Highly Anticipated “Disney Animation: Immersive Experience” Beginning U.S. Run in Cleveland January 19 – Opening in Nashville on February 9

Lighthouse Immersive Studios, the Creators of Immersive Van Gogh, and Walt Disney Animation Studios Bring New Immersive Experience to Nine Lighthouse ArtSpace Venues across U.S.

Following a celebrated world premiere at Lighthouse ArtSpace Toronto in December 2022, Lighthouse Immersive’s highly anticipated Disney Animation: Immersive Experience will see its U.S. premiere at Lighthouse ArtSpace Cleveland (850 E. 72nd St.) on Jan. 19, 2023. The exhibition will open at Lighthouse ArtSpace Nashville (4416 Ridgefield Way) on February 9, 2023.

Developed in collaboration with Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Animation: Immersive Experience was called “awe-inspiring… perfect for all ages” by the Toronto Guardian, “pure magic” by Narcity, with TPMVids advising, “if you’re a Disney fan, you need to see this.”

Disney Animation: Immersive Experience is heading to nine U.S. cities in 2023. Tickets to this one-of-a-kind immersive experience start at $39.99 and are on sale now at disneyimmersive.com

The public opening dates for each city are as follows:

• Lighthouse ArtSpace CLEVELAND (850 E. 72nd St.) | Jan. 19, 2023
• Lighthouse ArtSpace NASHVILLE (4416 Ridgefield Way) | Feb. 9, 2023
• Lighthouse ArtSpace DETROIT (267 E. Grand River Ave.) | Feb. 9, 2023
• Lighthouse ArtSpace DENVER (3900 Elati St.) | Feb. 16, 2023
• Lighthouse ArtSpace BOSTON (130 Columbus Ave.) | Feb. 23, 2023
• Lighthouse ArtSpace SAN ANTONIO (221 Burleson St.) | Feb. 28, 2023
• Lighthouse ArtSpace MINNEAPOLIS (1515 Central Ave. NE) | March 23, 2023
• Lighthouse ArtSpace LAS VEGAS (3720 S. Las Vegas Blvd.) | March 30, 2023
• Lighthouse ArtSpace COLUMBUS (940 Polaris Pkwy.) | April 6, 2023

Creating iconic animated stories for all ages for nearly a century, Walt Disney Animation Studios has joined forces with North America’s top creator of experiential projection exhibitions (including the original Immersive Van Gogh) to present the music and artistry within Disney Animation’s canon of films—from hits of today like Encanto, Zootopia and Frozen, to all of the classics including The Lion King, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio. Audiences will feel like they’ve entered the incredible worlds of beloved Disney characters and become one with them.

Additional cities are currently being scheduled and Tokyo will be the first city outside of North America to receive Disney Animation: Immersive Experience.

“The collaboration with Lighthouse Immersive is a first for Disney Animation,” said Clark Spencer, President of Walt Disney Animation Studios and two-time Academy Award®-winner (Encanto, Zootopia). “It’s a dream to bring the best of animated storytelling together with the top experts in the immersive art experience. We can’t wait for audiences around the world, of all ages, to experience the great moments from our legacy of feature films in this incredible way.”

“Like so many of us, I have a life-long love of Disney films,” said Lighthouse Immersive Founder Corey Ross. “I’ve grown up with them since childhood and so has my family. The work lends itself brilliantly to the immersive experience and I am confident this program will give our guests the opportunity to be engulfed in the world of Disney, making them feel like they’re standing next to their favorite characters and seeing the world through their eyes.”

The creative team for the Disney Animation: Immersive Experience is led by Oscar®-winning producer J. Miles Dale (Best Picture 2018 –The Shape of Water) who said, “Trailblazing in a new medium is always exciting, and this is truly going to be the most challenging and rewarding project of my career. Being entrusted with Disney’s rich archive of animation is a great honor, but also a tremendous responsibility. With such a wealth of material and a treasure trove of memorable characters, it will be a thrill to bring the work of all the great Disney animators and performers to life in a 360-degree immersive environment.”

Beyond the unparalleled projection design that Lighthouse Immersive is known for, Disney Animation: Immersive Experience is further enhanced by Lighthouse Immersive’s Global Creative Director David Korins, (Tony Award®-nominee whose credits include more than 20 Broadway shows including Hamilton, and an Emmy Award® win for Grease Live).

The moment patrons walk in the door, they are transported into the magical world of Disney Animation Studios’ vaults as they follow a swirling pixie dust ‘wish trail’ through the galleries, where they encounter rarely seen exhibits from Walt Disney Animation Research Library, including a series of animator’s character sketches, introductions to some of the amazing animators behind the legacy, and more. Additional interactive features within the projection show include responsive projection design that moves with the audience and custom bracelets that light up in sync with the projections and based on the audiences’ movements through the galleries. In a particularly show-stopping moment, the Gazillion Bubbles special effects team fills the 500,000 cubic feet of galleries with bubbles.

Ross captures the excitement both Disney and Lighthouse Immersive feel for the project as he describes how it begins: “Just imagine journeying through Zootopia with Judy Hopps, diving to the ocean floor with Ariel, flying on a magic carpet with Aladdin, and stepping into Casita with Mirabel and the family Madrigal. This is where the Disney Animation: Immersive Experience will take you.”

Collaborating with Lighthouse Immersive is the Creative Legacy team of Walt Disney Animation Studios, helping bring their library of films to audiences in a manner never before experienced.

About Walt Disney Animation Studios

Combining masterful artistry and storytelling with groundbreaking technology, Walt Disney Animation Studios is a filmmaker-driven animation studio responsible for creating some of the most beloved films ever made. WDAS continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, from the first fully-animated feature film, 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to 2019’s Frozen 2, the biggest animated film of all time, to our 60th animated feature, the Academy Award®-winning Encanto. Among the studio’s timeless creations are Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Frozen, Big Hero 6, and Zootopia.

About Lighthouse Immersive

Lighthouse Immersive creates, produces and distributes innovative digital immersive art experiences through its experiential entertainment multiplex digital art galleries, aiming to cultivate community and creativity through large-scale events and exhibitions of all art forms. Lighthouse Immersive offers versatile spaces for creators to present their work while engaging audiences in unique art experiences that encourage dialogue and inspire new artistic creations. Lighthouse Immersive has produced the world premiere of Immersive Van Gogh, Immersive Frida Kahlo and Immersive Klimt: Revolution to more than 21 North American cities.

Recognized as the leader in immersive art experiences, Lighthouse Immersive custom designs each of their venues, named Lighthouse ArtSpace, to distinctly envelop the various architectural settings they inhabit, it operates galleries in a range of historic venues including refurbished industrial and retail spaces.

Since 2021, the company has opened or is opening 21 new galleries in North American cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Boston, and Denver, and is currently expanding into additional markets. To date, Lighthouse Immersive has sold over 5 million tickets to Immersive Van Gogh across North America, with Artnet calling it “one of the largest coordinated art phenomena of all time.”