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Dreamscape Immersive

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Dreamscape Immersive
Information
Industry Location-based virtual reality, immersive education
Founded 2016
Founder Walter Parkes, Kevin Wall, Aaron Grosky, Bruce Vaughn, Caecilia Charbonnier, Sylvain Chagué, Ronald Menzel
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, United States
Notable Personnel Walter Parkes (co-founder and CEO), Aaron Grosky (president and COO), Bruce Vaughn (former CEO), Josh Reibel (CEO, Dreamscape Learn)
Products Alien Zoo, The Blu: Deep Rescue, Curse of the Lost Pearl: A Magic Projector Adventure, DreamWorks Dragons: Flight Academy, MIB: First Assignment, Dreamscape Learn
Website https://dreamscapeimmersive.com


Dreamscape Immersive (usually branded Dreamscape) is an American location-based virtual reality company based in Los Angeles. It was formed by the film producer Walter Parkes, the live-events producer Kevin Wall and his executive Aaron Grosky, with former Walt Disney Imagineering creative chief Bruce Vaughn as its first chief executive, around a free-roam motion-capture system developed by the Swiss foundation Artanim.[1][2] In its entertainment venues, groups of up to six people wore a headset, a backpack computer and trackers on their hands and feet, saw one another as full-body avatars, and walked through short story-driven adventures built around physical sets and props.[3]

Backed by Hollywood studios, Steven Spielberg, IMAX and AMC Theatres, the company opened its first adventure, Alien Zoo, at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles in 2018 and later had venues in Dallas, Columbus, New Jersey, Dubai, Geneva and Riyadh.[4][5] During the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut its venues, the company concentrated on education through Dreamscape Learn, a joint venture with Arizona State University that turns the Alien Zoo world into a virtual biology lab. The Los Angeles flagship closed in 2024 and the Geneva centre at the end of 2025.[6][7][8]

Reviewed 4 October 2026. Funding, founders, leadership, venue openings and closures, experiences, technology and Dreamscape Learn claims checked against every cited source, plus a 2023 Hollywood Reporter source on Bruce Vaughn's departure. About review dates.

History

Formation and funding

According to the Los Angeles Times, the company began when Kevin Wall, a concert producer known for Live Earth and Live 8, and his executive Aaron Grosky saw Artanim's multi-user installation Real Virtuality at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. They joined Walter Parkes, a former head of DreamWorks Pictures and producer of Men in Black and Minority Report, with whom they were already exploring immersive theatre projects.[2] Parkes later told ASU News that he had considered virtual reality too isolating until he saw, in 2016, a version that used motion capture to put several people inside a computer world together.[6] Grosky's company biography says he helped form Dreamscape Immersive in 2016, while the company's 2018 press boilerplate gives 2017 as its founding year and lists its founders as Artanim's Caecilia Charbonnier and Sylvain Chagué, the entrepreneur Ronald Menzel, Parkes, Wall, Grosky and Vaughn.[9][4]

Dreamscape came out of stealth on 13 February 2017. It announced a US$11 million funding round led by Bold Capital, with Warner Bros., 21st Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, IMAX, the mall owner Westfield and Steven Spielberg contributing, and named Wall and Parkes co-chairmen and Vaughn chief executive. Charbonnier and Chagué became co-chief technology officers, and the company said its venues would run on Artanim technology.[1] In September 2017 AMC Entertainment committed US$20 million and agreed to finance up to six Dreamscape centres, either standalone or inside AMC cinemas, in the United States and the United Kingdom; at the time the Culver City company had about 25 full-time employees.[2] By December 2017 the Series B round had grown to US$30 million, adding Nickelodeon, the Middle Eastern mall and cinema operator Majid Al Futtaim, VRSense Solutions and Image Nation Abu Dhabi alongside returning investors Bold Capital Partners, 21st Century Fox and Warner Bros.[10]

Round Announced Amount Investors named in reporting
Initial round February 2017 US$11 million Bold Capital (lead), Warner Bros., 21st Century Fox, MGM, IMAX, Westfield, Steven Spielberg[1]
Series B September-December 2017 US$30 million AMC Entertainment (lead), Nickelodeon, Majid Al Futtaim, VRSense Solutions, Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Bold Capital Partners, 21st Century Fox, Warner Bros.[2][10]
Dreamscape Learn Series A January 2023 US$20 million Bold Capital Partners, GSV Ventures, Verizon Ventures, Cengage Group[11]

