VR a reality on Great Lego Race coaster
Legoland Florida is off to the virtual-reality races. Its Great Lego Race roller coaster, a VR reimagining of its ride called Project X, is open to parkgoers.
While the track — along with its ups, downs and hairpin curves — remains the same, the visual experience is wackily different. Riders are surrounded by Lego’s trademark minifigures, right from the start. And the attraction now (virtually) goes where it would be impossible to go in real life: over cliffs, near volcanoes, down rapids and into a cheering throng at the finish line.
The look is crisp and like the blocky style of “The Lego Movie” series.
What you don’t see, thanks to the Samsung headsets, is the rest of Legoland Florida. For instance, I knew that the first feature of the physical ride was a lift hill, and I could sense that with the goggles on. But after that drop, I was utterly unaware of my real surroundings and what might happen next.
“What we did is painstakingly map out every inch of this roller coaster. What you feel and what you see are actually in sync with each other,” said Keith Carr, a project director of Merlin Magic Making, the creative branch of Merlin Entertainment Group, which operates Legoland. “What we wanted to do was take and enhance the drops and take and enhance the turns.”
There are new things to get used to, including how to deal with the headset. Visitors sit down in the ride vehicle (a snug four-seater), pull down the lap bar, attach the headset’s corded clip onto a loop on that bar, then put on the headset and adjust fit and focus. There are explanatory videos to watch while in line and an introduction of the racing characters (pirate, pharaoh, surfer girl, wizard and “Team Trendy”). Real, live employees go over the routine, too. The headsets are cleaned between each use.
There’s a lot to see aboard the Great Lego Race, so look left, right, up and down. There are mishaps, crumbling bricks and other sharp-cornered hazards throughout the digital competition.
Some words of headset advice: Tighten the device until it’s comfortable … then turn it two more clicks. Although the headset is tethered to the lap bar, you don’t want it flopping around. That may have caused a malfunction during my first ride, where I got an in-your-face error message and instructions to remove the headset and alert the operator. I did neither, and the visuals popped back into place, but the sync with the track was off then.
It went better the second time with my yellow goggles supersecure, including a thrilling ending. I didn’t feel as wobbly the second time; the disorientation factor was not as whacked out. This may well be the most intense attraction at Legoland now, but remember, this place targets the 2- to 12-year-old set. There are no inversions or highspeed moments.
Riders must be at least 6 years old and 48 inches tall to experience the attraction with the goggles.
The headsets are optional; you can ride in reality mode. But I suggest trying them on and taking a selfie because the front panel resembles Lego minifigure eyes. It’s fun and funny.
dbevil@orlandosentinel .com or 407-420-5477; Twitter: @ThemeParks