The most immersive experience in Las Vegas has just gotten its own portal to Chicago via the new Believe Chicago experience. Flyover in Las Vegas, located by the Showcase Mall, is an exhilarating flight simulation experience that offers visitors a unique way to see iconic landscapes from a bird’s-eye view. The ride uses state-of-the-art technology to create a sense of flight, combining motion seats, wind, mist, and scents to enhance the immersion. Participants embark on a captivating journey over some of the most stunning locations in the world, such as Iceland, the Grand Canyon, the Canadian Rockies (you can read about that here), and now, the streets of Chicago.
Experience Chicago’s Iconic Landscapes at Flyover
Flyover is more than just a motion simulator or a projected film. The ride is akin to a more modernized version of Disney’s Soarin’. Both attractions employ motion seats and large screen projections to create a sensation of flying, but Flyover amplifies this experience with additional sensory elements such as wind, mist, and scents. A brief pre-show before you enter the theater helps to further guide visitors along their journey and prepare them for what’s ahead. If you’re curious to learn more, check out a walkthrough of the whole experience here.
While previous Flyover experiences have been filmed with the use of a helicopter, Believe Chicago adds a new level of immersion by utilizing drones, allowing cameras to get an even deeper look into the city’s captivating views. “It’s kind of hard to maneuver a helicopter through a bunch of buildings,” Reece Westerlund, General Manager of Flyover in Las Vegas, told us during a media preview. “So it was the first time we were able to build a drone from the ground up. A lot of what you see will be drone technology that gets you up close and personal with the skyscrapers.”
The film showcases a number of the city’s most stunning views, from the world-famous Cloud Gate (aka The Bean) to Lakeshore Drive and the surrounding neighborhoods that make up the beautiful landscape of Chicago. You’ll even get a look inside some of the iconic towers and may get a little splash from the boats as you skim the waterways for which Chicago is known. “We interviewed over hundreds of Chicago natives,” Westerlund said of the film’s creation. “We took some footage and their narrative of what they love so much about their city.”
One of the most captivating features of Flyover experiences is frequently the soundtrack. Believe Chicago adds another element to that feature by bringing to life a collection of music genres Chicago helped birth. “If you’re familiar with Chicago, you know there’s an amazing music scene in Chicago. They’re responsible for blues; they’re responsible for house music, hip hop, you name it.,” Westerlund explained. “We went big, and we partnered with composer Elliott Wheeler. You may have seen some of his work in films; we got Elvis most recently, The Great Gatsby. If you talk to him, he’ll tell you we didn’t give him enough time to celebrate the music of Chicago.” Believe Chicago is now on view at Flyover locations in Las Vegas and Chicago!
