Immersive Disney Animation Makes Houston Debut on July 1, 2023
Lighthouse Immersive Studios, the Creators of Immersive Van Gogh, and Walt Disney Animation Studios Bring Latest Immersive Experience to Houston
Following a celebrated world premiere in Toronto in December 2022, and a subsequent rollout in select U.S. cities in 2023, Lighthouse Immersive’s critically acclaimed Immersive Disney Animation will see its Houston premiere on July 1, 2023 in the Heights at White Oak Station on 600 W. 6th Street.
Lighthouse Immersive’s first location at the Founders District at 1314 Brittmoore Road in West Houston debuted three immersive shows
over the course of a year to much acclaim, including Immersive Van Gogh, Immersive Frida Kahlo, and Immersive Monet & The Impressionists, welcoming more than 180,000 guests.
Developed in collaboration with Walt Disney Animation Studios, tickets to the Houston iteration of Immersive Disney Animation start at $29.99 at http://at lighthouseimmersive.com/disney.
“We have opened Immersive Disney Animation in 11 cities so far,” said Corey Ross, producer and founder, Lighthouse Immersive Studios. “And while we expected a positive reception, we have really been blown away by just how incredibly excited audiences are with this
experience, a testament to the timeless legacy of Disney Animation’s worlds, stories and characters. We can’t wait to share this very special presentation with Houston audiences, who we’d like to thank for their enthusiasm towards our previous immersive offerings in Houston,
including Immersive Van Gogh, Immersive Frida Kahlo and Immersive Monet & The Impressionists.”
Creating iconic animated stories for all ages for nearly a century, Walt Disney Animation Studios has joined forces with North America’s top creator of experiential projection exhibitions (including The Original Immersive Van Gogh, that premiered in Houston in August, 2021) to present the music and artistry within Disney Animation’s canon of films—from hits of today like Encanto, Zootopia and Frozen, to all of the classics including The Lion King, Peter Pan and Pinocchio. Audiences will feel like they’ve entered the incredible worlds of beloved Disney characters and become one with them.
“Like so many of us, I have a life-long love of Disney films,” said Ross. “And it has been quite a nostalgic rush seeing those films come to life in our venues across North America. I’ve grown up with these characters and worlds since childhood and so has my family. The work lends itself brilliantly to the immersive experience. Our team has created something truly special here.”
The creative team for the Immersive Disney Animation is led by Oscar®-winning producer J. Miles Dale (Best Picture 2018 -The Shape of Water) who said, “As a filmmaker, I am always seeking out ideas that can engage an audience in new and interesting ways, and to show them something that they have never seen before. Using the new technology that the immersive experience offers is exciting, but it’s important that it not interfere with the emotional investment that Disney fans have in the characters and storylines that audiences have come to cherish. Most of our guests have seen these films multiple times, but they tell me that they feel as though they are seeing them in an entirely new way, and that was always our goal.”
Additional interactive features within the projection show include responsive floor projection design that moves with the audience and custom bracelets that light up in sync with the projections and based on the audiences’ movements through the galleries. In a particularly
show-stopping moment, the Gazillion Bubbles special effects team fills the 500,000 cubic feet of galleries with bubbles.
Ross captures the excitement both Disney and Lighthouse Immersive feel for the project as he describes how it begins: “Just imagine journeying through Zootopia with Judy Hopps, diving to the ocean floor with Ariel, flying on a magic carpet with Aladdin, and stepping into Casita with Mirabel and the family Madrigal. This is where the Immersive Disney Animation takes you.”
Photos courtesy of Kyle Flubacker