Orlando, Florida is not only the theme park capital of the world, but it is also home to one of six 4DX Movie Theaters in the United States. Who knew, right?
I first heard of 4DX last March when my friend told me she went to see Kong: Skull Island in 4DX. My immediate reaction was, “Huh?” 4DX is the next step in movie theaters, with practical effects mixed with seats that move. The whole thing actually sounds to me like what Walt Disney wanted to happen with the release of the original Fantasia movie.
I honestly didn’t give 4DX much further thought after that. We kept saying we wanted to go see a movie in 4DX, but I usually do my movie watching in the little theater in Clermont or at Disney Springs. Regal Pointe Orlando is the only 4DX theater in town. (I honestly had no idea it was one of six in the country until I started writing this article.) Pointe Orlando is just not the most convenient theater to go to even though I’m a huge Regal fan. Fun fact: Regal Cinemas was actually founded in my hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee so I grew up going there.
One night, Jay and I found ourselves at an event on International Drive that ended earlier than we expected, and we decided to catch the last 4DX showing of the evening. We went in to buy our tickets and the attendant asked where we wanted to sit. I stared at the screen blankly and asked for her suggestion. I hate reserved seating so much, especially since I didn’t know what we were getting into with the 4DX. She picked our seats for us and off we went.
The auditorium has nine rows. Except for the back row, each row has four sections with four seats each. Each seat has a little foot rest in front of it, and the cup holders are super deep. I was super curious about what was about to happen. I noticed a button on the armrest that gave you the choice of water being on or off, so I immediately turned both of ours off.
The slew of trailers played like normal and then a 4DX sort of preview came on.
Holy cow.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.
The little sections of four seats were essentially one big bench, and the entire bench moved. I don’t mean it moved a little. I mean the entire thing tilted Star Tours style. It pitched both side to side and forwards and backwards. It didn’t move just a little either.
The seats stopped moving as the 4DX logo popped up on screen. Jay and I turned to look at each other, and we could hear the rest of the audience reacting as well. Clearly, we weren’t the only first timers.
My favorite thing I heard, “Holy s***! This gonna be dope!”
The movie started, and I swear the movement never stopped. For the life of me I can’t figure out how you would go to the bathroom during one of these movies. I kept looking for some sort of safety device or ride stop. The attractions Cast Member in me was horrified and fascinated all at the same time. Since we didn’t buy our tickets in advance, we didn’t see all the warnings and conditions on the website. These theaters have a height requirement!
Strobe lights flashed every time there was lightning on screen. The snow effects seemed to be taken right out of Disney’s playbook, but they were at the front of the theater and we were towards the back so I didn’t get to verify the “snow” was actually soap. I had turned the water effects off, but there was definite misting that we felt.
The most jolting part of the experience were the things in the seats that poked you in the back to sort of startle a jump scare. It reminded me of “it’s tough to be a bug” at Animal Kingdom when the hornets sting you. You know, the horrible attraction I haven’t done since 2013. I honestly liked everything pretty well except for that since it just pulled me out of the movie immersion. I kept thinking some kid was kicking my seat somehow.
Since this isn’t a movie review, I didn’t want to go into what movie we saw. It was probably as good a movie as any for our first 4DX experience, but it wasn’t a movie I loved. I’m guessing there are some movies that are better suited to 4DX than others, and I look forward to putting that theory to the test.
While I didn’t necessarily love either the movie or the 4DX, I am curious to try it a second time to see how I like it as a repeat experience. I liked it more than Jay did, but honestly, I’m just grateful it didn’t give him motion sickness. He usually doesn’t do super well with motion simulators. He said he didn’t feel the need to do it ever again, but the film maker in me will not be satisfied until I give it a few more tries. Regal is planning on expanding the amount of theaters with 4DX so it could very well be the future of the industry.
Some tips if you’re going to check out 4DX for yourself:
1) See a movie you’ve already seen before and enjoyed. It’ll be better if you have an idea of what’s coming, and you don’t want to think you don’t like 4DX because you didn’t like the movie.
2) Do not need to get up during the movie.
3) Pick a movie that is going to make sense with 4DX. Something with flying or racing.
Cost: Tickets are $21.93 on the Regal website.
Value: Worth doing a few times, but I wouldn’t see every movie that releases in 4DX.
Duration: An hour and a half to two hours.
Add Ons: Popcorn!
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