This past weekend in New York City I had the privilege of attending the Michael Jackson Thriller Immersive Experience. From start to finish it was an afternoon filled with fun. It looked like many of the same experiences from Germany were also brought to the USA with a few new additions.
We started by entering a room that was setup to look like the Billie Jean music video. In this room fans could take their time walking through and posing with different backgrounds and props like a vintage phone booth. There were also photographers placed throughout the room mimicking those in the original music video. Those who wanted could make their own Billie Jean dance clip video which could then be downloaded to your personal device with QR code. Then as you made your way towards the back of the room, you could experience the light-up sidewalk just like you would in the video. This was a very popular area with many fans showing off their dance moves.
Next, we were ushered into a reproduction movie theatre where everyone went inside to sit to watch the Thriller video in 4K. It was incredible to see this finally on a big screen in such great quality! Towards the end of the video, several dancers dressed as zombies appeared and began to perform the full Thriller dance routine in front of the big screen. It was so fun to watch as they were all quite talented. The dancers then came into the audience and prowled around which only added to the spooky fun!
Upstairs, the next larger room had several experiences to dazzle the eyes and ears. When you are first walking in, to your left was a Thriller VR station where you could put on the headset and be transported into a virtual Thriller world. Next as you walked through the room you could not stop and stare at the huge screen with many photos of Michael flashing every few seconds. The quality of the images was stunning. Then as you continued around the room you could take a photo with the Pretty Young Thing selfie mirror before arriving at the Thriller 40 zombie photo booth. Here you were instructed to make your best zombie pose for the camera, and then they transform your face into zombie mode. Everyone was able to take home their personal photo by scanning a QR code. Next, I arrived at the Thriller 360 Reality Audio experience where you could wear a headset and be transported into the music of Thriller. The sound quality was incredible, and you could hear the difference immediately. Then a small group of us went over to an area where we could hear the 360 Reality Audio without headphones. The attendant asked us which song we wanted to hear, and nobody spoke up, so I said Beat It. The audio experience was mind-blowing!
Next, we moved into the room which was setup to look like the Beat It video. As soon as you walked in there were 3 dancers in the middle performing the familiar Beat It dance moves. Walking around this room felt like you were right there in the same diner from the music video. Fans could play on the vintage 80’s arcade games like Pac Man and Space Invaders or check out what songs were available on the jukebox. Those who wanted were welcome to grab a complimentary beverage or snack from the counter and hang out with friends.
The last stop before heading out was the Thriller 40 gift shop. Here they had several different items for sale, many different from those offered in Germany. Some of the prices were high, so I could not get everything I wanted. Nevertheless, I was very happy with the Thriller 40 NYC Event T-Shirt, Thriller 40 Mug and Thriller 40 Christmas tree ornament that I picked up for myself and several friends overseas.
Special MJVibe Reporter: Jonathan Downie
Photo Credits: Jonathan Downie / Social Media
