What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 6pm Tuesday 10am - 6pm Wednesday 10am - 6pm Thursday 10am - 6pm Friday 10am - 6pm Saturday 10am - 6pm Sunday 10am - 6pm

Wētā Workshop Unleashed

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Wētā Workshop Unleashed

Wētā Workshop Unleashed Let your imagination run wild! Explore the makings of horror, sci-fi and fantasy on your guided journey through three original movie projects.
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Explore interactive and immersive make-believe film sets, and get hands on with movie special effects, props and out of this world characters. Inside Unleashed, extraordinary worlds are brought to life with resident creatures, one hyper-realistic giant and a galactic robot! It’s a celebration of creativity that needs to be seen to be believed.

26/01/2025

Because everyone wants to play with dinosaurs when they grown up! 🦖 and if they don't exist, make 'em!

24/01/2025

Get to know our Unleashed family! ✨
Meet Cam, one of our passionate & super nerdy tour hosts (his words).

Cameron is one our legacy crew members, having been a super-fan of all things Wētā Workshop and The Wētā Cave, he attended the tour half a dozen times before being old enough to score a role as a Tour Host himself!

• If you could bring any fictional creature to life, what would it be?
Okay, technically not a creature, but still alive—I'd have to go with the TARDIS. A time machine with infinite rooms, the ability to disguise itself as anything, and it's bigger on the inside? What’s not to love! But if we’re talking classic creatures, I’ve gotta say dragons! 🐲

• What is a detail in the Unleashed space you think guests might miss, but should notice?
The design boards! They’re one of the coolest details that often go unnoticed. It’s easy to forget that these three films are fully realized worlds, where we’ve thought about every little thing—how the characters live, their environments, and so much more. The boards show all the behind-the-scenes magic, from the inspirations we drew on to the work that goes into creating these universes. Plus, all three films have a mythological influence woven in, which is such a fascinating detail if you catch it!

Next time you visit, be sure to say hi to Cam and all of the creatures he wrangles! 👹

17/01/2025

How do you think these wings would suffice in this weekend's SailGP hosted on the Auckland waterfront? ⛵ Any volunteers to teach the Mother Creature how to tack and jibe? New Zealand SailGP Team

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16/01/2025

新年快乐! Happy Lunar New Year! 🐍

A week of festivities begins on Saturday 25th January here at Unleashed with Daily Mandarin Guided Tours, face painting in the Wētā Cave and special photo souvenirs.

年年有余 - Wishing you abundance every year! ❤️

03/01/2025

"Loved the way the guide took us through and made an adventure of it. I really enjoyed being able to touch things, admire the hard creative work, and appreciated how everything was shown and explained. Thank you for this experience!" - DIANE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

27/12/2024

"What an experience! We loved how immersive the exhibits were, how much we learned about making movies and special effects, and just how amazing everything was! The staff was also very friendly and accommodating. This was our first excursion of our two-week trip, and it ended up being one of our favorites!" - ADAM M ⭐⭐⭐⭐

22/12/2024

Sunshine, summer, and a season of thrills! ☀️

We are open every day except Christmas, giving our creatures a little holiday of their own.

From epic encounters to hands-on fun, we’re keeping the excitement going all season long. So come escape the summer heat and dive into a world of imagination with us!

20/12/2024

Celebrating four years of Unleashed magic! ✨

From our very first days to this milestone, it’s been an incredible journey full of creativity, quirky ideas, and unforgettable memories. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who's joined us, cheered us on, and helped make Unleashed what it is today.

Have a look at our yellow-shirted legends over the years! 💛 Here’s to many more years of unleashing the extraordinary together.

05/12/2024

Step inside the Wētā Workshop Unleashed lab where we 'summon' beasts! 👀

From the first pour to the final detail, take a peek behind the scenes as our team conjures Fauna from the mould up. Creating a creature suit is all about layers of magic, patience and a touch of creative mayhem ... 💀

29/11/2024

"Excellent experience for the kids to get a view of all the potential creative avenues they can explore as a career. Should be compulsory for all school kids to go through as I felt the penny dropped for our kids about where they could take their creativity. The tour guides were brilliant also." - ANDREW H ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

20/11/2024

Find yourself someone who looks at you the way an artist looks at their masterpiece 😍

13/11/2024

"I loved everything about the workshop, the robotics, the models, the movie props, the character creation boards and the interactive activities. Our family of 3 thoroughly enjoyed ourselves." - DREW M ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

04/11/2024

Here at Unleashed, there’s no such thing as 'too much detail.' 🔍
Dive into the micro-world of our miniatures!

30/10/2024

Double, double, toil, and trouble… to celebrate Halloween we have evening tours at 5:30pm and 6:30pm! 🎃

Dare to join us? 🦇

Wētā Workshop Unleashed is a global award-winning experience. If you're looking for things to do in Auckland visit our movie-making tour today.

