Sometimes it’s fun to be a kid again. Since Macau’s newest integrated resort, Studio City, opened last October the team here at WGM have been meaning to test drive some of their more unique entertainment offerings, but as so often happens the business of life gets in the way.
It was with little hesitation, then, that we wilfully accepted an invitation from the good people at Melco-Crown to head along and experience Batman Dark Flight – a 15-minute journey colorfully described as an “immersive flying theater 4D motion ride.”
Before we get to that part, might we just say that while Studio City is perhaps fighting an uphill battle – for the time being at least – in appealing to a market that is still so heavily focused on gaming, it’s nice to see a property making a genuine effort to present itself as part of a global tourist destination. With its Gotham City-themed architecture, New York style indoor street mall, Macau Gourmet Walk full of cheap but tasty eats and array of innovative displays, it feels a bit like walking into a giant cartoon. And that’s a good thing.
So what does Batman Dark Knight bring to the table? Enter through two sets of doors into the first staging area and you’re greeted by a couple of large, curved screens that welcome you to Wayne Industries as the show begins. The host, appearing in 3D inside the right-hand screen, introduces the company’s newest flying vehicle on the left screen – but suddenly he is interrupted as you learn that Batman’s greatest rival, The Joker, is on the loose!
Quickly the audience is shuffled into the next room – decked out like a giant industrial elevator – but this place isn’t going to protect you from The Joker either so onto Room 3 it is and you’re strapped into your seat on the Batman Dark Flight ride itself.
Interest at this stage is piqued but needing a lift – and that’s where this ride takes you by surprise. Sitting in front of an enormous screen rising a good 30 meters high from top to bottom, the floor drops away and you’re tilted forward and backwards as the screen takes you on a journey with Batman as he combats The Joker on Gotham City’s dark streets.
The graphics are stunning and with your seat twisting around it really does feel as if you’re flying through the air – not to mention the gentle sprays of water that sprinkle over you as Batman soars above a burst water pipe!
It’s good fun and surprisingly realistic – but best of all, you might just catch yourself laughing away like you did when you were 10. No wonder kids have so much fun.
