During one of our family’s trips this year to Walt Disney World, my wife, son and I visited the VOID, a new virtual reality/immersive attraction within Disney Springs. In all honesty, the visit wasn’t planned, I simply noticed it on my Yelp app when we were staying at Saratoga Springs, just across the way from DS. That said, I am glad we did it as it was a very cool adventure.
The VOID has three locations: Disney Springs in Orlando, Las Vegas and New York. Each of these locations has a story line that you can literally walkthrough, with the DS one being “Secrets of the Empire” from the Star Wars Universe. In these walkthroughs, you are fitted up with a backpack computer and a VR headset with headphones from Oculus to enhance your experience. You are then given instructions for maneuvering through a real world maze, and the adventure begins.
In our storyline, we started out on a spaceship heading towards an Imperial Base in Stormtrooper disguises. When looking through the VR headset, my wife, son and I appeared to be stormtroopers and we felt that we were truly in the storyline. As we progressed, we had the sensation of moving through the ship, the base, onto a platform for a spirited battle with the real stormtroopers and then a climactic scene with Darth Vader himself.
Its hard to share the experience in terms that most people can understand, other than to say that it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. If you are planning a visit to Walt Disney World in the future, make sure to add the VOID to your list.
