Hologram Zoo — Local services in Brisbane City

I have to agree with the other reviews. It's a GREAT idea with a lot of potential but rather poorly implemented. The place itself is in a rundown place where all the other stores were closed. It was very weird given the location but the whole Cannon Hill shopping centre area feels like a poor town's shopping mall, weird for the location. When you get in it looks really exciting - the staff was nice and gave us active shutter glasses and we check they all work (one didn't and they replaced it. Why the staff doesn't check it for you is a mystery). They explain very briefly whats happening and what we are doing but the nice girl that led us to the first area but didn't stay. There are no indications of where to go when - on the floor or anywhere, and when the first section ended we 'led ourselves out' and looked for staff. So to start you see this 'mini show' where they explain about the dinosaurs in a room where a projector basically projects on a lace so it gives the illusion of hologram (although 2D one). It's a bit too long and underwhelming - the sound system they use there is a joke.. tiny speakers and it's hard to properly hear (there's also distortion at some sections) which is very weird given the money everything else must have cost them. They project on a lace net which gives the impression of a hologram in the middle of a 'fake jungle' although it's 2D (you don't use the glasses yet). Then you start with the 'tunnel' which is basically you having to go around 4-5 times in this tunnel with projectors that display rather poor and unengaging 3D animation of the diosaurs, it lasts 2 minutes. Every time waiting in line, with only 4 chairs to sit on for all the groups. The lady that was in today (5/1/23) was very 'unengaged' - there are 2 tunnels and I assumed one was not even working because everyone queued to only one (you scan a key they give you to 'queue' your experience) - but she let us all wait (as every small group gets 2 minutes in the tunnel so you can wait standing 4 minutes or so) instead of letting people go on the other tunnel - which she did only when another group or two joined the queue, after 2-3 rounds. The 3D in the tunnels could have been SO MUCH better, I assume they dumb it down not to scare too much the smaller children. Guess what - it still scares some of them! a lot! if they are 4-6. But if you are over the age of 8-9 it's seriously boring.. and the quality is bad, not sharp and slow FPS, and dark (they chose to use Active shutter glasses which I assume it's because it's projectors, but it also means it's quite dim). It doesn't have to be scary, all they have to do is project much better content. From there you are 'on your own' because there was very little explanation on what to do next, and there are no signs, so we needed to ask the staff but again - the girl there was not overly engaged, we asked someone else. You then get to play a 'game' in another 'mini room' which again could have been super fun but the game is SUPER boring and crippled - the racing game we were on for example - we had controllers but the joystick isn't used - you can't control the car, only the speed with a simple button that most of the time doesn't seem to do anything - but no one explains the rules etc properly and you end up guessing who you are in the game and who wins is completely random. We did win some prize. Then there's a really impressive 3D projection on a big wall with two 3D 'ground' projections that can be fishes or swamps etc- again - SO MUCH POTENTIAL but the content is again quite short and then instead of going around the short way - you have to go back to the tunnels area and back.

Overall it's def not worth the money. They can make it so much better with...

We ventured to the Holographic Zoo with our 17month old and 6year old and had mixed opinions about the experience. On the website it advertises the experience as appropriate for all ages but it truly is not. Unless your child can wear glasses it is not accessible to them. The staff were helpful and lovely and we were in within 5 minutes, however it was not the experience we expected when we got in. Based on the information on the website I expected much more for the price of the tickets. I expected more interactions with animals and a longer holographic walk. I expected to have all members access the experience as well and this was not the case. I also did not expect the venue to be so hot. There are no fans or air conditioning in this venue and on a hot Summer's day it was extremely warm inside. Basic run down: As you enter you watch an educational holographic presentation which talks about the animals you will be seeing. This lasted about 5minutes and my 6 year old found it boring. My toddler loved the animations and was able to access it because glasses were not required to see it because it was projected onto a suspended screen. Once the presentation concluded we were briefed by an employee about how to do the holographic zoo part. As we entered the holograms loaded and began to play. It took a long time for our eyes to adjust to the first tunnel walk (walk through the tunnel 5 times to experience 5 different habitats). At the end of each tunnel you are directed to stop and the animals do a brief interaction with you but it is nothing special. Kangaroos jump over you and the crocodile swims towards you and attacks. Once you have done your tunnel walks you get to walk over the bridge which projects a series of different images for you to enjoy. Once this is over you move to the two arcade games which my husband and daughter enjoyed. Overall it is a very different way to experience animals. They do look real but it takes a while for your eyes to adjust to the holograms. The idea is clever but it is short and expensive for what you receive. The holograms in some of the tunnels sink into the floor and therefore you don't see the entire animal and this does ruin the experience a little. It is not accessible to all ages at all and is a waste for young children who won't wear glasses. I would most likely not go again until the holographic presentations improve and they get air conditioning. I would not recommend this experience during Summer or hot days or for...

For months we had seen ads over social media about the world’s first “immersive experience”. With excitement, we eagerly booked the 6-9pm session.

Finally, we were ecstatic as opportunity arose for us to all go as a family. We made the 40 minute trek (each way) to be wowed this one-of-a-kind enjoyable experience.

We were shocked as we pulled up where our GPS led us. Were we in the slums? It looked to be an old, abandoned, dilapidated, condemned, (and possibly haunted) shopping centre. As we approached the entrance of the Hologram Zoo, we were horrified to find that we had been catfished! It was the whole what you buy on Wish versus what you actually get. We were inconsolably devastated.

The experience was a disaster from the start. We asked if we could get dinner. The person looked confused, paused for what felt like an eternity, then managed to say “we don’t really do that”. Well do you, or don’t you? Anyway, that’s interesting, because it’s advertised on the website, and on screens all over the building.

We were told that we could not get in until 8pm. It is at that point that we should have respectfully asked for our money back!

After returning we were provided confusing instructions and lead to an entryway. A prerecorded voice counts you in, and you enter a tunnel with special glasses on.

Despite all the initial disappointment I thought that maybe they were frugal with their spending so that their hologram zoo would be spectacular. Boy was I wrong. In fact, there’s seldom been so many times in my life I was THIS wrong.

We were met with a projector visual, with the graphics of a 1994 PlayStation original. Now, if someone was to tell me that the concept and development of this hologram zoo was done by a few grade 8’ers as a school product, I’d believe them. In fact, I’d have a hard time believing that it was done by any professional whatsoever.

As if paying for the dreadful experience wasn’t enough, we had the pleasure of being serenaded by one of the staff members butchering the clarinet (against our will).

Oh and I almost forgot, even my 5 year old nephew asked to leave after a short amount of time as he was “bored” and...