Auckland: Wētā Workshop Unleashed Interactive Movie Experience

Love Weta Workshops Interactive

Tour was fantastic - loved the hands on nature of the tour and really engaging to see and feel the technology. Great tour guide to keep us entertained.

Response from the operator: Kia ora, Thank you for your fantastic review! We're so glad to hear that you loved the hands-on nature of the tour and enjoyed getting up close with the technology and creative techniques used behind the scenes. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback and hope to welcome you back again in the future! Ngā mihi, Wētā Workshop Reservations

via Tripadvisor

Big man travelling

The guide was engaging and at each stop had rest areas for mobility impaired. The workshops were engaging and fun.

Response from the operator: Kia ora, Thank you for your lovely review! We're so pleased to hear that you found the tour engaging and enjoyed the workshops and interactive elements. It's also wonderful to know that the rest areas along the tour route helped make the experience more comfortable and accessible for you. We'll be sure to pass your kind feedback on to our team. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and hope to welcome you back again in the future! Ngā mihi, Wētā Workshop Reservations

via Viator

Enjoy the harbour views instead

I was excited to attend this workshop but left apologising to my partner for taking him along. I didn't mind that the movies weren't real movies but my main issue was that it was advertised as a workshop and was more like a walk through museum where you can touch things. If the cost was maybe $20-30 and advertised appropriately that would be ok. Our guide was pretty good. I did an in-house feedback form and perhaps cause I scored them low they didn't ask me to share their reviews....that's the only reason I can think of why they score high on the online reviews.

Response from the operator: Kia ora, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear that your experience didn't meet your expectations. Our experience is designed to showcase the creative processes of filmmaking through interactive demonstrations, storytelling, and opportunities to engage with props and displays, but we appreciate that this wasn't the type of experience you were anticipating. Feedback like yours reminds us of the importance of clearly communicating what guests can expect before they visit. We're pleased to hear that you enjoyed your guide, and we appreciate you taking the time to complete our in-house feedback form as well. Regarding online reviews, we want to reassure you that we value feedback of all kinds. Guests are welcome to leave reviews online regardless of the ratings they provide in our internal surveys, and we genuinely appreciate both positive and constructive comments as they help us continue to improve. Thank you again for your honest feedback, and we wish you all the best for the rest of your travels. Ngā mihi, Wētā Workshop Reservations

via Tripadvisor

Fun! Not quite as much Lord of the Rings as we were expecting

Overall this was a really fun experience. Our guide, Anna, was very knowledgeable and was a lot of fun. Our interest with Weta lies mostly in the Lord of the Rings work they've done, which wasn't a large focus of this experience, but we still had a good time. The gift shop (aka Cave) has some giant troll statues and a huge Smaug head, great for photos. There's some LotR merch, Warhammer collectibles, and other things they've worked on. It's not huge but it's nice to wander around a bit before your tour. There are a couple photos you can get taken by the crew during the tour which are available for purchase afterwards, but there's plenty of opportunity to take your own pictures. This tour focuses more on the general prosthetics, animatronics, and creative process than the Wellington tour, with less focus on the specific projects you may be familiar with from Weta's work on Lord of the Rings, District 9, etc. It was a fun opportunity to feel some of the materials used in movie prosthetics, see some of the process behind it, and play a little with some puppetry controls, as well as see some very large models and sculptures. There's a small "haunted-house" style experience you can skip if you get startled easily.

Response from the operator: Kia ora, Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful review! We're so glad you had a fun experience with us, and we'll be sure to pass your kind words on to Anna—she'll be thrilled to hear she helped make your visit so enjoyable. We love that you enjoyed getting hands-on with the creative process (and that you made time to say hello to Smaug and the trolls in the Cave!). Thanks as well for highlighting what the tour focuses on and mentioning the haunted-house experience—that's really helpful for future visitors. We hope to welcome you back again for another adventure in the future! Ngā mihi, Wētā Workshop Reservations

via Tripadvisor

Wéta you agree or not, it's worth it

Was awesome, the tour was awesome interactive, interesting and well worth the money, but what truly made all the fun stuff great was the knowledge and energy brought by the guide Eliina she was able to answer every question and had a great sense of humor and a curiosity that made you feel as if you were part of the Wéta world and family. Sure hope my internship comes with an EAP (iykyk)

via Tripadvisor