUCE TOPGOLF CONCEPT AS PART OF REVITALISATION OF ATTRACTIONS

3rd June 2016 - WARNER BROS. MOVIE WORLD CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF MOVIE MAGIC

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