Wonder Full

By Lisa Arnett
Appears in the August 2024 issue.

Sony movies come to life at this new entertainment center

Ready to bust ghosts or reverse the Jumanji curse—all inside a former Sears? You can do just that at Wonderverse (2310 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook), an immersive entertainment center from Sony Pictures that opened earlier this year.

Once inside, there are no detectable traces of the space’s former life as a department store. A sprawling restaurant and bar functions as a lobby of sorts; positioned around it like spokes of a wheel are five different attractions that loom large like portals to other worlds, with soaring entrances and glowing signage. Each is inspired by a different Sony franchise: Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Zombieland, Bad Boys, and Uncharted.

Wonderverse has been in the works for about three years, says Jeffrey Godsick of Sony Pictures. Sony chose Oak Brook not only for its appealing demographics but also for the practical appeal that the former Sears space provided. “Oakbrook [Center] is evolving into a lifestyle center and that was important to be in that kind of environment,” he says. “And it’s rare to find this amount of square footage with 31-foot-high ceilings—to allow us to really be creative and not limit our thinking.”

Wonderverse’s experiences are slam dunks for tweens and teens, though elementary-aged kiddos also can have some fun in Uncharted: The Pursuit, a series of three escape rooms that last about 20 minutes each ($22 to $30 per person). “I see families going in there, and when it comes to solving clues, you can give your younger kids something easier to do and the teens something more cerebral,” Godsick says. “[The rooms] really are like the sets of a movie. One of them is the bottom of a pirate ship, and the moment you walk in, it’s all wood floors and oak barrels and even a jail cell. It’s possible that younger children might not have seen the [Uncharted] movie or played the video game, but they will still get a kick out of being there.”

The complex’s virtual reality experiences—Jumanji: Reverse the Curse and Ghostbusters VR Academy—are recommended for ages 10 and up. In Jumanji ($29 per person), you’ll work together in a group of up to six people to “reverse the curse” by finding a stolen jewel, just like in the movie. Smaller groups will be matched up with others, “so you might meet people you haven’t met before,” Godsick says. “It’s an adventure-based game that’s got elements of the movie and some new elements as well, but it’s really cooperative, competitive social play.”

The Ghostbusters VR Academy features two experiences, Arena and Blitz ($10 per person). In the former, players don a proton pack to capture ghosts of all sorts; in the latter, you drive a flying version of the Ecto-1 that was dreamt up just for this experience. “We’ve taken the world of Ghostbusters and added to it,” Godsick says. “We wanted to go one step farther and allow people to step into something they are familiar with but with hidden moments of wonder.”

Between the entrances for Uncharted and Jumanji, there’s the Bad Boys Racing Club (a bay of driving simulators, $6 per person) and an arcade that’s called Pacific Playland as a nod to Zombieland. Try your hand at air hockey tables, Skee-Ball, claw machines, and video games both old-school and new ($1.50 and up per game). The main attraction here is the bumper cars, where one of six drivers is randomly designated Patient Zero with the ability to “infect” the other drivers, bump by bump. Drivers must be a minimum height of four feet, but because there’s no age restriction, younger kiddos can ride with an adult or taller sibling ($6 per person).

In the evenings, Wonderverse is adults-only (21 and up after 8 p.m.) Grab a drink at the Ghost Trap, a dark and moody Ghostbusters-themed lounge complete with a spooky cocktail menu, haunted projections floating across the walls, and a Vigo the Carpathian painting staring ominously from above the bar.

Photos: Wonderverse