Arkham Asylum - VR coaster at Movie World

[WalleyWorld]

Came across this interesting video, where the dispatch times of Six Flags Great America's rides (mostly coasters) are recorded.The most insightful part of the video though is when they compare the dispatch time of Superman Ride of Steel, without VR, and then with VR

The difference is night and day......Let's hope Arkham does not turn out like this.

It would be cool to see a video like this for all of Movieworld's rides.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Luke

[Santa07]

Yeah the operations are already somewhat slow, especially with one-train operation.

A video like that for MW's rides would definitely change if you go in off-peak or peak season - especially with superman. When they're running two trains it's very quick but when it's only one it can be 3-5min dispatches.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

work has begun on the station 

[JaggedJanine]

[Santa07]

Hoping they put a bit of theming on the back of the box - it currently looks very bare.

[Original]

Something I've always thought would look cool on Arkham is theming of like wires and electrical components that spark. 

I remember the old Colorado store at Pacific Fair I think it was had a similiar set up and at certain times throughout the store these electrical sparks would run through the wires in the store, if anyone can remember that?

[Reanimated35]

4 minutes ago, Original said:

Something I've always thought would look cool on Arkham is theming of like wires and electrical components that spark. 

I remember the old Colorado store at Pacific Fair I think it was had a similiar set up and at certain times throughout the store these electrical sparks would run through the wires in the store, if anyone can remember that?

I'm confused. I see sparking electricity and I'm supposed to want to buy a new pair of shoes?

[Brad2912]

1 hour ago, reanimated35 said:

I'm confused. I see sparking electricity and I'm supposed to want to buy a new pair of shoes?

Was thinking the exact same thing..??

is it the 'old' store because it had faulty exposed wiring and burnt to the ground?

[Original]

No it was part of the stores fit out. 

[Theme Park Girl]

12 hours ago, Original said:

Something I've always thought would look cool on Arkham is theming of like wires and electrical components that spark. 

Makes me think of the old theming inside ToTII. That had sparking electrical cables inside one of the queue line alcoves. Before they changed it to music videos instead, of course ?

[jjuttp]

Well not only is the theme of it Shock Therapy, but the game the coasters based off did have quite a few exposed wires at times; not to mention the abundance of electric flooring...

[themagician]

There was a sign in AA today saying that the ride would be undergoing testing using the VR system. And i saw Greg entering the AA area, assuming he was checking it out.

[Slick]

3 hours ago, themagician said:

There was a sign in AA today saying that the ride would be undergoing testing using the VR system. And i saw Greg entering the AA area, assuming he was checking it out.

He's become quite the celeb GM, huh.

[pin142]

VR is testing and it is a case of luck of the draw if you get to experience it (people are chosen at random). I will say it does fit the theme of the ride really well and better than what Six Flags have on The New Revolution. Didn't notice any real difference in load times for the ride and the headset setup here is more comfortable than what I experienced on New Rev. It is definitely something I am looking forward to doing again.

[screamqueens]

Hey parks crew, long time forum browser, first time posting. Couldn't pass up the opportunity to share a little about getting to try out the VR on Arkham Assylum this afternoon. 

Saw @themagician had posted about VR testing this morning so decided to head to the park. Queued for Arkham at about 3:30 and noticed a few MW team riding with VR, decided to ask if we could try it out and we're initially told it would be completely random and couldn't be guaranteed but after queuing for a second time and asking a different team member if we could wait, he happily put us to the side and grabbed us some VR headsets for the next train. 

This was my very first time using VR and i was completely blown away by how immersive the experience is, it takes a little minute to adjust and can be slightly off putting for a moment but is quite easy to adjust to. The headsets are really comfortable with an adjustable knob at the back and just a simple drawstring under the chin like on a straw hat, didn't have any issues feeling like the headset was going to fall off. 

As for the ride itself, I won't spoil details unprovoked, but i was completely blown away. The VR experience totally transformed the entire ride, it was light years more intense than the regular ride, I have never EVER screamed on that ride like i did today. There was only one portion of the ride that to me was easily recognisable, i didn't even notice the intense leg crushing restraints at the end of the ride. 

Overall I would definitely rate this adaptation to the Arkham. We couldn't thank the staff enough for letting us test and they had us fill out some feedback forms afterwards. We were also told that it was looking like it will be $5 per ride, I was happy to hear that. I'd been sceptical on the pay per ride scheme but after riding today i will without a doubt be riding again and will be more than happy to be paying $5. 

[Santa07]

Great to hear your positive experience @screamqueens, I'm looking forward to trying it myself. Hoping they're still trialling it or it's up and running this weekend.

[Zanstabar]

I've been lucky enough to go down the rabbit hole that is VR on AA a couple of times now, and it really is a great ride. I'm going to try and not spoil the experience, but it is quite comfortable and easy to set-up. The visuals are also quite a nice treat as well. 

