And to demonstrate that there's proof in Cooney's VR pudding, VRstudios, a global VR company based in Washington, announced Jan. 31 its exclusive partnership with the classic theme park Knott's Berry Farm and its parent company Cedar Fair. The collaboration will result in the installation of a free-roam VR experience at Knott's slated to open the second quarter of this year.

"Our collaboration with VRstudios to develop a new custom-built, immersive amusement experience at Knott's Berry Farm is exciting for our customers and consistent with the memorable experiences they expect from our parks," said Christian Dieckmann, Cedar Fair's VP of Strategic Growth. "We chose VRstudios for our inaugural free-roaming VR installation because of its successful track record providing VR globally for other location-based entertainment venues. We believe the planned attraction will amaze our guests and encourage repeat visits."   

Guests will get access to the VR experience through a small fee in addition to admission costs.

"It's rewarding to partner with entertainment visionaries who want to do something amazing with the new VR technology," added Charles Herrick, CEO of VRstudios.  "When clients want to push the limits beyond what is commonly available, it gets our entire team motivated because they know there will be an outlet for their innovation."