Review: The Void: Secrets of the Empire at Downtown Disney

I had the good fortune to try The Void: Secrets of the Empire at Downtown Disney this pass weekend 1/12/18. I will do my best to keep this spoiler free.

Let me start by saying that this adventure is not cheap, it does cost $30.00 per person. That makes this a treat, the sort of thing that you do for someone's birthday or special event, not something done on every trip to the park.

The other thing to be aware of is that tickets are sold in advance and walking up, especially on weekends, to buy a ticket is unlikely. I saw many people walking up and told that they were sold out for the whole weekend.

To summarize the whole experience I can just tell you that right after we finished my wife turned towards me and said: "We have to do this again."

What makes this different from other VR experiences that you may have tried is that you walk around from room to room. It makes their a strange cross between laser tag and an escape room. The other thing that is really different is that you can see animations of your co-players in the room with you. Also different is that you can hold up your own hands in front of the head set and see them with objects that you carry.

The VR equipment which is a vest and head gear is very well balanced and I didn't find it heavy at all. There are microphones and headsets which allow you to communicate with your co-players. As always adjust the equipment before starting the adventure and that will make everything more comfortable while playing. My wife who does suffer from motion sickness from time to time reported that she had no problem with this equipment.

The in game adventure lasts between 10-15 minutes and suit up and take off takes another 15 or so. While you are inside the game I would say that you do tend to lose track of time.

The actual adventure is very straight froward in which you are rebel spies sneaking into an imperial base to get information. Because of the VR animation you really feel like you are in a large complex not a little room. There is one part where you are in an glass elevator / lift where you see many stories above you below you. Because everything is 360 around you, when you play make sure that you look behind you from time to time.

The animation is done by ILM and is top notch.

If you are a Star War's fan I would say that his is a must.