Would I ride it again? For $5 I'll probably be looking at riding this at least once a trip. I'm starting to fall into a mad love with VR and I find this to fix almost all my issues that I originally had with Arkham Asylum's distinct lack of themeing. 

Congrats to all the team that put effort into this experience. I'm sure most people will be more than satisfied with the ride. 

[rappa]

Perhaps just use the spoiler tag to describe the experience?

 

Im not sure what is happening but these forums were once a place to come and share enthusiast scoops or talk about new park developments and experiences. But seems of late they have become more like "hey there is stuff at the park, not going to tell you about it or show you, so go check it out for yourself". 

 

I'm not a fan. 

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

thanks for the review guys sounds like an awesome experience, reading the reviews for this, I think I will be more than happy to hand over $5 when it starts ?

Edited September 20, 2016 by Theme Park Ninja

[Zanstabar]

24 minutes ago, djrappa said:

Perhaps just use the spoiler tag to describe the experience?

Well looks like i'll stop being so tight-lipped and give into peer pressure 

 

Once the VR headset is all strap in and calibrated, you'll find yourself sitting in what seems to be an operating chair within the "Intensive Scare Unit" of Arkham Asylum. Once the ride is dispatched, the Joker makes an appearance before hitting you with a gas mask filled with classic "Joker Gas". Suddenly, your chair starts to float through the broken floor of the Asylum, where each individual level is the broken cell of numerous villains. Once you reach the rooftop, you'll be on what appears to be the top of a skyscraper in Gotham City. Right as the ride is about to drop, the Joker grabs your chair and throws you off the rooftop. You'll dodge a giant Killer Croc before entering the sea serpent roll, where you'll fly through a swarm of bats. Right before you hit the sidewinder, you'll come face to face with one of Poison Ivy's giant Venus Flytraps which snaps and snarls at you as you escape from it's clutches. As you go through the inline twists, you'll be dodging many of Ivy's notorious flora before Mr Freeze sends you into the last turn on an "ice slide". This slide continues around the final helix before you eventually smash into a wall leading back to the "Intensive Scare Unit", signifying the break run of the ride. As you taxi back to the station, you'll see a fight scene before Batman carries the Joker out of view. 

Overall it's a really great experience. In terms of storyline, it reminds me a lot of the Amazing Spiderman rides at Universal mixed with the surreal nature of the Scarecrow level in the original Arkham Asylum game. Graphics are comparable to the original Bioshock game IMO. 

Maybe my opinion might be a little biased considering this way my first VR coaster ever, but it was an absolute blast. I felt like I was in sensory overload for the next hour or so.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Zanstabar

[rappa]

To me it sounds like the best implementation of VR I've yet seen/heard of. 

[jjuttp]

I'd say it was a missed opportunity not using Killer Croc's lair as the station, giving him a chance to really get in your face and scare you. Or Man-Bat for at least some part of the flying.

 

Is there sound or?

 

What are the chances, WWF (waterproof housing), Scooby or SE go VR if this takes off?

[Levithian]

Zero. 

Scooby is obvious. Why do you need vr on a themed ride. Makes everything else pointless.

Wild west. Even if the phones are weatherproof, i dont think the VR units are. Plus you need something to track the position acurate enough for frame by frame sync of image. Thats kinda hard on a floating ride. Other thing is its very costly to produce. Given the long run time, even if everything could be overcome, it would probably cost triple what it would on arkham.

Superman. I cant see them putting it on any ride with high numbers of guests. Arkham is slow too load already, but its not that busy anymore, so its not so bad if it takes a little longer. If you put vr on superman, two trains, it would mess up with the load/unload cycles and really blow out ride times. Its already pretty slow to load without making it worse.

Edit. Think ill take a punt and get there early one day this weekend and go for a ride. Sounds great!

Edited September 20, 2016 by Levithian

[Jamberoo Fan]

2 hours ago, jjuttp said:

What are the chances, WWF (waterproof housing), Scooby or SE go VR if this takes off?

Like @Levithian said, I think there is zero chance those rides will utilise VR mainly because all those rides already contain extensive theming when you are on the ride itself.

If there is any other rides that will one day feature VR at MW, it will be Green Lantern, Batwing Spaceshot and maybe Doomsday Destroyer (the latter mainly to add more to the storyline if (technically) possible - hard for it to add to the theming given it's located in one of the most brilliantly themed areas in Australia).

Edited September 20, 2016 by Jamberoo Fan

[Brad2912]

2 hours ago, jjuttp said:

What are the chances, WWF (waterproof housing), Scooby or SE go VR if this takes off?

Why would you want to put on a headset on the three most highly themed rides in the park? Including one they've just finished updating/refreshing the theme on? I don't get that at all.