The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the out-of-home virtual reality business, after more than a few years of V/R technology itself having difficulty gaining traction with consumers. Part of the early going though is difficult to understand – for those consumers who have experienced out-of-home “free roam” V/R installations such as The Void, Dreamscape Immersive, Tyffon, and the like – it’s quite something.
Yet, we’ve been musing on the the long road of so-called “location-based entertainment” and its not difficult to be chastened by how few innovations or fresh entertainment attempts actually meet with consumer acceptance. We’ll be updating the listing below as we muse, and share it again.
| Facility / Experience | Product Summary | First Unit Year |
|---|
Facility / Experience | Product Summary | First Unit Year |
|---|---|---|
| Sandbox VR | Free roam VR maker-operator. | 2016 |
| Immersive Fort Tokyo | Described as the first immersive theme park. A project of Katana Inc. | 2024 |
| Chicken N Pickle | Pickleball eatertainment chain. | 2016 |
| Immersive Gamebox | An interactive "smart room" that supports interactive social games in small groups. | 2018 |
| Pickelball | Pickleball is first played at the home of Washington State Congressman Joel Pritchard. | 1965 |
| 2020 | ||
| 2010 | ||
| 2000 | ||
| 1990 | ||
| 1980 | ||
| 1970 | ||
| 1960 | ||
| Adventure Landing | First park opens in Jacksonville Beach (Florida), in 1995, a project of the Adventure Entertainment Company. | 1995 |
| Adventureland | An indoor 70,000 SF family entertainment center located in the Sahara Centre shopping mall in Sharjah (UAE). | 2002 |
| All-American SportPark Las Vegas, Nevada | A themed FEC concept involving Andre Agassi | 1998 |
| AMC Theatres | Maurice, Edward, and Barney Dubinsky purchase the Regent Theatre in downtown Kansas City. After changing the family name to Durwood this first unit and those to follow would operate as Durwood Theatres. Eventually in 1968 the operating name changed again to American Royal Cinema and then to American Multi-Cinema, Inc. (AMC). In 2012, Wanda Group (PRC) acquired a majority stake in AMC for $2.6 billion. | 1920 |
| America Live! | Harborage, Minneapolis. A 60,000 square foot multi entertainment complex featuring 5 different nightclub concepts under one roof. | 1992 |
| America’s Incredible Pizza Co. | The first restaurant opened in Springfield (Missouri) in 2002. | 2002 |
| American Bandstand Grill | First Unit | 1992 |
| Apple Cafe | Explored but not greenlit by Apple, a retro-future diner with neon lighting and computers at every table. | 1997 |
| Apple Store | Apple's first retail store opens in Tysons Corner, Virginia, to a generally accepted consensus the stores would fail based on egregiously flawed thinking. | 2001 |
| Arabian Nights | Dinner theater located in Kissimmee, Florida; closed for good in 2013. | 1988 |
| Area 15 | a joint project between Fisher Brothers and Beneville Studios. | 2020 |
| B.B. King's Blue Club | First unit opens in Memphis. A CityWalk Hollywood unit would open later in 1994. A third unit opened in Times Square (New York) in 2000 and shuttered in 2008. Additional locations opened and closed. | 1991 |
| Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World | First Unit opens in Springfield, Missouri, a simplistic version of the well-known modern superstores. | 1971 |
| BattleTech Center | The first BattleTech Center opened in Chicago in 1990, with others to follow eventually tallying 26 such facilities. | 1990 |
| Belong Gaming Arenas | These gaming arenas by esports platform Vindex, are coming to U.S. malls. First unit for the U.S. planned in 2021, for Pearland Town Center near Houston. | 2016 |
| Billboard Live! | 9039 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood. | 1996 |
| Blockbuster's BlockParty | Blockbuster, a unit of Viacom, opens its first unit in Albuquerque, Indianapolis to follow in the next year. BlockParty is an indoor entertainment complex with high-tech games for adults. | 1994 |
| Boston Market | 1985 | |
| Bowling's Automated Pinsetter | The automated pinsetter for bowling is first unveiled at a warehouse across the street from the 1946 American Bowling Congress tournament in Buffalo (New York). The invention spurs a decade of bowling technology innovations, mostly by manufacturer AMF. | 1946 |
| Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. | A venture between Paramount Licensing and Rusty Pelican. First unit in Monterey Bay, California. | 1996 |
| Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant and Market | Opens its first restaurant on Cannery Row in Monterey (California). | 1996 |
| Cafe@Play | A venture of IMAX and Simon Property Group. | 1998 |
| California Pizza Kitchen | 1985 | |
