Academy Award-winning design and effects company Weta Workshop is set to open an exciting new entertainment experience on Federal Street in Auckland.

Located within a new entertainment precinct being created, which is connected to the NZICC via an airbridge walkway, the immersive attraction is being developed to complement the company’s behind-the-scenes tours at their Miramar headquarters in Wellington. Details of the experience are being kept under wraps but Weta Workshop is promising it will “showcase our capabilities’’.

The Weta Workshop experience will be located alongside another iconic New Zealand brand, the All Blacks, who last have also recently announced that a state-of-the-art interactive tourism experience would open in the SKYCITY precinct, in partnership with Ngai Tahu Tourism.

Federal street plans see a host of other developments within the precinct, including more restaurants, a craft brewery, a gin and cocktail lounge and an amusement-style integrated sports bar offering. There are also well-advanced plans for several other family friendly attractions that will ensure the precinct is a must visit destination – and if you are a local there will be plenty of reasons to keep coming back.

The upgrade to Federal Street has seen the creation of a pedestrian friendly space, drawing people to the area. The All Blacks experience and Weta Workshop experience are both scheduled to open in early 2020 along with the NZICC opening. Collectively they will drive millions of additional people to precinct and are well aligned with the wider plans and vision for the city.

About Weta Workshop

Weta Workshop is a multi award-winning design studio and physical manufacturing facility servicing the world’s entertainment and creative industries, based in Miramar, Wellington.

Over the past four years, Weta Workshop’s location-based experience division has enjoyed steady growth and critical acclaim in the industry, most notably for their creative collaborations with Te Papa. Bug Lab has exhibited in Wellington, Auckland and Melbourne, and it opens in Charlotte, North Carolina this month. Gallipoli: The scale of our war, which has exhibited in the capital since 2015, won a 2018 Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement—an accolade that recognises the very best themed entertainment and design projects, worldwide. The team are currently heavily involved in the creative development and manufacture of several high-profile international location-based experiences which are yet to be announced.

About the All Blacks Experience

The All Blacks Experience will provide visitors with a state-of-the-art, interactive destination that will showcase the All Blacks, our other National rugby teams, and the game like never before.

The All Blacks Experience is a joint venture with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) as majority shareholder and Ngāi Tahu Tourism (NTT) a minority joint partner. Partners also include the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).