“Ooooh! Woooah! Incredible!”

That’s pretty much all I can say as our clone guide leads us into the fantasy room. And my fellow visitors’ vocabulary seems to have been reduced to similar expressions. We walk in awe through the bigature world of a medieval-looking castle, complete with trees, bridges and a marquee while a typical fantasy movie soundtrack plays.

I was invited to see the newest addition to the Auckland attractions a few days ahead of its official opening day. Weta Workshop, the crazy imaginative film studio that brought you Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Thor: Ragnarok and many more movies is expanding from Wellington to Auckland for a completely new experience: Weta Workshop Unleashed!

And even though there is a full Weta Workshop Unleashed review following when you read on, I have to get ahead of myself: Auckland’s Weta Workshop Unleashed is hands-down the best (wo)man-made attraction I’ve seen in a very long time! 

The tour through Weta Workshop Auckland

Auckland’s Weta Workshop experience kicks off intriguing. Our guide for the tour introduces himself as clone 3939B, programmed solely to guide us through the workshop and equipped with some basic human interaction skills.

Because a Weta creature is on the loose in the workshop, we can’t take the main entrance but have to enter on the side through the storage room.

From the storage room, we take a surprising ‘door’ and move on to a room with a big screen that explains us the purpose of the Auckland workshop. Weta has three movies in creation that are being produced in the workshop and we get to see the creative processes behind such the movie-making production. 

Book the Weta Workshop Unleashed tour here

Book an Auckland getaway, including Weta Workshop Unleashed

Three movies in the making

Fauna is a horror-movie in progress about a winged, screeching creature. Age of Ever-Clan is a fantasy movie similar to Weta’s well-known Lord of the Rings and the last one is Origins, a sci-fi movie about a futuristic alien crashing into a non-descriptive Auckland volcano (aka Rangitoto Island, great island for a UFO to crash!). 

These are the three worlds and themes we’re about to explore and discover the creative processes behind a movie. But first, we need to pass Jeff, Weta Auckland’s Health & Safety officer (whose arm is in a sling and finger bandaged, very trustworthy). 

Fauna - or the horror movie

In the horror section, we get to handle “mother”, the monster of the movie and an animatronic and play Operation on a dead monster. There are drawers with eyes in multiple sizes, a stainless steel sink covered in fake blood. A scream machine turns your human scream into a monster screech. And all over the room, you can find storyboards and explore how a story takes form.

Moving into the next room is not for the faint of heart. I won’t say more but if you have young kids or are claustrophobic, I’d recommend you take the shortcut. 

Next up is the creative atelier where first miniatures and detailed stories are created. A Weta employee snores over a plasticine miniature version of the castle we’re about to encounter one room down. Dare to poke him to find out if he’s real or not!

Before we enter the next room, we pass two of the maintenance clones applying the finishing touches to one of the figures for the big opening the following week. One of them was none other than Richard Taylor himself, the founder of the Weta Workshop and head behind the costumes and makeup for Lord of the Rings and all other! I just had to get a selfie with him!

Fantasy - or the Age of Ever-Clan

The fantasy-themed room is by far my favourite although, funnily enough, fantasy movies are not. I’ve never managed to watch all three of the LotR movies or the Hobbit (I saw some of the movies, though, so it’s not like I didn’t try) but I was always fascinated by the landscapes. 

We step right into such a landscape as we walk through the ‘canyon’ of a so-called bigature of a castle. A bigature is a big miniature. Bigatures are created if a construction (a castle in our case) is too big to build life-size but still needs to be reasonably big in order for a shot to fill with people later on. A whole world in all its excruciating details. The pavilion, the castle, the rice terraces in the background and the teepees on the other side of the canyon, everything is truly fantastic. I don’t want to imagine all the maintenance work this is going to need with people touching this mini-world in awe.

The lights that shine onto the Ever-Clan world keep changing, appearing to bathe the world in the morning sun, daylight, sunset and night.

Further back in the room you find all the props you’d expect from a fantasy movie. There’s chainmail (the original, heavy one as well as the Weta-produced light version), a leather punching workstation, swords and the stages in which they’re created, plasticine to create your own horns. And a magnificent throne for that photo op.

Origin - or Science Fiction

The last room is reserved for the science fiction movie. Another bigature awaits, this time it’s a pretty big statue of the golden alien that crashed into Rangitoto the non-descript volcanic island. In a movie, shot from the right angle, this already big statue would look at least double its size.