Alien Zoo and the entertainment venues

The first adventure, Alien Zoo, opened as a pop-up at Westfield Century City on 7 February 2018. It was a 12-minute piece for up to six people, booked in 40-minute slots that included suiting up.[12] Tickets cost US$20, and the run was extended twice.[3] The company later called it a sold-out six-week engagement.[4] A permanent venue in the same mall, with five adventure pods, was set to open on 14 December 2018. It launched with Alien Zoo, Lavan's Magic Projector: The Lost Pearl and The Blu: Deep Rescue, a co-production with WEVR, each priced at US$20 for a 25-minute session.[13][4][14]

The AMC rollout followed. Dreamscape's second location, co-branded with AMC, opened in Dallas in August 2019.[15] The first venue outside the United States opened with Majid Al Futtaim at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai on 19 December 2019, and a venue at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio, opened in February 2020.[16][17] The pandemic closed the entertainment venues, and the Century City flagship reopened to the public in May 2021.[6][18] In November 2021 a new location opened at the AMC in Westfield Garden State Plaza, New Jersey.[19]

Artanim's founders had long wanted a centre in their home city. With the events promoter Opus One, Dreamscape opened its first European venue at Confédération Centre in Geneva in July 2022.[20][8] In September 2022 Majid Al Futtaim opened a second Middle East venue at Riyadh Park Mall in Saudi Arabia, with DreamWorks Dragons: Flight Academy, Alien Zoo, Curse of the Lost Pearl: A Magic Projector Adventure and MIB: First Assignment.[5]

Closures and change of focus

The Los Angeles centre closed in early 2024. In February 2025 co-founder Caecilia Charbonnier and commercial director Antoine Pictet told the Swiss business magazine Bilan that the closure was mainly caused by a rent increase, and that COVID had forced AMC to stop operating three centres it ran under franchise. She said the company was still growing in education, training and business products. It had spent three years developing tracking that needed only the headset, with no hand or foot sensors, and planned to deploy it first in Geneva from March 2025 with a new experience.[7] The Geneva centre's closure was announced on 28 December 2025. Charbonnier said on LinkedIn, as reported by ICTjournal, that the centre had been forced to close after several circumstantial events.[8]

Leadership has also changed. The Hollywood Reporter reported in March 2023 that Vaughn, who had become Dreamscape's CEO and chief creative officer in 2016, joined Airbnb in 2021 and was returning to Disney as chief creative officer and co-head of Walt Disney Imagineering.[21] The Dreamscape Learn website lists Parkes as co-founder and CEO of Dreamscape Immersive and Grosky as its president and chief operating officer.[9]

Products

Dreamscape's adventures are short, scripted group stories rather than competitive games. They mix original worlds with studio licences.

Experience First shown Partner Notes
Alien Zoo February 2018 (Century City pop-up) Original Tour of an orbiting sanctuary for endangered alien creatures. The concept came from a film idea Parkes developed with Steven Spielberg[12][6]
Lavan's Magic Projector: The Lost Pearl, later Curse of the Lost Pearl: A Magic Projector Adventure December 2018 Original Treasure hunt in which the group steps through a projected black-and-white film into a booby-trapped tomb[4][15]
The Blu: Deep Rescue December 2018 WEVR Undersea mission to rescue a trapped baby blue whale[4]
DreamWorks Dragons: Flight Academy By December 2019 (Century City) DreamWorks Animation Players ride a moving saddle with the headset attached to it[16][19]
MIB: First Assignment Announced June 2019 Sony Pictures 10 to 12 minute Men in Black mission on hoverbikes for up to six players[22]
Chaos at Hogwarts and Wizards Take Flight July 2021 Wevr, Keylight Made for the Harry Potter New York store; US$34 per ticket[23]

Venues

Location Opened Operator or partner Status
Westfield Century City, Los Angeles Pop-up February 2018; permanent December 2018 Dreamscape Closed in 2024[12][13][7]
Dallas August 2019 AMC (co-branded) Not among the sites named as continuing in February 2025[15][7]
Mall of the Emirates, Dubai 19 December 2019 Majid Al Futtaim Not among the sites named as continuing in February 2025[16][7]
Easton Town Center, Columbus, Ohio February 2020 AMC Not among the sites named as continuing in February 2025[17][7]
Westfield Garden State Plaza, New Jersey November 2021 AMC Not among the sites named as continuing in February 2025[19][7]
Confédération Centre, Geneva July 2022 Opus One Closure announced 28 December 2025[20][8]
Riyadh Park Mall, Riyadh September 2022 Majid Al Futtaim Named in February 2025 as one of the sites where operations continued[5][7]

