The Busch Gardens theme park in Williamsburg, Virginia is getting a new virtual reality (VR) ride, set to debut in Spring 2018.
Busch Gardens announced their plan to introduce a new VR ride during a presentation at a Pass Holder Preview Day. The new ride will use the existing motion simulator technology, which has previously been used for simulator rides such as Corkscrew Hill and Europe in the Air.
Staff at Busch Gardens say during a video preview for the new ride, that while the motion simulator technology is state-of-the-art and uses the same equipment used to train fighter pilots, the large video screen limits the level of immersion that is possible. The new ride will replace the ‘offboard’ video screen currently used on the simulator with VR head mounted displays (HMDs).
The ride does not yet have an official name, but Busch Gardens have confirmed it will be in the ‘Ireland’ section of the them park, and will be using Ireland’s rich folklore as a basis, perhaps hinting that legendary creatures such as fairies and dragons may be making an appearance.
Busch Gardens joins several other them parks who are already experimenting with utilising VR and augmented reality (AR) technology in their rides. Such as Derren Brown’s Ghost Train at Thorpe Park in the UK, or Six Flags introducing mixed reality to it’s Mind Eraser coaster.
You can watch the teaser trailer for the new Busch Gardens ride below.
VRFocus will continue to bring you news of VR/AR use in theme parks.