The world’s first ‘amazement park’, Bristol’s Wake The Tiger, today opened its long-awaited second phase to the public, promising a unique addition to the city’s creative and tourism offerings.
The extension, described as mind-bending, adds an extra 1,000 sq m of walk-through fantasy to its existing experience, which has attracted more than 300,000 visitors since it was launched just over 18 months ago.
That first phase, which showcased the best of Bristol’s cultural and creative talent, cemented Wake The Tiger as one of the UK’s leading creative attractions.
A labyrinth of exploration, its 30-odd unique spaces encourage visitors to step through a portal into the alternate world of Meridia, expanding their imagination through sound, sight and touch.
The expansion transcends beyond this, taking visitors on a voyage into the OUTERverse and travel through 15 new unique art spaces and environments.
Many of the freelance team behind the first phase returned to work on the second – bringing with them a unique Bristol take on creativity for the OUTERverse, combining unique installations such as part of an airliner’s cabin, a cosmic kitsch-en and various nostalgic childhood toys with pop art-inspired rooms and tech-laden spaces.
Design work began more than a year ago but most of the construction and fit-out has taken place in the past month, with the attraction closed since Christmas.
Wake The Tiger MD & co-founder Graham MacVoy said the team had always planned another stage – it was part of the original planning application to convert what had been a former paint factory in the city’s once industrial heartland of St Philips.
The team behind Wake The Tiger, which came out of the Bristol-based Boomtown Festival organisation, secured a £500,000 investment from a specialist creative sector growth fund for the work.
Graham said: “We’re so proud of what we have achieved over the past 18 months, and this expansion has been a fantastic journey for us all.
“Getting to work among such creativity and talent has been an absolute honour and we couldn’t be prouder of what’s been created here.
“Wake The Tiger truly embodies the phrase ‘you have to see it to believe it!’. Words can’t describe what to expect.”
