Fans of HBO’s Westworld will be invited to blur the line between reality and fiction by visiting a simulacrum of Westworld set up over two acres of custom-built parkland for a two-hour immersive experience held over three days at SXSW.
Probably the most ambitious activation yet at SXSW, the Westworld experience will put visitors through the same paces as fictive tourists to the show’s Westworld theme park – the check-in process, the assignment of a white or black hat, interaction with “hosts” (though with less whoring and wanton violence than in the show, one presumes), and familiar sets including the Coronado Hotel and Mariposa Saloon.
SXSW attendees who want to visit the park, which will be constructed at an undisclosed location just outside of town, must register for an appointment via DiscoverWestworld.com. Half of the available slots will be booked in advance, with the remaining appointments opening up during SXSW for those who missed early registration. Attendees must be 21 years of age or older, with valid ID. The park will operate Friday, March 9 through Sunday, March 11.
The Westworld park experience is open exclusively to SXSW badgeholders. The rest of us will just have to wait ’til April 22 to get our Westworld fix – that’s when season two premieres on HBO.
This article appears in February 16 • 2018.
