[VR Experience] DREAMWORKS DRAGON FLIGHT ACADEMY

Dreamscape, a virtual reality company, is offering a new experience titled DREAMWORKS DRAGON FLIGHT ACADEMY starting December 13th, at Westfield Century City, Los Angeles, CA.

Dreamscape recently teamed up with DreamWorks to bring VR to animated content for children and adults alike. They have locations in Los Angeles and Dallas with plans to open sites in Ohio and New York, close to transportation.

When I first saw the name Dreamscape, I wondered if it was named after the ‘80’s sci-fi-horror film about nightmares. But Dreamscape is the complete opposite. It’s heart-warming content. It’s frogs and clouds and cutie-pie dragons, but an adventure as well.

When I showed up at Dreamscape at noon, I was pretty eager to experience it for myself after checking out the cool gear and posters in the front room. I signed up for my flight crew at the desk and picked a dragon-rider dressed in purple Viking gear.

DREAMWORKS DRAGON FLIGHT ACADEMY is an 11 minute VR experience for a crew of eight. The experience, like a medieval fantasy novel, begins with mentor training and then a quest to achieve a noble goal.

The instructor guided us into the theater where he explained how to put on the VR hand and headset gear. We each had our own bike so that we had the feeling of riding; it reminded of Elliott flying on the bike in E.T. And, of course, I dropped my handset — BOOM — on the floor instantly. Yeah, I was that person. But I didn’t care, why should I care? I was about to ride a dragon, baby. A dragon!

The Flight Academy taught us how to fly first which was pretty easy to get a handle on, though I wondered if I was going to mess that up as well. I’m a terrible driver (the worst) so I expected that I’d lag behind everyone in the room, but I didn’t because the technology is designed to be as accessible as possible. Thank God!

And I flew. I flew! And it all felt real. I was on a dragon jumping off a cliff, soaring into the sun. I flew over mountains, through a cloud over a gorgeous ocean, and then my team dove underground to rescue stolen eggs.

I loved every minute of it. I understand why people get hooked on video games because you want to be in that world. I love books for that reason, but if I had grown up with access to video games, I’d probably be a gamer. But VR is all that and more.

Well, I’m a virtual reality person now. Sign me up for any immersive experience involving it. It’s incredible. VR access is growing, so if you want to become a dragon-rider in an animated world, check out DREAMWORKS DRAGON FLIGHT ACADEMY at Dreamscape, located at the Westfield Century City mall. Audiences can purchase advanced tickets for the first-of-its-kind flying adventure starting today on dreamscapeimmersive.com.