| Cartoon Saloon | Ft. Lauderdale. Adam West, Lou Ferrigno. The menu at Cartoon Saloon was an actual comic book. | 1996 |
| Casa Bonita | Lakewood, Colorado | 1974 |
| Castle Park Riverside | A 25-acre amusement park and family entertainment center located in Riverside (California). Formerly operated as Castle Amusement Park. Now owned and operated by Palace Entertainment. | 1976 |
| Champps American Sports Bar | West 7th Street, St. Paul, Minnesota | 1980 |
| Cheesecake Factory, The | David Overton opens the first unit in Beverly Hills. The company was first established in 1972 as a producer and distributor of cheesecakes and baked desserts. | 1978 |
| Chicken Dinner Restaurant | Knott's Berry Farm | 1946 |
| Chuck E. Cheese | First unit opens in San Jose, California, called Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre. Concept was created by Nolan Bushnell, who also co-founded Atari. | 1977 |
| Circus of Pepin and Breschard | First modern circus founded in the U.S., John Bill Ricketts. | 1793 |
| Cirque du Soleil | The first production, Le Grand Tour debuts in the small Quebec town of Gaspé, and is then performed in 10 other cities throughout the province. | 1984 |
| Claim Jumpers | 1977 | |
| Classic Sports Network Restaurant | Classic Sports Network | 1998 |
| Club Disney | Disney opens five Club Disney units quickly, later deciding that all units would be shuttered by November, 1999. | 1997 |
| Club Kokomo | From The Beach Boys' leader singer Michael Love, a restaurant concept featuring "Beach Boys" culture. Did not happen. | 1995 |
| Colonial Williamsburg | During the summer of 1978, the first living history scene is performed at Colonial Williamsburg. This 300-acre "living history" museum is situated as part of the historic district of the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, A place of some controversy ... during the restoration and reconstruction to establish the district some 720 buildings that postdated 1790 were destroyed - many of which with historic and cultural value dated to the early 19th century. As recently as the 1950's, Black Americans were only allowed to visit the district one day each week. | 1978 |
| Country Star American Music Grill | University CityWalk Hollywood | 1994 |
| Crunch | New York | 1989 |
| CyberDOME | 265 W. 54th Street, in the former home of Studio 54. | 1997 |
| Cyclone | Still operating at Coney Island, the famed wooden roller coaster opens. Cyclone is capable of speeds of 60 mph and features an 85-FT drop. | 1927 |
| Dan Marino's American Sports Bar & Grill | Coconut Grove | 1992 |
| Dave & Busters | First unit opens in Dallas. The brainchild of David Corriveau and James "Buster" Corley, who famously removed the demising wall that divided their two separate, already operating entertainment venues. | 1982 |
| David Copperfield's Magic Underground | Broadway & 49th Street, in Times Square (New York). | 1997 |
| Dean & DeLuca's | 121 Prince Street, New York | 1977 |
| Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grille | Overland Park, Kansas | 1994 |
| Dick's Last Resort | Rowdy roadhouse restaurant featuring insulting server staff. First Unit opened in the West End in Dallas. Now owned by Deja Vu. | 1985 |
| Disc Golf | The first formal disc golf course opens at Oak Grove Park in Pasadena (California). | 1975 |
| Discovery Channel Destination | MCI Center, Washington DC | 1997 |
| Discovery Naturescape South Korea | An indoor nature park, with immersive experiences for glaciers, deserts, canyons, and the like. | 2022 |
| Discovery Zone Play Place | First unit opened in Kansas City (Missouri). Famed tennis professional, Billie Jean King, was an early investor. | 1989 |
| Disney Store, The | Glendale Galleria Mall, Glendale, California | 1987 |
| Disney's America | Conceptual plans for this new Disney theme park are prepared. Disney's America was a planned theme park to be built near Haymarket, Virginia (Prince William County), It was in active planning at Walt Disney Co. during the 1990's. The 3,000-acre Disney theme park (with ancillary hotels, retail, and the like) if developed would have been located within a short distance from the historic battlefield, Bull Run in Manassas. Disney organization and other advocates encountered fierce skepticism from many members of the public concerns about Disney acting as an interpreter of American history. | 1993 |
| Disneyland | Walt Disney delivers a theme park. | 1955 |
| DisneyQuest | A Disney Regional Entertainment business unit, designed as a way for guests to experience the Disney Parks without having to be at the actual theme park destination. First unit located in Disney Downtown entertainment district (now Disney Springs). A second unit opened a year later in Chicago. | 1998 |
