Fly a jet or ride a coaster like never before at this Kelowna arcade

Fancy getting on Kelowna’s only rollercoaster without messing up your hair?

How about skydiving, motorbike racing, hot-air ballooning, watersports adventuring, or blazing away on a Gatling gun - all under one roof.

These are just some of the 40 rides on offer at Virtual Rcades on Findlay Road, just off Highway 97. It’s now ready for business and calls itself North America's first Motion Simulated Virtual Reality Arcade.

They'll host an open house Saturday and Sunday.

“This is pretty much Disneyland in a 3,500 sq/ft facility, “ co-owner and founder Michael Markus told Kelowna10, as he strapped himself into one of the rides. “We have hundreds of different experiences.”

The facility oozes hi-tech atmosphere with its black and green colour scheme, and is ideal for families, friends or corporate events. A maximum of 12 people can book the space over a 60-minute session.

Customers get a 10-minute orientation before embarking on their virtual experience, which covers a variety of themed-rides such as racing, adventure, sports, theme park, flight and cinema.

“Even though we are a virtual reality (VR) company, we’re actually an amusement park that uses VR to enhance that experience. You’re not just seeing virtual reality, you’re feeling it, too,” he explained, before strapping himself into a contraption and using the controllers to flip himself in all directions, including upside down.

Watching on was brother Kyle, who was getting himself comfy in the six-seat rollercoaster.

“We grew up in Kelowna; we’ve been here for 27 years, and we figured Kelowna was missing a big chunk of entertainment,” he said. “So, we decided to bring over a very complex system overseas to North America.”