The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! is set to open at Universal Studios Hollywood on March 27. The new dark ride will feature the original voice talent from The Secret Life of Pets films and a substantial cast of 64 animated figures.
Among the voice talent are such notables as Patton Oswalt as Max, Kevin Hart as Snowball, Eric Stonestreet as Duke, Jenny Slate as Gidget, Tiffany Haddish as Daisy, Lake Bell as Chloe, Dana Carvey as Pops, Chris Renaud as Norman, Hannibal Buress as Buddy, Bobby Moynihan as Mel, and Jessica DiCicco as Princess.
The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! experience will begin on the newly rethemed Pets Place, previously referred to as Baker Street, adjacent to the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Super Silly Fun Land attractions. With the installation of storefront facades, Pets Place will capture the charm of a busy New York City street, including an iconic NYC subway station, which serves as the in-park location for the Virtual Line. Once checked in, riders will board vehicles that resemble cardboard boxes in order to travel to a Pet Adoption event and the ultimate happy ending: forever homes. After all, adoption day is the ultimate rite of passage for every domesticated animal. Heartwarming, no?
The attraction will contain 64 technologically-advanced animated figures with articulated movements including blinking eyes, eye, and eyebrow movements, head tilts to head nods, moving mouths, smiles, from ear curls to lip curls, from full torso twists, and physically walking. The figures will be combined with hyper-realistic media and projection mapping, this new ride is designed to fully immerse guests in a dynamic New York City landscape. Another interesting note; The ride will feature state-of-the-art optical enhanced gesture-tracking technology, which helps to identify each guest as a unique stray puppy for the duration of the ride. With an option to be transformed into one of 15 stray puppies, guests will enjoy a unique experience each time they ride.
New Virtual Line System
With the new family ride, Universal will be testing the waters in Hollywood with a virtual Line technology in hopes of maximizing guest’s leisure time at the theme park available via the official Universal Studios Hollywood app. Another option is that guests can visit the Virtual Line kiosk located in the New York City subway station, situated adjacent to the ride. Both provide guests with options to experience the ride based on the next available times and will be available to guests within the theme park as needed.
Virtual Line complements the ride’s non-traditional queue which invites guests to explore the area at their leisure and freely roam the ride’s corridors—reminiscent of Katie’s NYC apartment building—explore dachshund Buddy’s apartment, Snowball owner Molly’s living room as well as Max and Duke’s apartment until they reach the ride’s boarding station.
