VR, virtual reality, is become a mainstream feature in the world of entertainment. Being an extremely versatile medium, it can be implemented in multiple formats from theme park rides, films, video games, visual novels, and many other forms of entertainment.
This past week, I got to experience Walt Disney World’s brand new VR attraction located by "Once Upon a Toy" at Disney Spring. From ILMxLAB and The VOID comes "Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire." This was something I’ve never experienced before and I’m very glad I did. Although I must be honest, if you’re prone to motion sickness, I’d recommend staying away from this attraction. I’m usually pretty good with the whole simulated rides, but this was on a completely different level and towards the end, I was getting a bit queasy. There is not much motion involved except for some vibrating floors, but as you move throughout the world your depth perception changes and it could be dizzying for some. Overall, it was an excellent experience for both Star Wars fanatics, like me, and people who still don’t know that it’s different from Star Trek.
Now I’ll get into some spoiler territory of the story of the attraction and characters you’ll meet along your adventure. You’ve been warned.
"Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire" involves you and your party joining the rebel alliance. Much like laser tag, you get fitted with a vest with some special tech on it. Unlike laser tag, this vest is also equipped with a glorified visor that you’ll look through to see the virtual world you’re about to play in. You’ll be able to control the volume of your experience, hear your party, see your party (you pick colors before you enter the game so you know who’s who), as well as see your hands (all decked out in Stormtrooper equipment). With some help from Cassian Andor and K-2SO from Rogue One, you’ll get your Stormtrooper disguise and begin your mission.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate an Imperial base on the lava planet Mustafar to retrieve a container that’s holding an important item that might secure a Rebel victory. If you know enough about Star Wars lore, or have seen "Rogue One," you should have a sense of where this is going. As soon as your ship drops down, you’ll smell the ash from everything burning, you’ll feel the heat from the lava, and you’ll get a loving message from K2 saying that you’re probably going to die. It really does feel like you’re there.
Everything is practical as well. It’s not just a virtual experience, it’s more like an escape room where you have to solve puzzles (or shoot waves of stormtroopers) in order to advance. You’ll have to find a way to bypass an elevator, battle a giant lava monster that gets a little too close for comfort, and figure out a code sequence during your adventure. You’ll actually grab your blaster off a gun rack, press the buttons to enter a code and pull the lever to bypass the elevator. If you’ve ever wanted to feel what it felt like to get shot by blaster fire, this is the experience for you, because you will (a lot). It turns out, all it is is a little vibration (at least in this part of the Star Wars universe). Also, I really felt like a Stormtrooper because I missed most of the time.
Your whole adventure hits its climax with an encounter with Darth Vader himself. It’s pretty intimidating seeing all your blaster fire reflect off his lightsaber as he slowly makes his way towards you. He’ll also jam your blaster with the force so every time you try to shoot it’ll just vibrate instead (which I thought was a very cool effect).
But in the end, K-2SO manages to drop his ship right before Vader can land a blow on you with his lightsaber. He’ll scoop you up and you’ll be face to face with a friendly R2 unit (another practical effect). You’ll sit down and receive a message from Cassian stating your mission was successful and they got the container (inside is a very cool medieval sword looking lightsaber). And to that K2 is happy (as much as he could be) that no one died.
It was truly an incredible experience, and my first experience with that level of virtual reality. I’d definitely recommend it as it is a one-of-a-kind attraction at Walt Disney World. I really hope they have more virtual reality attractions in the future.