A night at the cinema becomes a moving experience, literally

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Doug Wright Movie Review:

SOUTH JORDAN -- With the release of Disney's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," certain moviegoers in Utah may feel like they're part of the movie. That's because their seats will actually be moving along with the flick.

The Canadian based D-BOX Technologies has installed its seats with motion technology in 26 theaters around the world. The first theater in Utah to have them is the Megaplex 20 at the District in South Jordan.

Megaplex Theaters General Manager Blake Andersen says, "It just really makes you feel like you're part of the movie or in the movie itself, and not just viewing the movie."

When a car turns to the right, the chair follows along. When something falls, the chair makes you feel the drop. Blake Andersen says he saw a movie while sitting on the D-BOX chairs, and he just had to get them.

"There's a scene in ‘From Paris with Love' where John Travolta is going down a spiral staircase. I'm sitting in my chair and I literally feel lifted as if I am moving down the staircase with him. Not jerked, not thrown but moved," Andersen explains. Megaplex installed 28 seats with the motion technology in one of its theaters. Despite all of the machinery inside, they're surprisingly quiet. Andersen says the rest of the people in the audience won't hear the chairs moving.

Of course, it does cost extra to sit in these specific chairs. Reserving these seats will add an extra $8 to the ticket price.

"We invite our guests to go sample it. We have a sample in the lobby of the district where you can watch certain trailers and experience it for yourself," he says.

Andersen has seen surveys showing 91 percent of the people who try it recommend it to a friend. Utahns who've tried the demonstration kiosk tend to give it favorable reviews.

One man says, "I thought it was pretty good. I liked it. It was pretty intense." Another moviegoer says, "It adds a whole other element to the movie that you wouldn't expect." But, not everyone gave the seats the "thumbs up." One woman says, "I go to the movies to relax and that would add too much stimulation. I wouldn't like it."

Andersen says, "If you feel like you don't like it at all, there's even an ‘off' button."

Andersen says the company is so confident the D-BOX seats will become popular that it's already making plans to add them in other theaters.

To see the demonstration kiosk, play the video link on this page.

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Story compiled with contributions from Paul Nelson and John Hollenhorst.