Arkham Asylum - VR coaster at Movie World

[WalleyWorld]

@Zanstabar thanks for the review! Is there sound that accompanies the VR? If so, do you wear headphones or have they fixed the on-board audio on the trains? Sounds very promising, and can't wait to give it a go.

I think the the two flat rides at MW, Batwing and Doomsday, would lend itself to VR enhanced experiences quite well. VR on WWF is just a dumb idea for very obvious reasons.

[pin142]

I didn't notice any sound playback but it seems like there should be.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

12 hours ago, jjuttp said:

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.

Considering you are riding Arkham Asylum: Shock Therapy I think they would have been nuts to have themed the starting point to anything but - especially with all the station themed that way, and the audio of Joker and Harley talking about how the shock therapy was about to begin.

[Zanstabar]

11 minutes ago, Luke said:

@Zanstabar thanks for the review! Is there sound that accompanies the VR? If so, do you wear headphones or have they fixed the on-board audio on the trains? Sounds very promising, and can't wait to give it a go.

I can't remember sound playback on my first ride, although on my second I could hear the audio from the person sitting next to me. Seems like they're still trying to fine-tune things. All sound appears to be coming out of the headset.

[GoGoBoy]

I agree with the other commenter (too lazy to see who it was) who said that Arkham's VR will potentially make up for the lacklustre theming on that ride. Arkham is such a great theme choice, but it was clearly executed on a very tight budget, hence things like laminated 'pillars' that wobble when you touch them. And no on-ride theming. BUT, full credit to MW for making its VR match the Arkham theme. This means this great IP is no longer going to waste. It makes even more sense as Arkham was such a popular video game. Well done Village Roadshow - can't wait to try it.

[lifeofsamage]

If you look closely on the sign about fast track the $65 unlimited pack will come with 1 vr ride once fully operational. 

Edited September 21, 2016 by lifeofsamage

[JaggedJanine]

Would be nice to see the same thing for Unlimited Membership holders. 1 free VR experience. During your birthday month or something.

[screamqueens]

6 hours ago, lifeofsamage said:

If you look closely on the sign about fast track the $65 unlimited pack will come with 1 vr ride once fully operational. 

Yeah the same ride operator who told us it would be $5 per use also said the same thing about fast track passes containing a VR experience.

 

@Zanstabar really hit the nail on the head with the description of the ride too, it was nice to read actually because it took me back to parts I hadn't remembered, having only tried once with VR it was super hard to take all of it in. Im still in awe of it though, cannot wait to be able to give it another spin!

 

[xRazzBerryx]

I was lucky enough to be chosen today to experience the VR and it was AWESOME! Definitely exceeded my expectations. 

As soon as the headset goes on, you're completely in another world. It makes you think twice if you're actually on a roller coaster or not ? It was just so real! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has never tried it before.  

I think audio would definitely improve the experience immensely (if that's possible). 

I think I also saw TPG try it out aswell , so I'm looking forward to hearing her review  #StalkerAlert ?

 

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

I also as well got to try it out, I was extremely impressed with what they did, will be doing it again for certain ??

[Santa07]

How random is the random selection? Every few people, or only one or two every trainload?

[xRazzBerryx]

35 minutes ago, Santa07 said:

How random is the random selection? Every few people, or only one or two every trainload?

Every train had about 2-4 people using it. You stand at the back on the footprints and the attendant will choose people at random. 

[Santa07]

I'm hoping I'll get to try it out this weekend  

[Theme Park Girl]

8 hours ago, xRazzBerryx said:

I think I also saw TPG try it out aswell , so I'm looking forward to hearing her review  #StalkerAlert ?

Haha, sure did! You should have come and said hello! I don't bite ??

I also absolutely loved the VR experience, it blew my mind. I totally agree with the other comments about it.

The experience is extremely immersive, the headsets block out all light from the outside, so all you see is what's happening inside. It also reacts to your movements, for example in the VR program you start off as a prisoner bound in an Asylum room, and if you turn your head to look in different directions, the same happens in the program. So you can look around at goings on around you at any time. 

If it weren't for recognising the routine of my favourite Coaster throughout the program (keeping in mind I have ridden it quite literally over 100x lol) then I would have forgotten I was on it. The program is very absorbing. 

My one and only issue is that after the first Corkscrew, the turbulence of AA made my headset feel like it had become a bit loose, so that distracted me away from the experience whilst I impulsively reached up to fix and tighten it. Whilst filling out the feedback forms afterwards, I heard a couple of other people mention they had the same issue. So next time I will have to make sure my headset is on extra tight, so it doesn't distract me away from the experience at all. 

Other than that, I absolutely loved it. It's a totally new experience, and I definitely think it's worth the $5 upcost it's rumoured to have soon.

Cant recommend it enough ?? 

Edited September 22, 2016 by Theme Park Girl

[xRazzBerryx]

1 hour ago, Theme Park Girl said:

My one and only issue is that after the first Corkscrew, the turbulence of AA made my headset feel like it had become a bit loose, so that distracted me away from the experience whilst I impulsively reached up to fix and tighten it.  

