France: “Wild Immersion” – Paris-based Leisure Park Jardin d’Acclimatation Opens VR Experience

Since 23 February guests to the Paris-based Jardin d’Acclimatation leisure park have been able to virtually immerse into exotic jungle landscapes and African safari destinations for a close-up with wild animals. This is possible thanks to “Wild Immersion”, the park’s new 360 degree VR attraction located in the “Palais d’Hiver” building of the park, which was created in collaboration with former vet and entrepreneur Adrien Moisson. The British Jane Goodall Institute, the global wildlife and environment conservation organization founded by the well-known primatologist, has supported the project. “Our aim is to teleport people into the wild so that they understand the importance of preserving biodiversity,” project founder Moisson, who also worked in advertising before he re-discovered his passion for wildlife, said.

For the shooting, Moisson travelled around the world for one year to film with a host of 360-degree cameras and building an immense database of video and audio footage. The new attraction is aimed at giving visitors an up-close view of wildlife in the most remote and exotic locations around the globe, transporting them there via virtual reality and audio-visual technology. A pre-show for the attraction was installed on the terrace of Palais d’Hiver, during the VR experience itself guests wear a “Mirage Solo” VR headset from Lenovo. The earphones used here come from Audio Technica. The headsets are synchronized via a system called ShowTime VR. Up to 100 guests can experience the attraction at the same time.

Owned by the city of Paris and operated by LVMH group (in collaboration with Compagnie des Alpes), Jardin d’Acclimatation claims to have recorded more than 1.85 million guests in 2018. In June 2018, the park was re-opened after a complete makeover (cp. EAP 6/17 & EAP News from Sept 7th, 2018). By 2020, the park aims to reach the 2.5 million-visitor mark. (eap)