When it comes to scoops about Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, you can bet that Orlando Informer is on the case. The popular regional website mostly covers the areas bustling amusement park industry and recently it reported that an Incredible Hulk virtual reality experience is being quietly tested at Universal Studios.
According to the report, Universal Orlando first began testing the hush-hush VR Hulk experience with its staff members only. Now, however, it is being open to the public for the first time as long as they are willing to complete a survey after. The experience tests are taking place in the 2,000 seat Toon Lagoon Amphitheater and seem to be directly affiliated with the park’s popular Incredible Hulk Roller coaster that is currently closed for a redesign.
Guests are led into a dimly lit room within the amphitheater where chairs and VR equipment are held. The report does not specify which headset is being used but the smart money would be on the Samsung Gear VR which has become a mainstay for large group events such as this.
The experience itself is described as being “very short” and only comprised of three scenes in total. They all seem to offer 360 degrees of immersion, however. The first scene takes place in a laboratory and may be the very same one where Bruce Banner became infamously exposed to the gamma radiation that transformed him into the rampaging Hulk.
The second scene reportedly depicts a “launch tube” for the redesigned version of the Incredible Hulk roller coaster. Users are greeted by a short voice cue before being jettisoned out into the blinding light and then witnessing several digitally enhanced visions of the well-known coaster in action.
All of this strongly supports the theory that the Incredible Hulk at Universal Orlando will be the latest attraction to receive the VR coaster treatment already being implemented at other parks like Six Flags. VR coasters add a level of experiential delight to any ride by matching the dips and turns of a coaster with exciting digital imagery inside the headsets themselves.
Despite the connection, park officials maintain that these tests are for general information purposes only and that there are no plans to bring VR to the Hulk coaster just yet. Time will tell if these claims will prove true, or if Universal Orlando merely wants to know it has a working attraction before announcing it to the world.
We are monitoring this story and will bring you any additional updates as they become available.
