Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, has opened Cosmos, a new mixed-reality experience in its outdoor Venture Realm attraction. Guests wear an untethered Apple Vision Pro headset and walk freely around the aquarium's outdoor plaza while a depiction of the birth of the universe unfolds around them, with stars igniting, planets forming, and guests approaching the edge of a black hole. The headset passes through a view of the real plaza and the people in it, with the space scenes layered on top.
Cosmos is the fourth Enterverse world running in Venture Realm, built on mixed-reality technology from AStation. It joins Dinosaur Park, a prehistoric forest adventure that opened June 1; Shan Hai Jing, drawing on ancient Chinese legend, which launched July 1; and Wonders, exploring the Forbidden City and the Roman Colosseum, which followed August 1. AStation describes Enterverse as a large-scale outdoor mixed-reality platform. AStation CEO Chris Chen called Cosmos "the boldest, biggest swing we've ever taken."
A Venture Realm ticket covering two experiences costs $19.99, with each session running about 20 to 25 minutes and up to 10 players able to share the same scene. Ripley's ticket page warns the experience "may cause dizziness, nausea, disorientation, or loss of balance."
