Entertainment technology startup, holoride teams up with Ford and Universal Pictures to create “Universal Monsters Presents Bride of Frankenstein holoride” – a highly immersive VR experience available complimentary to the public beginning October 14 at Universal CityWalk Hollywood

Universal City, Calif. (October 10, 2019) — holoride, the company advancing the future of in-vehicle entertainment, today announced it is partnering with Ford Motor Company and Universal Pictures to create a complimentary in-car virtual reality experience that will be offered to guests for a limited time beginning October 14 through select dates until November 9. Powered by technology from holoride, and set inside new 2020 Ford Explorer vehicles, with advanced connectivity specific for this experience, riders are transported to the mysterious world of the Bride of Frankenstein through newly inspired content created by Universal Monsters in collaboration with immersive specialist, REWIND.  This marks holoride’s first offering to the general public following their successful debut at CES this past January.

“We are partnering with Ford and Universal to bring holoride’s immersive, elastic content to the general public,” said Nils Wollny, CEO and co-founder of holoride. “Riders will be able to experience first-hand what the future of in-vehicle entertainment looks like through the lens of the compelling story of the Bride of Frankenstein.”

Riders will step inside a 2020 Ford Explorer from the designated pickup location at Universal CityWalk during hours of operation. Once inside the vehicles, riders buckle their safety belts, put on their VR headset and are joined by a re-imagined, virtual Bride of Frankenstein on a journey to deliver an important message to Frankenstein. Along the way, riders will encounter virtual monsters and obstacles in a fully immersive, virtual reality experience complete with sound effects and visuals that adapt to movement of the car.

holoride uses navigational data like travel route and time along with driving data from the Ford Explorer, such as steering, accelerating and stopping to adapt the experience to match the movement of the vehicle. The result is in an in-vehicle entertainment experience unlike any other.

"The connected vehicle technology from Ford can help completely revolutionize what the in-car experience can be, moving us toward never-before-imagined productivity and entertainment in the vehicle,” said Brett Wheatley, vice president of Mobility Marketing and Growth at Ford. “This collaboration allows us to showcase the promise of the connected vehicle and get essential customer feedback on what they want and don’t want in terms of immersive in-car entertainment experiences.”

Greg Reed, Vice President, Universal Pictures Technology Partnerships added: “This partnership with holoride and Ford highlights NBCUniversal’s ongoing commitment to collaborating with the most innovative technology companies and consumer brands to create unique and forward-thinking immersive experiences for our audiences. Building on Universal Pictures’ vast experience in developing award-winning AR and VR content over the last few years, we are excited and inspired as ‘everyday travel’ begins to emerge as a new content platform.” 

To participate in this complimentary experience, guests can visit holoride.com/bride to schedule Universal Monsters Presents Bride of Frankenstein holoride, or visit the designated pickup location at Universal CityWalk. The ride’s hours of operation are Monday through Wednesday during Oct. 14-16, Oct. 21-23, and Oct. 28-30, and Monday through Saturday the week of Nov 4-Nov 9. All rides will take place between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. PST.