Holovis brings Aquaman’s superpowers to life at Madame Tussauds Orlando

Dec 24, 2018 Joe Kleiman Attractions, News, North America, Technology & Media, World markets 0

The Justice League: A Call For Heroes experience in Madame Tussauds Orlando has launched another new character into the walk-through attraction; Aquaman.

The experience, which first launched in May 2018, has broken the mold for Madame Tussauds by letting guests star alongside the wax characters through a series of interactive adventures where they engage with the superheroes and bring their powers to life. This is experienced through interactive sequences using combinations of projection mapping, enhanced audio and SFX.

Experience design company Holovis has been responsible for the technology within the attraction and has focused on keeping it invisible, so the guest is unaware of the high tech world around them. This has been achieved by working closely with theming provider Daniel’s Wood Land, to integrate ways of hiding cabling and triggers into the scenic environment and with Merlin Magic Making, the creative division of Merlin Entertainments, parent company to Madame Tussauds, who has led the overall design and delivery.

To trigger Aquaman’s powers, guests must grab the half-human, half-Atlantean’s trident to harness the force of the sea. Guests are immersed in a sequence of projection mapped media, featuring sea creatures and a giant kraken, synchronized lighting, audio and water blasts.

There are now four characters in the Orlando experience. These also include Wonder Woman; where guests strike her iconic pose alongside her to activate her power gauntlets to create an explosion, Superman; where guests need to use his strength to lift a helicopter alongside the first dynamic, fully-articulated Madame Tussauds figure and Batman; where guests need to fire the Bat Signal to reveal the formidable figure through billowing smoke and wind.

The experience is also live in Madame Tussauds Sydney which has the addition of The Flash, where guests need to trigger his super speed by running alongside him as fast as they can to unlock the immersive sequence of projection, lighting effects and SFX including sound and wind.

Peter Cliff, creative director at Holovis explains: “Throughout every aspect of this experience, we wanted to make it as natural as possible for the guests to interact with the superheroes, then be amazed at how their environment changes when the power is triggered. We’ve achieved this by making all of the tasks motion based and things that guests are naturally compelled to do, such as strike Wonder Woman’s pose and grab Aquaman’s trident.”

Cody Martin, Project Manager for Midway Attractions, North America at Merlin Entertainments comments: “This is the latest stage in the redevelopment of Madame Tussauds into an immersive and interactive experience, placing our guests into the centre of iconic scenes and experiences.

“We’ve had an incredible team working on this project, from Merlin Magic Making who developed the overall concept to Holovis designing and delivering the AV, show lighting and interactive elements, Daniel’s Wood Land creating the stunning environment and Rich Co Group providing the flooring.”

James Paulding, General Manager for Madame Tussauds Orlando adds: “At Madame Tussauds, we pride ourselves on offering our guests the ultimate fame experience. Our attractions are the only place where can you get up close and personal with some of the biggest stars and icons in the world. We were honored to showcase our recreation of Jason Momoa as Aquaman so people could see firsthand our mind-blowingly accurate attention to detail.”