Technology

The system grew out of Artanim's research; Parkes told The Hollywood Reporter that the Artanim team came from medical imaging. The magazine described its body-mapping technology as licensed exclusively to Dreamscape for entertainment and retail, and the Los Angeles Times reported that Dreamscape had acquired Artanim as a subsidiary.[12][2] Parkes said that the system tracks only the hands, head and feet and uses algorithms to infer the rest of the body, so each player's full-body avatar moves in real time.[12]

During a 2018 visit by The Verge, guests wore a head-mounted display, a backpack computer and small trackers over their hands and feet. Wind, a rumbling floor and an automated animal prop that could be touched made the virtual zoo feel physical.[3] The Hollywood Reporter also described scent effects.[12] CNET's 2021 report from New Jersey said the venues used HP-made VR hardware, a backpack lighter than those used in other installations, and hand sensors that tracked the arms but not individual fingers.[19] Explaining the headset-only tracking to Bilan in 2025, Charbonnier said that lighter equipment needs fewer staff and allows a higher turnover of participants.[7]

Dreamscape Learn

Dreamscape Learn is a joint venture between Dreamscape Immersive and Arizona State University.[24] According to its website, the idea came in 2019, when ASU president Michael Crow tried a Dreamscape experience.[9] Its first course, "Biology in the Alien Zoo", casts students as field biologists in the Alien Zoo sanctuary. It began in the spring 2022 semester in ASU's Biology 181 and Biology 100 courses.[6][11] In the Biology 181 study, 486 students' lab grades were compared between the Dreamscape Learn version and a conventional lab. Students had six VR sessions of about 10 to 15 minutes each across the semester, seated with a headset, hand trackers and vibrating chairs, and the Dreamscape Learn group earned higher lab grades.[6] Annie Hale of ASU's EdPlus Action Lab later said that students in the Dreamscape Learn group were 1.7 times more likely to earn a lab score of 90 to 100 percent.[25]

Dreamscape Learn raised a US$20 million Series A in January 2023.[11] Josh Reibel, formerly chief executive of Sokanu Interactive, is its CEO.[9] The program has since moved beyond ASU's introductory biology labs:

  • By September 2026 more than 28,000 ASU students had used the biology course, and ASU had fully moved its introductory biology labs to the platform.[26]
  • ASU brought the curriculum to middle schools in Arizona's Pendergast Elementary School District, using a custom VR lab at Villa de Paz Elementary School and towable mobile pods.[27]
  • Dreamscape Learn's website lists permanent installations, mobile classrooms, portable carts and online delivery, along with a Dreamscape Developer Kit that lets partners build their own immersive courses.[28]
  • On 1 September 2026 Montclair State University opened a 2,450-square-foot Dreamscape Learn Lab with a 26-seat classroom and a free-roam pod. It joined Arizona State University, Rowan University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.[29]
  • Caldwell University opened a campus-wide Dreamscape Learn space in its library on 16 September 2026.[26]

