The Repository (Upcharge/VR Experience)

[duh1011]

I'm actually pretty excited about this experience. Not because I actually will be going to do it, since if I buy anything on top of a ticket it will be food, but because that's another thing that will take people out of the lines of the houses, hopefully making more time to be able to do all of the regular houses!

[Brandon]

On 24 August 2016 at 10:38 PM, SeaBass said:

Honestly the heights thing makes it more intriguing, but I'm just gonna assume this'll be the new trend with continuing years. I'm not gonna worry about it being a one time thing. I just don't have the drive to do it. Once I see what people think about it then I'll think about going.

 

 

Hmm the height thing is interesting. Either they will take people up to the catwalks in the Sound Stage or it will be an illusion like that have done in previous houses. As far as reviews, I'm sure the first few nights of the attraction will have all the big HHN/Orlando blogs going to it and reviewing it. (HNN, Behind The Thrills, Orlando United) And most likely the local news stations will get to it... But can't really trust the news on it because every year they say that every house is the scariest house ever lol. 

[SeaBass]

11 hours ago, Brandon said:

 

 

Hmm the height thing is interesting. Either they will take people up to the catwalks in the Sound Stage or it will be an illusion like that have done in previous houses. As far as reviews, I'm sure the first few nights of the attraction will have all the big HHN/Orlando blogs going to it and reviewing it. (HNN, Behind The Thrills, Orlando United) And most likely the local news stations will get to it... But can't really trust the news on it because every year they say that every house is the scariest house ever lol. 

This is why I don't trust the media lol.

[RustySomebody]

Hmph....copy cats

***FROM SCREAMSCAPE***

(8/25/16) Halloween Haunt will come to California's Great America on select nights from Sept. 23 to Oct. 30, 2016. New for 2016 the park is taking the scares to a new place with FEAR VR: 5150, described as a "groundbreaking and horrifying virtual reality experience. Strapped into a wheelchair and wearing Samsung Gear VR headgear, guests are at the mercy of the "maniacal hospital staff". FEAR VR: 5150 will require an extra fee to experience, and it not available as part of the Fright Lane or Fright Lane Plus programs.

[SeaBass]

33 minutes ago, RustySomebody said:

Hmph....copy cats

***FROM SCREAMSCAPE***

(8/25/16) Halloween Haunt will come to California's Great America on select nights from Sept. 23 to Oct. 30, 2016. New for 2016 the park is taking the scares to a new place with FEAR VR: 5150, described as a "groundbreaking and horrifying virtual reality experience. Strapped into a wheelchair and wearing Samsung Gear VR headgear, guests are at the mercy of the "maniacal hospital staff". FEAR VR: 5150 will require an extra fee to experience, and it not available as part of the Fright Lane or Fright Lane Plus programs.

 Not so much copycats, more of "Hey great idea, let's try something along the lines of that!"

[_Veritas_]

On 8/26/2016 at 11:08 AM, RustySomebody said:

Hmph....copy cats

***FROM SCREAMSCAPE***

(8/25/16) Halloween Haunt will come to California's Great America on select nights from Sept. 23 to Oct. 30, 2016. New for 2016 the park is taking the scares to a new place with FEAR VR: 5150, described as a "groundbreaking and horrifying virtual reality experience. Strapped into a wheelchair and wearing Samsung Gear VR headgear, guests are at the mercy of the "maniacal hospital staff". FEAR VR: 5150 will require an extra fee to experience, and it not available as part of the Fright Lane or Fright Lane Plus programs.

 Technically HHN is copying the idea from... well lots of other groups/companies. Six Flags Great America has a VR coaster right now. At SDCC AHS had a VR experiance. 
VR is a hot thing right now, and it makes sense  that haunts/events will start to latch on to it. They aren't so much copying as following the trend. The question, for me anyway, is which ones are going to be worth the money- I.E who will do it best? 

Edited August 27, 2016 by _Veritas_

[Tobias]

So a article recently came out that essentially breaks down the entire experience. For those who don't wanna' know anything about it, this article is Spoiler Territory. However the article does give you a better idea what to expect, and a certain part of it could go by really quickly depending how observant/active you are during the experience.

 

http://www.digitaltrends.com/virtual-reality/universal-studios-vr-repository/

[JDW]

It's basically and augmented escape room. Pass. I mean I'm all for escape rooms (heck I've devoted the last six months to helping one come online) but it feels like the wrong fit for HHN.

[criticalanalysis]

48 minutes ago, JDW said:

It's basically and augmented escape room. Pass. I mean I'm all for escape rooms (heck I've devoted the last six months to helping one come online) but it feels like the wrong fit for HHN.

 

Yep, I'll skip it.

[SeaBass]

I was never gonna do it, but now I definitely won't bother with it. It's just an escape room with VR. 