It’s asleep as we enter the room but, according to the clone guide, someone got too close to the creature, waking it up from its slumber in the volcanic rocks. It moves and projects its origin story onto the screen opposite. To be honest, I can’t quite remember its story and how it got to the island, it was just way too hypnotising to watch. 

The tour ends with the on-screen Richard Taylor, his wife and part of the Weta crew waving us good-bye before we’re released into the Weta Cave for pictures with Smaug and the Weta Cave Ogres (the same ones that protect the Weta Cave in Wellington).

Weta Workshop Unleashed Review

Like I said in the very beginning of the post, I absolutely loved the Weta experience from beginning to the end! It’s colourful, creative, interactive and breathtaking! I like touching stuff and taking pictures and the fact that both is allowed (as opposed to the Wellington workshop where you have to leave your camera behind) makes it an even better experience for me. 

The details the creatives put into every room, into every corner, nook and cranny of the rooms is truly astounding. There is so much detail that even coming back again and again, I’ll be able to discover bits and pieces I’ve never seen before!

The story of the three movies in the making and the creative processes behind is truly interesting no matter if you’re into movies or not and the fact that the guide clone stays in character and keeps reassuring us that the movies will be made eventually makes you feel like being part of this creative process. It truly gets your own creative juices flowing (and this is Weta’s intention, after all).

All the praises being said, there are a few minor things I noticed I struggled with. One was the fact that there is just so much to explore in every room that I kind of had to choose between following and listening to the guide or look around in awe before exploring. Knowing I’ll visit again shortly with my film-fanatic family, I chose not to pay too much attention to the stories the guide told. For someone who visits only once, it could be an issue.

Plus, that creature on the loose never crossed path with us, not in sound nor in light or moving effects.

Make your own souvenir

After the tour through Weta Unleashed, you may feel inspired to create something extraordinary yourself. Not to worry, Weta’s got you covered. You can book a short creative workshop where you have the choice of making your own leather bookmark and chainmail keyring or learn how to apply scary, real-looking scars and horror makeup for your next Halloween party.

A little Weta Workshop Unleashed FAQ

How long does the Weta Workshop Unleashed tour take?

The guided tour is about 90 minutes long and leads through multiple themed rooms. There is fake blood, light- and sound effects (both thrilling and calming, depending on the theme)

How is Weta Workshop Auckland different to Wellington?

Auckland is more fantastic than Wellington. Where in Wellington you learn about past real projects of the Weta Workshop and Weta Digital and see actually used props, Auckland’s projects are (probably) fictional. That being said, the props and bigatures used in Auckland are not any less amazing and detailed than the real-movie ones are.

Whether you prefer Weta Auckland or Weta Wellington is completely up to your likings. Why not visit both and compare?

Where can I book the tour?

You can either book with them directly by visiting their website. Or why not make it an Auckland getaway and stay in the city or on Waiheke Island for the night? Our very own booking portal Weekend Getaways NZ is happy to help you out!

Book the Weta Workshop Unleashed tour only
Book an Auckland getaway with the Weta Workshop Unleashed tour

Is it a good attraction for kids?

Definitely. There’s so much to discover for all ages but there are some special treats that can be found on kid’s height (eg, there’s a glowworm cave to crawl through somewhere in one of the rooms). There’s one section that smaller kids or those faint of heart might not like as it’s dark and narrow but there’s a shortcut around it.

Can I touch stuff?

Yes! Apart from some few figurines, you can touch everything you like during the tour if you dare. Many things look incredibly life-like, like the snoring employee in the atelier, so you might think twice of poking them.

Will one of the movie projects ever hit the cinemas?

Probably not but who knows. Asking our clone guide, he said that, of course, one will be made into a movie! That’s what the workshop is here for after all! But the guy did stay in his clone character incredibly well for the whole of the tour (or maybe he really was a clone, who are we to argue the converse), so this is just an educated guess.

Can I take pictures and videos during the Weta Workshop Unleashed tour?

Pictures yes, videos no. The clone guides make it very clear that they’d get dissolved if a video of the experience leaked to the internet. We don’t want them to turn into goo so please only take pictures and no videos. 

Do I have to pay entry for the Weta Cave Auckland?

No. The Weta Cave in Auckland, like the one in Wellington, are souvenir shops and hence free of charge. There are plenty of giant creatures from Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit to take pictures with if you’re not interested in the tour.

Where can I find Weta Workshop Unleashed Auckland?

They are at 88 Federal Street in Auckland, right next to Skycity and the Sky Tower in the old convention centre. Level 5 is where you find the colourful Weta Workshop, right above the other new Auckland attraction, the All Blacks Experience.