Tuesday, August 30, 2016

California's Great America Opening New Virtual Reality Attraction for Halloween Haunt


© California's Great America
We heard a few weeks ago during Cedar Fair's last conference call that they were looking to employ virtual reality technology at their season Haunt events, and now we know at least one park that will test it out this year.  California's Great America will open FearVR: 5150 as a part of their Halloween Haunt, perhaps as a test for the whole chain - but not all parks have announced Haunt attractions yet so I'm not certain on that part.

© California's Great America
It's refreshing to see a Cedar Fair park offering a virtual reality haunt the same year as one of the 'big guys' uses it for the first time.  I'm referring to Universal Studios Florida and The Repository, which will also open this fall.

FearVR: 5150 hasn't had an overwhelmingly large amount of details released, but the park's website offers that it will indeed use Samsung Gear VR powered by Oculus for the experience.  In the haunt visitors will be "strapped to a hospital wheelchair" where they are "at the mercy of maniacal hospital staff."

Like at Universal, due to the limited capacity of this style of attraction FearVR: 5150 will be a pay-extra haunt, not a part of general admission or Fright Lane passes.  I'm excited to see if any other Cedar Fair parks will try out this technology this fall, and how the reaction is to these new style of haunted attractions!


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