Immersive attractions seem to be having a moment right now, with announcements popping up every few weeks for predominantly London-based experiences featuring IPs such as ‘Tomb Blaster’ and ‘Arkham Asylum’ and I am very much here for it. But, never did I dream that fifteen minutes from my home an original, eye-popping spectacle of a walk-through would open its doors. That was, of course, until I first heard of Wake the Tiger just a few days ago (how did I manage to sleep on this?!). Wake the Tiger brands itself as ‘The World’s First Amazement Park’. It’s an immersive art experience featuring 27 different environments, packed full of surprises, detail, interactivity and smells – and we were able to grab tickets for opening day!
Tucked amongst the industrial and retail parks of St Phillips, not far from the centre of Bristol, there’s not much to see on the outside when first arriving at Wake the Tiger. Nothing really, except a billboard for Meridia Luxury Homes, which sits proudly alongside the entrance to their salesroom. Immediately upon stepping through the door, the themed experience began. We were asked if we’d like a showroom tour – of course, we would! I really wasn’t expecting any actors, so I was grinning like a Cheshire cat as I was sold a genuinely horrific, dystopian housing unit designed for maximum productivity and featuring delights such as the toilet seat chopping board and ceiling adjacent bed – only 20 minutes of assembly from ceiling to sleep! I know I have friends who are strongly against character interaction, so don’t worry, you can easily bypass this part if you wish but I really loved it.
From the glistening sales suite, we headed down toward the development site – where Meridia Homes were constructing these dystopian nightmare units. Here, on a dark worksite, we were greeted by a distressed employee, who made clear that all was not well at the development. Strange things were happening, things that were driving this poor soul mad.
Construction had been halted. Meridia Homes could not continue development, not whilst an ancient tree was infiltrating the ventilation system. And what exactly was this tree? Was it the portal to another world?
From the moment you pass this mysterious tree, your journey through the varied environments of The Dream Factory truly begins. There is no set path through the numerous rooms, as many are accessible through hidden doors or hobbit-sized archways. Simply follow your curiosity!
As a lover of nature, most of my favourite environments were naturalistic in style. The rooms I found myself looping back to time and again were the Pandora-like Night Forests. With little cushioned recesses tucked away in the walls, I was very much in my element just sitting and enjoying the contrast of the glowing life within the dark forest.
Another favourite was the Mycelium Room, where glowing root-like mycelia surround you, supporting a group of touch-responsive (look out for the little symbols encouraging interaction throughout!) mushrooms in the centre of the room. This was another space that I spent quite a while in – watching the lights dance around the room was really mesmerising!
Speaking of interaction, there are opportunities for interactivity throughout. The station we enjoyed most was a room in which you must operate a control panel in order to open one of the 5 doors surrounding you! This was also the only place where we found ourselves waiting to do something. Despite tickets being low (when we booked, the earliest time with 2 available tickets was 18:45) it never felt overcrowded. My fears of overcrowding creating an environment that was more stressful than it was enjoyable were thankfully unfounded, with the number of guests feeling just right. The majority of the time we were able to enjoy rooms to ourselves, whilst in larger spaces, two or three other groups were often present. It’s amazing the difference that sort of thing makes to an immersive experience. Being able to hear, and examine everything always elevates the experience.
As well as interaction, there is plenty of available space for relaxation. Many rooms feature the aforementioned cushioned nooks, should you wish to sit and take in the environment, with one room even having a beanbag placed under a floral canopy and I’m sure I could smell a smell pod whilst I was led there too. Heaven.
There are many other environments within the attraction, but I don’t want to give too much away – it’s all about discovery and exploration after all!
Having explored the many wonders of Meridia, before you leave you are granted the honour of joining a guild. This takes the form of an interactive quiz, from which you are assigned one of the four guilds: Air, Earth, Fire or Water. As your guild is given, a membership card is even printed opposite which grants you access to the guild online!
Like any good, themed attraction, Wake the Tiger allows you to follow your own path and get as much as you would like from the experience. You just want to vibe in some pretty rooms for a while and look at some nice lights? Sorted. You want to read every scrap of paper and immerse yourself in the world that’s been built? Go ahead! We opted for a middle ground, following the essence of the story without reading each little detail – though I’m already planning to return and fix that! This approach allowed me to feel completely immersed in this strange, abandoned world whilst placing an emphasis on how the environment made me feel, rather than completely connecting to the story.
The attraction’s website recommends an hour for a visit, which we found is probably about right for a not-too-deep overview of the whole place. We stayed just under 1.5hrs, including spending time with the actors and doubling back from the exit to take a second walk around in case we had missed anything (we had!) At the exit, there’s a soon-to-open gift shop (I need to come back for that alone!) as well as a gorgeous cafe-bar complete with a miniature train running around the ceiling.
It’s incredible that a project without the astonishing budget of Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart was able to make me feel the same way I did whilst experiencing that attraction, but the sense of discovery and awe are every bit as alive here as they were in that wonderland. Some of the creatives involved in the project were around on opening day, and having gotten to chat to them it’s clear how much passion and creativity is driving this place, and how much there is yet to come. I just can’t wait to see what the future holds for Follow the Tiger, because it sure looks bright.
Speak again soon,
Claire
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coasterclaire.co.uk 