21/10/2024

Wizards, or artists?
Have you ever wondered how the magic comes to life? 🧙

18/10/2024

"Loved the way the guide took us through and made an adventure of it. I really enjoyed being able to touch things, admire the hard, creative work and respected the way we were shown and explained things. Thank you for this experience" - DIANE VD ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

16/10/2024

Unleashed > Museums 😏
Why just observe when you can dive into the action?

03/10/2024

Who needs a normal 9-5 when you’ve got giant robots to wrangle? 🤖 ... Just another day at Unleashed

Address

Level 5/88 Federal Street
Auckland
1010

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 6pm
Tuesday	10am - 6pm
Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 6pm
Friday	10am - 6pm
Saturday	10am - 6pm
Sunday	10am - 6pm

Website

http://wetaworkshopunleashed.com/

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Videos

We like to think of Unleashed as a gateway to creativity; once you have a hit, you just can’t stop 🤪 •• #MovieMakingUnleashed #wetaworkshop #wetaworkshopunleashed #Auckland #TravelAuckland #travelmore #travelreels #tourism #reels #instagram #trending #explore #foryou

Movie Nights at Unleashed!

Lights, camera, action! 🎥 Get ready for Movie Nights at Unleashed – each month this winter, our epic film set will be the ultimate backdrop to watch 3 cinema classics 🎬 💫 It all starts with Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park 🦖 Grab your snacks, bring your friends and take a seat at Unleashed 🍿 Tickets on sale now: 🎟️ https://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/show.aspx?sh=JURRASIC24 *Wētā Workshop embraces costume dress-up!

A Middle-earth celebration.

Join us for a Middle-earth celebration like no other! 🌟 At Wētā Workshop Unleashed in Auckland, experience an exclusive screening of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" on December 5th. Our founders Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger will be there offering live alternative commentary and telling behind-the-scenes tales throughout the movie. 🎬 Hit the link below to book tickets! They are selling fast. https://shorturl.at/chrFP

We are celebrating Orc-tober in the Orc-land Wētā Cave! 👹 Flesh eaters, price slashers; what isn't there to celebrate?

✨ GIVEAWAY ✨ To mark two weeks of pure freedom these school holidays, we're gifting you a spectacular trip to Unleashed!! 🌟 To enter: 🎨 Follow us. 👍 Like this post. 👥 Tag your creative pals in the comments (1 tag = 1 entry). Winner announced: 01.10.2023 Open to NZ residents, 15+, only. For full T&Cs, visit the link below - Best of luck! https://tours.wetaworkshop.com/unleashed/terms-and-conditions-akl/

Richard Taylor, Creative Director CEO, Wētā Workshop says, "We’re building Jeff 2.0 for our Wētā Workshop Unleashed experience. We wanted to create a more expressive Jeff with a greater amount of body and facial performance capabilities. "The video shows a work in progress with Jeff’s 42 points of activation in Jeff's face now working, and currently one arm activated. Chris is operating the real time facial capture system, driving the motions of Jeff’s face and Omelia is operating a Waldo controller to move the right arm. "For me, getting to build something like is the result of a career long ambition for Wētā Workshop to get into performance robotics for the themed experience industry. I feel Jeff 2.0 moves us one step closer to this exciting possibility. "Anything like this takes a big team effort. The animatronics within the Jeff’s head were designed and built by Rod Sheehy. Jordan Thomson, our head roboticist has built the body and arms, including the design, machining, and fabrication. Omelia Lliffe developed the software interface and Chris Williamson created the animation performance system with James Brown developing some early AI audience recognition capabilities. "Zoilo Abad is the animatronics project lead with Cameron May in support. Jamie Beswarick designed and sculpted Jeff and Petteri Makinen and his team have developed the design of the 3D printed cores and molds to produce Jeff’s skin. Chris Rahenkamp and his team have facilitated the 3D printing and Matt Payne created the eyes. Karyoon Kim & Richie Reiss produced the silicon skin and Joel Gearey painted Jeff, and Antje McConnon did the hair work. We look forward to posting further videos as we get more movements activated within Jeff.”

New Zealand's First 3D

Oh Jeff, we do wish you would stick to being our security guard! 🙈 But we do forgive you for moonlighting this one time - given its to be the star of New Zealand's first 3D billboard. Remember peeps, if you want to see the real animatronic Jeff, don't forget to visit Wētā Workshop Unleashed.

What was your favourite part of Unleashed? ✨✨✨✨✨

As we explore the wonderfully wacky, colourful, and discombobulating experience that is Unleashed, we'll adventure together on a mind-bending trip through the creative minds at Wētā Workshop. 🎨 Mapped out on all the walls and whiteboards for us to enjoy is every detail of how they designed, developed, and made the wonderful things housed inside the experience. 🖍️ #wetaworkshop #wetaworkshopunleashed #creativity #creativityunleashed