[Jediwhit82]

Most escape rooms don't have Live actors trying to scare you.

[SeaBass]

1 minute ago, Jediwhit82 said:

Most escape rooms don't have Live actors trying to scare you.

That's the only touch to be honest. Nothing drags me in as worthy of my money or time.

[DarthSpielberg]

the idea of the finale intrigues me. I've always been fascinated with escape rooms, and it seems like a lot of haunts are getting in on it this year (a friend who owns a haunt in NY is doing something similar, minus the VR portion) 

I'm probably going to do it, because I had a blast doing Legendary Truth last year. 

[Tobias]

1 hour ago, DarthSpielberg said:

the idea of the finale intrigues me. I've always been fascinated with escape rooms, and it seems like a lot of haunts are getting in on it this year (a friend who owns a haunt in NY is doing something similar, minus the VR portion)

 

Admittedly Escape Rooms are really fun, however a good escape room is usually a hour long or more. Since the Repository's escape room finale is 10 minutes, that's downright tiny. An' depending how observant/active one is, they'll probably breeze through it in less then 10. It feels like this experience is more to show off the augmented/VR, when they really should be going full bore because they already tested and showed off the techonolgy with the past couple Legendary Truth events.

[Jediwhit82]

I'm sold on it just based on testimony from various people such as Dr. Jimmy about the experience at the end of last year.

[JDW]

I mean to each his own. Whatever keeps people out of the houses I want to see I'm all for. Just hearing the amount of time with the registration and the actual attraction may go upwards of 2 hours. That seems like a huge chunk of your night taken away from an already expensive event. But, the cost  and time may keep the lines lower for the attraction so it might help? I don't know it will be interesting to see how it plays out. I like that they are trying something new and I would do it if I had the time and money.

[DarthSpielberg]

I LOVED the Legendary Truth event last year. It was amazing from start to finish, and the VR part of it was truly scary. I am curious to see how much of the style of last year translates to the Repository (since I can't tell if it's continuing the LT story or starting a new one) 

[YourPallbearer]

Could care less about this experience but I am happy they are trying to get out of the formulaic funk the event has been in for some time.

[RustySomebody]

Excited to start seeing people's reviews of this. Really want to know if it's worth the extra cost and time.

[JunoSynth]

I already bought my ticket so i guess it doesn't matter at this point if the review is bad. I might as well not waste my money. 

[JDW]

http://blog.universalorlando.com/extras/the-repository-open/

[Jediwhit82]

How was it?

[RustySomebody]

3 hours ago, Jediwhit82 said:

How was it?

Yeah!were you offended? Did you want it shut down? *sigh*

Seriously though, curious to hear thoughts and reviews.

[Cody]

I'm currently on the 8:30 time slot tonight.

[Cody]

Okay, this was interesting. It's not a 100% VR experience, nor is it a traditional house or escape room. It's a somewhat unique experience that combines elements of everything.

 

The VR section is surprisingly short. You actually spend more time in the real world than in the alternate dimension, and you're limited in where you can go with the headset on by the size of the room. They do their best for immersion, though; the graphics aren't exactly photorealistic, but you wear headphones so you only hear what you're seeing and there are some physical effects that I won't openly spoil which help sell the environment. Also keep in mind that this is a very contact-friendly house; you'll be grabbed, dragged around, and generally have your personal space invaded regularly.

 

The few flaws I can immediately see:

 

1. The puzzles can be pretty difficult to solve in such a short time span. The first one with the safe at least lets you progress whether or not you complete it, but I found it virtually impossible to find any meaningful clues. The experience is only about 30 minutes long, so you only get 2 or 3 minutes to solve a puzzle. The final one was easier, but we were stymied in part by technical difficulties.

 

2. The house shares space with AHS and the noises of that one leak into the Repository. The headphones help with the VR section, but the rest of the house is still just as loud as any typical HHN house even during speaking sections. The actors with speaking parts even get microphones so they can be easily heard. The Repository could definitely use its own independent location away from other houses, where noise can be controlled.

 

3. The relatively short experience means that it's very rushed. Instructions are essentially yelled at you very quickly and the actors often have to repeat them several times to make sure you fully understand what's being thrown at you. There's very little time for story building, so the subtler stuff gets easily lost. And as I said earlier, the puzzles give you such a limited amount of time to solve them that you have little chance to stop and think. I'd honestly be surprised if anybody completed the safe puzzle at the beginning, since the room is so cluttered with false clues and papers that you simply can't figure out what has meaning.

 

Overall, I think the experience was worth the money but I'm hesitant to repeat without friends who are new to it. In such an abbreviated state, it doesn't feel like I'd get a ton out of a repeat play. That said, I did get the opportunity to speak with a creative team member at the end and he said that they're definitely planning on doing more interactive experiences like the Repository in the future. Hopefully this acts as a test bed for a bigger and better one.