Dreamskape Is Melbourne's Huge New Augmented-Reality Entertainment Complex — and More Australian Sites Are on the Way

When you're trying to avoid laser beams, watching a sea adventure unfurl around you, stepping into a room filled with blacklight art and being surrounded by a floral wonderland, real life can wait. Enter Dreamskape, then, and no one will be thinking about what lurks beyond the new Melbourne entertainment complex's doors. Escapism via multi-sensory experiences has been proving big business around Australia in recent years, whether via pop-up dessert museums or sunflower-filled celebrations of Vincent van Gogh. A key difference with this one: this latest series of installations is not only sticking around permanently, but also heralds the beginning of of a new chain.

Dreamskape President Joanna Chen and General Manager Fraser Bell are planning to roll out the concept around both Australia and New Zealand, with 20 complexes in their sights within the next five-to-eight years. Their niche is augmented reality, but without the user needing any wearable tech or even to whip out their phone — and with their debut Melbourne location, the pair has started with six activity zones across 770 square metres, featuring 100-plus games and 50 immersive experiences.

"We have seen a lot of VR and 3D entertainment emerge over the last decade, but now it's evolving. You don't need a headset or anything like that to engage in experiences like we have at Dreamskape. This makes it so much more accessible to a wide range of people," said Chen.

"It's an exciting time for entertainment technology, and we can't wait to see what the future holds as Dreamskape continues to grow nationally," added Bell.

Opening at The District Docklands in the Victorian capital from Friday, June 28, 2024, the first Dreamskape is the brand's flagship, with 2.5 kilometres of light and data cabling helping bring it to fruition. All of those wires connect spaces such as Dream Game, where you play through four different ten-minute games; Dream Verse, the site's version of an immersive cinematic experience; and Dream Coaster, an augmented-reality rollercoaster where you sit in a coaster carriage, then get blasted with IRL wind and mist, all amid 270-degree visuals.

Hitting up Dreamskape also involves being greeted by QB, the venue's host robot, then seeing the aforementioned blacklight art by Melbourne talents at Dream Light, and also getting immersed in shapes and emojis — and scenery and animals as well — at Dream Immersion. Plus, for folks attending with little ones in tow, Little Dream will get kids turning their drawings into AR art and playing AR soccer.

Find Dreamskape Melbourne at Level 1, The District Docklands, 37 Star Crescent, Docklands, Melbourne, from Friday, June 28 — open from 11am–7pm Monday–Wednesday, 11am–10pm Thursday–Friday, and 10am–10pm on weekends and public holidays (except Christmas Day and Good Friday). Head to the venue's website for more details.