Student reaction at ASU has been mixed. The State Press reported in April 2026 that the program was expanding into chemistry, microeconomics, music theory and astronomy. Some biology students it interviewed questioned the mandatory technology fee or found the alien setting too fantastical, while others, including non-majors, found it engaging.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Janko Roettgers (2017-02-13). "Dreamscape Immersive Wants to Bring Virtual Reality Multiplex to Los Angeles". Variety. https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/dreamscape-immersive-vr-multiplex-1201986722/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Steven Zeitchik (2017-09-26). "Hoping to bring VR to the multiplex, AMC joins Spielberg in backing Culver City startup". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-fi-ct-dreamscape-amc-vr-20170926-story.html. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bryan Bishop (2018-02-23). "Dreamscape Immersive's Alien Zoo takes guests to an interstellar Jurassic Park". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/23/17042666/dreamscape-immersive-alien-zoo-virtual-reality. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Dreamscape Kicks Off Its Nationwide Roll Out With December 2018 Launch Of Westfield Century City Immersive VR Destination". PR Newswire. Dreamscape Immersive. 2018-11-28. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dreamscape-kicks-off-its-nationwide-roll-out-with-december-2018-launch-of-westfield-century-city-immersive-vr-destination-300756641.html. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Bea Mitchell (2022-09-22). "Majid Al Futtaim opens first Dreamscape VR experience in Saudi Arabia". blooloop. https://blooloop.com/retailtainment/news/majid-al-futtaim-dreamscape-saudi-arabia/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Mary Beth Faller (2022-10-21). "VR biology lab experience leads to student success". ASU News. Arizona State University. https://news.asu.edu/20221021-creativity-vr-biology-lab-experience-leads-student-success. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Frédéric Thomasset (2025-02-25). "Réalité virtuelle: Dreamscape a fermé son centre de Los Angeles". Bilan. https://www.bilan.ch/story/realite-virtuelle-dreamscape-a-ferme-son-centre-de-los-angeles-675539426626. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Alexia Muanza (2026-01-05). "Dreamscape ferme son centre de réalité virtuelle à Genève". ICTjournal. https://www.ictjournal.ch/news/2026-01-05/dreamscape-ferme-son-centre-de-realite-virtuelle-a-geneve. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "About Us". Dreamscape Learn. https://www.dreamscapelearn.com/about-us. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Anita Busch (2017-12-13). "Dreamscape Gets New Financial Commitments From Nickelodeon, Middle Eastern Investors". Deadline. https://deadline.com/2017/12/dreamscape-financial-commitments-from-nickelodeon-middle-eastern-investors-1202225143/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Higher Ed Meets Hollywood: ASU-Incubated VR Company Raises $20M to Transform STEM Education". PR Newswire. Dreamscape Learn. 2023-01-19. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/higher-ed-meets-hollywood-asu-incubated-vr-company-raises-20m-to-transform-stem-education-301725400.html. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Ingrid Schmidt (2018-02-07). "Virtual Reality Experience Debuts at Westfield Century City From Dreamscape Startup". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/virtual-reality-experience-debuts-at-westfield-century-city-dreamscape-startup-1082632/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Janko Roettgers (2018-11-28). "Dreamscape Immersive to Open VR Center at Westfield Century City Mall". Variety. https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/dreamscape-immersive-westfield-century-city-1203038492/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  14. ↑ Scott Hayden (2018-11-28). "Dreamscape Immersive to Open 4 New Out-of-Home VR Venues". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/dreamscape-immersive-open-4-new-home-vr-venues/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Eric Switzer (2019-09-09). "Dreamscape Offers A Destination Virtual Reality Experience You'll Want To See Again And Again". TheGamer. https://www.thegamer.com/dreamscape-destination-virtual-reality-experience/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Bea Mitchell (2019-12-19). "Majid Al Futtaim, Dreamscape open VR location at Mall of the Emirates". blooloop. https://blooloop.com/technology/news/dreamscape-mall-emirates-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Chelsea Wiley (2020-02-28). "The Virtual Reality Experience At Dreamscape Is The Coolest Thing You Can Do In Columbus Right Now". Columbus Navigator. https://www.columbusnavigator.com/dreamscape-vr-easton-amc/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  18. ↑ "Reopen Watch: Dreamscape Immersive at Westfield Century City". No Proscenium. 2021-05-03. https://noproscenium.com/reopen-watch-dreamscape-immersive-at-westfield-century-city-facf20b93f7a. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Russell Holly (2021-11-19). "Dreamscape and AMC are teaming up once again to bring back location-based VR". CNET. https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/dreamscape-and-amc-are-teaming-up-once-again-to-bring-back-location-based-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Christophe Pinol (2022-06-23). "Un temple de la réalité virtuelle ouvre à Genève". Le Temps. https://www.letemps.ch/culture/ecrans/un-temple-realite-virtuelle-ouvre-geneve/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  21. ↑ Caitlin Huston (2023-03-07). "Bruce Vaughn Returns to Disney as Co-Lead of Imagineering Division". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/bruce-vaughn-disney-imagineering-1235342911/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  22. ↑ Janko Roettgers (2019-06-10). "'Men in Black' VR Experience Coming to Dreamscape (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/men-in-black-vr-experience-dreamscape-1203236459/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  23. ↑ Ben Lang (2021-07-23). "Two New 'Harry Potter' VR Experiences Launch at Harry Potter New York". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/harry-potter-vr-new-york-chaos-at-hogwarts-wizards-take-flight/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  24. ↑ "Dreamscape Learn". Arizona State University. https://dreamscapelearn.asu.edu/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Sydney Voorhees (2026-04-29). "Dreamscape Learn is replacing ASU's traditional labs, students have mixed feelings". The State Press. https://www.statepress.com/article/2026/04/vr-advances-science-education. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Dreamscape Learn". Caldwell University. 2026-09-16. https://www.caldwell.edu/centers-institutes/dreamscape-learn/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  27. ↑ Bret Hovell (2026-01-05). "The Dreamscape effect". ASU News. Arizona State University. https://news.asu.edu/20260105-science-and-technology-dreamscape-effect. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  28. ↑ "Dreamscape Learn". Dreamscape Learn. https://www.dreamscapelearn.com/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  29. ↑ "Montclair State University Launches New Virtual Reality Facility". Montclair State University. 2026-09-01. https://www.montclair.edu/news-media/news-stories/montclair-state-university-launches-new-virtual-reality-facility. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
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