| Dive! | 10250 Little Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles | 1994 |
| Downtown Disney Anaheim Disney's version of Universal Studio's CityWalk, with much the same role in on-site guest circulation and entertainment. | Disney's version of Universal Studio's CityWalk, with much the same role in on-site guest circulation and entertainment. | 2001 |
| Dreamscape Immersive | Founded in 2016, Dreamscape is helmed by a veteran entertainment industry team and features a brace of Blue Chip investors. | 2018 |
| Drink! | S. DeGraff, M.Morton, 541 W. Fulton Street, Chicago | 1992 |
| Ducks Tours at the Dells | Mel Flath brings WWII land-to-water vehicles known as Ducks to Wisconsin Dells and set up a tour company. | 1946 |
| Easyriders Cafe Restaurants | 1997 | |
| Ed Debevic's | Retro dinner concept, with quirky if not mean servers. | 1984 |
| El Capitan Theatre (Disney | 6838 Hollywood Boulevard | 1991 |
| Electric Park | One of the inspirations for Walt Disney's ideas for Disneyland. The second version of this amusement park opens in Kansas City, Missouri. Situated about 15 blocks north of the Disney home on East 31st Street. Electric Park featured fireworks each evening and had a train system that encircled the venue. | 1907 |
| Elvis Presley's Memphis | Beale Street, site of former Lansky's Men's Store. | 1997 |
| Emeril's | Emeril Lagasse. New Orleans, Orlando. | 1998 |
| Entros | A remarkably innovative supper club participatory entertainment concept, sputtered following St. Joe Company's investment. | 1992 |
| ESPN Zone | The first ESPN Zone opens at the Power Plant at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. | 1998 |
| Evermore Park www.evermore.com | Immersive story venue, now with customized story model. | 2018 |
| Exploratorium | A San Francisco institution, was founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer and opened in 1969 at the Palace of Fine Arts. Since relocated. | 1969 |
| Facebook launches | Facebook launches on February 4, as a social networking service dubbed, TheFacebook. | 2004 |
| Fashion Café | This themed restaurant chain was defunct by 1999. Involved supermodels' Naomi Campbell, Elle Macpherson, Claudia Schiffer, and Christy Turlington. | 1995 |
| Fashion Show Mall Expansion | Retail mall expansion including largest house show production system ever placed in a mall environment. | 2003 |
| Federal Express | This game changing overnight delivery company starts operation on April 17, based on a college term paper written by Federal Express founder Frederick Smith. | 1973 |
| Ferris Wheel | G.W.G. Ferris designs and installs his giant wheel at the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. Ferris developed the idea upon a challenge to Chicago area architects and engineers, by eminent architect Daniel Burnham. Burnham needed a big idea to rival the Eiffel Tower for the World's Fair being organized for Chicago. | 1893 |
| Flavian Amphitheater | Flavian's Amphitheater opens in A.D. 80, later to become known as the Colosseum. A project of Vespasian's son Titus. Mentioned here but its cruel sensibilities leave it off the Official LBE Timeline. | 0080 |
| Ford Model T Automobile | The Ford Model T automobile begins assembly-line production, setting the stage for the Great Experiential Loss (Norm Elder) of the American suburb. | 1908 |
| Front Row Sports Grill | TGI Fridays, Orlando, Florida | 1993 |
| Fulton's Crab House | At WDW's Pleasure Island, Lake Buena Vista (Florida). | 1996 |
| Fun City | 1999 | |
| Galyan's | Galyan's opens in 1946 as a grocery store and in the 1960's transitions to sporting goods. The sports retailer is purchased in 2004 by Dick's Sporting Goods. | 1946 |
| GameWorks | 1996 | |
| Gateway Country Stores | The stores feature a combination of old and new, inviting customers to come in, touch, order — and then go home and wait patiently, because the stores did not carry any inventory. The stores would operate until 2004. | 1996 |
| Happylon | Opened at the Filion Mall in Moscow, | 2010 |
| Hard Rock Café | First unit at Old Park Lane, Mayfair, in London. | 1971 |
| Harley Davidson Café | First Unit | 1993 |
| Highway 76 Branson | The Presley family opens the first music theater on what is now known as Highway 76, followed by more than 50 such theaters along this highway. | 1967 |
| Hippodrome Theatre | The New York City theater had a seating capacity of 5,200, with a stage 12 times larger than any Broadway "legit" house and capable of holding as many as 1,000 performers at a time, or a full-sized circus with elephants and horses. An 8,000-gallon clear glass water tank could be hydraulically raised for performances. Operated until closing in 1939. | 1905 |
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