Courtesy/Immotion
A diver swims with a tiger shark in a new virtual-reality movie experience opening in March at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium.
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020 | 2 a.m.
A new undersea virtual reality experience is set to open next month next to Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium.
MGM Resorts International is working with United Kingdom-based Immotion Group on a 36-seat motion-platform theater exhibit expected to open mid-March.
The exhibit, Ocean Explorer, will feature two six-minute films, one on humpback whales and one that is about sharks. Moviegoers will wear virtual reality headsets.
The exhibit will replace Shark Reef’s Polar Journey experience, which closed in January.
“Virtual reality experiences are hot right now,” said Adrienne Rowland, the aquarium’s director. “For years, our guests have been fascinated and intrigued by the beautiful living creatures that call Shark Reef home. With this immersive and interactive experience, they can discover and appreciate our oceans and animals in a whole new way.”
Access to the 4,000-square-foot theater will be included with admission to the aquarium.
The theater will be the largest that Immotion, which has offices in Los Angeles, has ever built. The company has more than 40 experiences worldwide.
“Our partnership with MGM Resorts International and its Shark Reef Aquarium will set the trend for larger and more integrated immersive experiences to come,” Immotion CEO Martin Higginson said in a statement.
Immotion is also set to introduce a virtual reality roller coaster experience in London, which will take guests on a fast-paced virtual tour of some of the city’s tallest landmarks.
At the Shark Reef, the “Swimming with Humpbacks” movie will follow mother humpback whales and their calves as they migrate during mating season.
In “Shark Dive,” guests take a virtual-reality trip underwater near the Bahamas, where divers interact with tiger and hammerhead sharks.
“We think our attraction builds on what Shark Reef Aquarium already offers and adds another exciting dimension for visitors,” said Rod Rindley, commercial director for Immotion.
Tickets for the Shark Reef are $17 for local adults, $22 for nonresidents, and $18 for those 65 and older and members of the military. Children under 4 get in free. Tickets for children from 4 to 12 years old are $12 for Nevada residents and $15 for nonresidents.
Immotion will receive no less than $2.50 per admission ticket sold to Shark Reef visitors, according to the agreement.
The Immotion experience will be at Mandalay Bay for a minimum of 18 months.
Shark Reef is home to more than 2,000 animals, according to MGM, including sharks, stingrays, green sea turtles and a Komodo dragon.
