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- Omni-Theatre
Omni-Theatre
Additional Details:
The Omni-Theatre, established in 1987, is Singapore’s only IMAX dome theatre. The 248-seat theatre is equipped with state-of-the-art IMAX technology which delivers the world’s most immersive experience. This is possible through the combination of specially-designed facilities (5-storey dome screen, seating configuration, digital sound system) and quality large format films (15perf/70mm). In January 2011, the Theatre upgraded its dome screen to the latest seamless NanoSeam screen, the world’s best projection surface offering unrivalled clarity. It is one of 32 such screens in the world and Asia’s largest. The theatre’s interior was also re-carpeted and seats re-upholstered.
The aim is to provide the best giant screen experience. The educational films offered cover genres such as science, space, nature, animals, marine life, culture, natural disasters and more. The Theatre received 288,000 visitors in FY2009/2010, out of which 50,000 are students and 238,000 are public. For the public visitor, there are mostly families with young children. In terms of profiling, about 50% are adults and 50% are children.
User reviews
However, the excitement lasted about 5 minutes for me. My neck started achine as it was painful to look up and try to capture the scenes above the head. It also caused me to miss out on whats happening lower. And the documentary was a tad boring. Honestly, I'd rather have used the $10 to pay for a normal movie instead!
The first time I entered the omni-max theatre was in Primary school, when we went there on an excursion. I was terrified of the place! We sat at the seats that were the furthest back, and this also meant they were the highest up. It really is quite frightening for those that have issues with height (including me) so be mindful of this! The railings are very sparse so there’s nothing much to hold on to despite feeling your legs start to get slightly wobbly as you ascend to the higher seats. Hold your wits and reach the top for the most amazing experience.
The shows are pretty much meant for children, but are also enjoyable for adults. I especially like the ones where the camera dips down into the landscape from an aerial view. You can certainly feel the G-force here, and be careful not to fall out of your seat!
Prices are steep but overall, it’s worth the experience and great entertainment for the whole family.
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Never. Going. Back.
Omni-theatre is basically a theatre with gigantic movie screen that stretches from one end of the theatre to another. It is rounded so it feels that you are not only watching the movie, but actually in it. Do be careful with the stairs as it is quite a climb and is considerably steep. The seats are just like any ordinary movie theatre seats. We managed to get decent seats in the middle and there were only a few of us there as we visited this place during the weekdays. The movie experience was incredible. We watched this documentary about wildlife preservation and we felt like we were just inches away from the real thing. The movie is normally an hour long.
In conclusion, a great place to consider exploring if you are bored of the normal Orchard Road shopping and movie screenings. Plus, it is very near Jurong East Mrt thus it is quite accessible.
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The area of projection is all the way from the ceiling to the surrounding walls, allowing the viewers to have the best seat in the theatre no matter where they are seated.
Although the experience was surreal, the image were so huge that it makes it hard to see the full picture of what was going on most of the time. On top of that, 1 hour sitting with your neck up is not very pleasant.
The interior of the Omni-Theatre is a huge dome, and be prepared for an extraordinary movie experience, usually lasting 40 mins or longer. Watch the things in the movie come to life right in front of your very own eyes, and there were so real that I've even seen some cheeky young boys reaching their hands out trying to touch the girls in the movie!
However, if you are unlucky enough to get a seat that forces you to raise your head up high throughout the whole movie, you're in for a bad time. Hence, my advice would be to visit the Omni-Theatre on weekdays before 6 pm, where there is lesser crowd.
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The only minor complaint I have is that if you get stucked in a lousy seating area (further in front), you might have a slight ache at your neck from looking upwards too much. Oh and the space for your legs to move around is sort of cramped so you might accidentally kick the seat in front of you which might result in angry stares (this has happened to me more than once).
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After a long absence, of about 10 years, I was looking forward to it once again. Buying a cup of warm popcorn and settling myself into my soft cushioned seat, I eagerly awaited the start of the movie. As I looked around me, I realized that there were not that many people in there with me. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, a feature on sharks. With the seats tilted back and the air-conditioning cool, I really enjoyed myself.
I hope to see more advertisements on the feature IMAX movies that Omni-Theatre as I feel they are due some publicity at least and more kids can enjoy this educational learning experience.
Otherwise, it is a truly magical experience and even if you may not be one for educational movies, you should still visit the Omni-Theatre for the IMAX experience.
The seats are comfortably titled back a little so you would not feel your neck aching. The downside to the seats however is that there might be little leg space. Another downside to the omni-theatre experience is that the content of the movie is mostly educational. So if you are looking more towards enjoying a movie purely for entertainment sake, you are definitely there for the wrong reason. That said, the visuals are compelling enough to make your money worth, just that after 20min, you might get bored.