Located on an unassuming industrial estate on the outskirts of Bristol lies Wake The Tiger, an immersive amazement park where the land of Meridia awaits. This immersive, multi sensory art experience gives guests a chance to get up close and personal through 30 rooms of gorgeous, thought provoking, photogenic displays where sight, sound and touch all come together in perfect harmony. The story of the experience is this:
A mysterious tree has stopped construction of some luxury apartments by niche development company Meridia Luxury Homes on the site of an old paint factory in the centre of Bristol. Since they departed a ring of purple and orange Wood Blewit fungus have appeared……the portal to the alternate world of Meridia has opened!
On stepping through the portal into Meridia you discover a factory that was once part of a bustling hub of trade and industry which has been left to rot in the wake of Meridia’s climate crisis. The once vibrant and diverse environment has suffered greatly due to the exploitation of its natural resources which are now severely depleted with only a mere 5% remaining (for reference, at present Earth is at 50%).
The factory has since been reclaimed by the surviving Meridians who have banded together and named it The Dream Factory. Within its walls, a community of four elemental Guilds are working together to save Meridia, enter the Dream Factory to discover more about what they are up to.
From the outside you could question what it is you're about to experience as there is little to give away the magic that's inside, even the space where you check in feels very unassuming. It's not until you go through the first set of double doors that you get a hint of what you're about to explore and even then it's still only what can be described as a taster. Once you open the main door you are thrust into a beautiful world full of thought provoking, immersive and highly photogenic sets for you to explore. The level of detail throughout the whole experience, including their new Outerverse area, is matched by none. Each room you are transported to different worlds, from beautiful forests to magical offices, there is always something surprising around every corner. Before The Outerverse was built, the experience ended with you findin out which guild you belonged to before entering a cavern where you would essentially see the effect of your guild. Alone it wouldn't save Merida, but if you had all four guilds working together you would see that together you can work to save the world. It was a beautiful and meaningful ending which unfortunately is no longer there.
As mentioned above, they have recently opened up a whole new section called The Outerverse. It feels different, yet familiar to Merida in that the sets are beautifully designed and the attention to detail is fantastical, but what makes this area different is that after a couple of rooms you enter a huge open space with many different corridors to explore. It feels more playful and child like. There is a lot more interactive elements, from slides, to tunnes, to seats, to controlling the projection on the big face. Merida has some interactive elements, but it is really brought into attention from the minute you ascend the stairs and enter the Outterverse. The new way that this experience ends matches the payful, imaginative tone, but I won't spoil it. Its not as dramatic as the old ending but its just fun.
What makes this review hard to write is just putting into words the world of Merida. I've been sat on this review for a couple of months as I haven't been able to find the correct words to describe it, and with the new area open it seemed like a good idea to try to put down in words the experience. Its one of those experiences where pictures and reviews can't do it justice. You simply have to visit and experience it for yourself as you each take something different away from it.
For more information and to book tickets you can visit the Wake the Tiger website.