I had the same problem. It kind of ruined the second half of the ride for me as I was more focused on keeping the damn thing on my head! ? I thought I did it up pretty tight.. but obviously not haha so I definitely recommend putting it extra tight! 

[pin142]

Guess it is all due to position of the chin "strap". Mine wasn't in the best of places at first but moved it closer to my neck and didn't have an issue with it feeling loose.

[themagician]

From MWs FB:

 A world of virtual insanity launches tomorrow 24 September at Warner Bros. Movie World! Arkham Asylum will feature a 360-degree virtual reality experience with technology seamlessly syncing the movement of the coaster with the visual effects to take you on a multi-dimensional journey.

Please note, virtual reality on Arkham Asylum costs $5 and is available for purchase in-park.

And here's a POV featuring parts of the VR: https://youtu.be/9hR_9uv2cBE

Edited September 23, 2016 by themagician

[Santa07]

Well, assuming the unlimited fast track does come with one free use, you'll find me using it tomorrow  

[Theme Park Girl]

Did the VR again today, this time made sure the headset was tight. Maybe a bit too tight even, as it left slight imprints under my eyes after I took it off ? But I didn't want to experience any issues with it this time round. 

Definitely a mind blowing experience ?

[themagician]

Lucky you, I just missed out, the first train they sent through, a few people got to wear them, then I rode it and didn't, and then the people after me got to wear them ?

[Jackson13Walasek]

Not sure if anyone has seen it they posted a sneak preview on their YouTube 

 

 

[Santa07]

My 2c on Arkham VR:

What an experience. The star tour guides had organised for us to get free VR on the presentation of our badge, so I got to experience it twice. It blew me away completely, definitely the craziest and most intense experience I’ve ever had on a rollercoaster.

If you’re at the park and haven’t experienced it - spend the $5 to get the headset. You will not regret it and you are really missing out not getting it. It’s a completely different experience to the non-VR version and might even make you scream, even if you aren’t a big screamer (as our Star Tour guide told us from his experiences).

The storyline is great and the visuals are incredibly realistic - it’s a bit like dreaming - you know it’s not real but it feels so real and you just forget the outside world. A lot better than what I’ve seen of the Six Flags VR. You dodge many of Batman’s famous villains (meeting the Joker face to face is truly terrifying), and get a visit from Batman at the end who deals with the Joker. The intensity is unbelievable, even after riding it plenty of times before you do not feel like you're on a rollercoaster at all. The wind on your feet going up the lift hill is the only thing to remind you of the outside world, and even that feels as if it's part of the VR when you're going through Mr Freeze's cell.

Cons - well I’m sure you know what I’m going to say, so I’ll start with the less-obvious con. That is - what Theme Park Girl said, the VR feels quite loose around the inline twist and the first time I was afraid it was going to come off (I don’t think it actually would, it’s quite secure). The second is that the roughness of the coaster does make the VR a bit shaky. Now on to the big one that everyone was expecting - efficiency. It’s been destroyed, even with a few people using VR on each train. It takes substantially longer to get all the VR set-up and calibrated, even with staff telling you what to do before boarding. It was pretty poor efficiency before, and now it’s even worse. If the queue is past the second switchback on the ramp, don’t bother riding as it’s probably going to be over an hour before you even get on. Let me put this more into context - at a time yesterday when Scooby had about a 10-minute queue and Superman was virtually a walk-on, Arkham still had a 45 minute or longer queue. I timed some of the dispatches and one of them (a particularly bad one) was about 10 minutes. Hopefully it’ll get better once the staff are more used to it.

So yeah, go down to Movie World and give it a try, it’s an incredible experience. Everyone who came off all had this look on their face of 'wtf just happened, that was so amazing'.

Side note - the new theming and TV screens that have popped up are fantastic, and the storyline is incredibly clear now. Did the hanging guard always twitch like he does now?

[Theme Park Girl]

Yeah, I have to confess that whilst my first VR ride was quick dispatch, the second time round was very slow. I was a single rider in the back row and had no issues putting my headset on and calibrated, but must have sat there in the 'treatment room' for at least a good 5 minutes, wondering what was going on outside in the real world?

Eventually a staff member came up my way, and I was informed there were 'technical difficulties' with other riders' headsets which were causing the delay.

It is still early days, however. I'm sure as time goes on, efficiency will become better and better and they will iron the initial problems out ?? 

One other thing I noticed second time round, but not first, is the ride audio playing from the train speakers. But it wasnt until the very end when batman showed up, as we were pulling into the loading dock. They may need to consider cranking it up just a little bit? ?

 

 

[Santa07]

57 minutes ago, Theme Park Girl said:

Yeah, I have to confess that whilst my first VR ride was quick dispatch, the second time round was very slow. I was a single rider in the back row and had no issues putting my headset on and calibrated, but must have sat there in the 'treatment room' for at least a good 5 minutes, wondering what was going on outside in the real world?

Haha, same with me on my second round, although it was a bit shorter for me.

[pin142]

Can confirm some headsets seem to calibrate easier than others, I had issues with getting mine to load when I experienced it early last week yet the person next to me had no problems. The capacity of the ride was killed when they changed it to Arkham so given most people would expect a long queue now the VR wouldn't seem to me to have as much of a negative impact than it would if it was running two trains.