There comes a time when you know the coolest thing you’ll ever do. You’ve hit a pinnacle and there’s no higher geek hill to climb. I hit that milestone when we entered The VOID and did the “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire” virtual reality experience. (Seriously, though, how cool is that idea? Star Wars VR? General, count me in!)

The VOID is a fully immersive VR experience (they use the term hyper reality and… that is a fitting description) that puts you inside a fully graphically realized environment. We went to the Disney Springs location where we not only entered that galaxy far, far away but also played games with Ralph and Vanellope in “Ralph Breaks VR.”

Listen the podcast episode here:

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First, to clarify the two experiences, my family was in agreement. Ralph was more fun (shooting pancakes at bunnies in an ice cream parlor is amazingly cathartic), whereas Star Wars was far cooler. (Seriously, how could it not be?) Both were bodaciously awesome and worthy of your time and money.

In “Ralph Breaks VR,” you get digitized and go into the internet. First, you get a chance to get used to your surroundings before playing games. You play a Space Invaders-like game and then head into the ice cream parlor where you get pancake guns and shoot bunnies. It’s amazing. This quote from Ralph Brakes the Internet is the basis for that section:

Pancake, pancake, pancake, pancake, pancake, pancake! Pancake, pancake! Pancake, pancake, pancake, pancake, pancake, pancake! Eat, little bunny! Eat, eat, eat!

“Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire” is pretty much what I’ve wanted in my life since 1977. You and your team disguise yourselves as Stormtroopers and go on a Rogue One-era mission. The VOID sets up the mission perfectly:

Under the orders of the budding rebellion, your team will travel to the molten planet of Mustafar. Your mission is to recover Imperial intelligence vital to the rebellion’s survival. Alongside the pragmatic droid K-2S0, your team must navigate through an enemy facility walking into danger at every turn. Disguised as Stormtroopers, grab your blaster, solve puzzles, and fight giant lava monsters in an effort to fulfill your team’s orders.

I’m one with the Force, and the Force is with me.

Mustafar. Lava monsters. Blasters. Exciting is hardly the word I would choose! There are some surprises that I won’t give away. It’s full of adventure and excitement, if you crave those sorts of things. Disney is planning on a physical reality experience with Galaxy’s Edge, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to transport you as fully as The VOID does. 

Remember: Your focus determines your reality.

My only complaint about either experience is that they could be a few minutes longer. Both of the adventures are somewhere between 10-15 minutes, and both could have easily used another 5 minutes (another room, another puzzle, another game… something to prolong your time inside a little longer).

May The Force Be With You!

Let us know if there are experiences you’d like us to take on for you. If you leave us a comment on iTunes with your name, we’ll give you a special shout out on a future show. You also can connect with the show on Facebook and Twitter.