Imagine you are watching a movie where the main character is running through a jungle and your seat suddenly jolts. There is wind on your neck and mist in the air mimicking the rain in the movie; it’s almost like you are in the film yourself. This is the unmatched experience you get when you go to a 4DX movie theater.
San Francisco’s Regal Stonestown Galleria offers a variety of movies that can be viewed in Standard, ScreenX (270-degree view), RPX (premium screen, sound and seats) or 4DX, which is their most popular viewing option. 4DX movie theaters provide a riveting sensory-based experience that is incredibly immersive. Various features in 4DX movie theaters allow the viewer to experience the movie as if they were there themselves.
These theaters enhance the film by using four of your five senses to draw you in, starting with your sense of sight. The screen in a 4DX theater is as large as that of all standard movie theaters with bright, detailed imagery. Additionally, there are fog machines directly under the screen, which immerse you in the world depicted in the movie. Then, it ties in your sense of sound using high-quality speakers placed around all edges of the theater’s ceiling. Various scents are dispensed from the front of the theater based on the setting of the movie and what is happening in specific scenes.
Next, the star of the show, the sense of touch. The theater is filled with motion seats that can tilt in every direction and sync to the actions in the film. Four air dispensers shoot small bursts of air into the back of your head and at your ankles. One final feature that immerses the viewer entirely is the misters that spray the audience occasionally throughout the film. If getting sprayed by water is not to your liking, the theater has a “water off” button at each seat, which controls whether or not you are sprayed during the movie.
However, there are a few things to note. There was only a small selection of movies available to view in 4DX and it is hard to get tickets because only one theater provides this experience. If you plan to go, schedule your tickets ahead of time. Additionally, the moving seats were a bit aggressive and I found myself sliding out of it as it was moving. A seatbelt or strap may have helped with this problem. The seats were slightly nausea-inducing, so if you get motion sickness, definitely stick to a standard, screenX or RPX screening.
Overall, the Regal Stonestown 4DX theater is an incredible movie theater that has a variety of snack and beverage options along with a large selection of new films. The moving seats and sensory-based immersion into the film made for an extremely unique experience. It combines the regular perks of watching a movie in a theater with the excitement of a Disneyland ride, making it enjoyable. It was also extremely interactive with the entire theater, keeping viewers engaged at all times.
