Los Angeles Times

Thrills on aerial ‘zoomies’

- By April Orcutt Humans have long dreamed of flight. Say hello to flying theaters, with massively wide screens, extremely high-definition cameras and surround sound designed to send you flying. Amsterdam’s nine-minute This Is Holland takes visitors over fi

San Francisco

The Flyer at Pier 39 may not lift seats into the air, but the 3-D glasses, gusts and massive screen create a flying roller-coaster-like thrill ride as visitors accelerate, decelerate, dive and turn with an animated seagull zooming around San Francisco, the Marin Headlands and Golden Gate Bridge. Info: theflyer-sanfrancis­co .com At Canada Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, guests are treated to FlyOver Canada, which offers grand vistas on the 65-foot-wide screen in the eight-minute flight. Sites include Toronto, the Rockies, Niagara Falls and Churchill, Manitoba, known for polar bears. In celebratio­n of Halloween, computerge­nerated ghosts roam Canada’s landscapes. In December, Santa’s elves visit the Canadian countrysid­e; the program ends with a 90-second CGI flight to the North Pole. Info: flyovercan­ada.com

Germany

The Voletarium at the Europa-Park theme park in Rust, near the Swiss and French borders, is billed as Europe’s largest flying theater. With a 67-foot-wide screen and footage shot with eight times more resolution than regular full-high-def, the four-minute experience carries fliers across Europe, including Venice, Italy; Paris and the fiords of Norway. Info: voletarium.de/en

Washington

Wings Over Washington, at Miner’s Landing at Pier 57 in Seattle, creates the sense of flying with the giant screen, wind, surround-sound and subtle scents as a spirit eagle leads guests over Mt. Rainier, the Cascade Mountains, the San Juan Islands and through a hot-air balloon festival. Info: wingsoverw­a.com

Netherland­s

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States