FAMILY OUTING
Two holiday attractions for the pandemic era.
Thanks to the magic of mixed-reality technology and an oversize snow globe in Sugar Land Town Square, families can meet Santa in a safe, contactless manner this year.
At an outdoor holiday display in the shopping district’s plaza, families step into a giant gift box for a free, private experience. Inside, the atmosphere is festive, with twinkling lights, fog, holiday music and a snow globe in the center of the 100-square-foot room.
When the curtain closes, the surprise is revealed, as Santa’s 3D likeness appears with a flourish inside the snow globe. Holographic technology gives the jolly guy an animated quality and his voice is merry as he greets the group, which is limited to five people for safety.
Kids can have a real-time conversation about who’s been naughty and nice, ask St. Nick questions and tell him what’s on their wish list, while parents take their own photos, videos and selfies.
About twominutes later, Santa swirls away and the experience resets for the next family.
Dallas-based experiential technology company Flight School Studio, which will open a permanent entertainment venue in Sugar Land Town Square in 2021, is behind the seasonal offering.
Chief Creative Officer Brandon Oldenburg, who also is a father, says his teamwas charged with creating a safe way “to keep a holiday tradition alive in unusual times.”
“I look back at all the times I got to visit Santa and sit on his knee and tell him what I wanted for Christmas,” Oldenburg says. “We’re riffing on that in the new times … we want to bring light to the darkness of 2020.”
To pull it off, he jokes, “we reached out to Santa and collaborated with the elves, using proprietary elf technology.”
The team also tapped some of Santa’s local helpers, in the form of Houston actors — many of whom are currently out of work due to the pandemic.
From an office across the street, they banter in real time with each group, employing point cloud data technology that reads each actor’s face and allows it to animate Santa’s face.
Flight School Studio’s executive producer Taylor Williams helped to cast the Santas, which he did based on voice work, since a beard or belly was not crucial for the role.
The actors bring a talent and enthusiasm to the job “that lends itself to a very rich experience” that feels intimate, he says, allowing kids to “tell him your hopes and wishes for Christmas this year.”
Another new holiday experience, The Grinch’s Grotto has opened at The Woodlands Mall.
In partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Kilburn Live developed the 10-city concept that invites groups up to five to step inside the mischievous green character’s cave for a professional photo op.
“It’s a lighthearted take on, ‘Let’s tell 2020 what we really think about it,’ ” says Mark Manuel, CEO of Kilburn Live.
“Nothing against Santa — there’s a Santa in all our malls,” he laughs, but a unique-for-2020 meetup with the Grinch “kind of helps you express how you feel about … a year obviously unlike any other.”
Guests choose from photo props, including signs that read “2020 Year of the Grinch” and “2020 Stink Stank Stunk.”
The cave features the Grinch’s Christmas tree, fireplace and other elements kids will recognize from the story. The Grinch, who is “masked” in a head-to-toe costume that fully encloses his head, keeps a safe distance from guests for the photo and jokes with them while his handlers distribute small gifts.
“He’s a little bit naughty,” Manuel promises, “but he’s a super friendly looking Grinch in his Santa outfit.”
Manuel says his team began to develop the concept this summer so parents like him could have a safe way to commemorate the holiday.
“My kids are only young once and … I always want them to feel the joy of childhood,” he says.
“I’m of the belief that 10 years from now, families will be looking at photos with Santa … and are going to come across the one with the Grinch and know that was 2020.”