Unleashed Guided Tour
Online price from $67 90 mins all ages Auckland
A guided tour through the art of
make believe
Step through the portal and into the universe of Wētā Workshop in the heart of Auckland, the New Zealand creative studio behind some of cinema's most iconic worlds.
Your Unleashed guide leads the way on a 90-minute journey through the art of make believe. Follow a handful of Kiwi makers all the way to Hollywood and hear from co-founder Richard Taylor. Meet Jeff – our animatronic security guard - then slip behind the scenes where creatures are built, worlds are dreamed up and castles are made entirely by hand.
Unleashed is your chance to get hands-on! Sculpt, sketch, link chainmaille, star in your own hilarious horror scene (screaming encouraged) and help power up a giant sci-fi robot.
Don’t just look - touch it, make it, explore it. Nowhere else on earth gets you this close to the craft, creativity and imagination behind the worlds you've seen on screen.
Watch Middle-earth with the people who helped make it.
One night only. Live commentary from Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger and Daniel Falconer.
A guided tour through the art of make believe
Step through the portal and into the universe of Wētā Workshop in the heart of Auckland, the New Zealand creative studio behind some of cinema's most iconic worlds.
Your Unleashed guide leads the way on a 90-minute journey through the art of make believe. Follow a handful of Kiwi makers all the way to Hollywood and hear from co-founder Richard Taylor. Meet Jeff – our animatronic security guard - then slip behind the scenes where creatures are built, worlds are dreamed up and castles are made entirely by hand.
Unleashed is your chance to get hands-on! Sculpt, sketch, link chainmaille, star in your own hilarious horror scene (screaming encouraged) and help power up a giant sci-fi robot.
Don’t just look - touch it, make it, explore it. Nowhere else on earth gets you this close to the craft, creativity and imagination behind the worlds you've seen on screen.
Tour highlights
Get ready for an unforgettable adventure into the imagination-fuelled universe of Unleashed–a mind-blowing journey into the extraordinary world of film-making.
Explore 3 movie projects imagined by our crew and discover how we bring big screen concepts to life
Step into our creative world and discover our workshop process as if mid-production
Journey through our favourite genres—fantasy, sci-fi and horror—inspired by a career working on incredible blockbusters
Play, touch and marvel with tonnes of mind-bending practical effects as movie magic comes to life before your eyes
Meet out-of-this-world creatures, robots and dinosaurs, larger-than-life characters and galactic spacecraft
Ticket includes complimentary souvenir video—transforming your throne photo into a magical keepsake.
"90 minutes of wonder for our group, aged 5 to 95 years. "
Heather
Google Reviews
"This was such an immersive experience, I almost don’t have the words to explain how amazing it was, but 1000% worth every penny! Our guide was the best!"
Kayla
Google Reviews
Journey into the heart of creativity. From storyboarding to special effects, design to the director’s chair — we’ll take you on a mind-blowing adventure through the creative process where you can discover our ideas vault, step into worlds, and touch, play and marvel as imagination comes to life before your eyes.
She'll be right. As long as she's fed.
An American family moves to an abandoned farm in remote New Zealand to start a new life, only to find their arrival awakens a vengeful mythological forest creature with a taste for human flesh.
Fight or fly. There is no fail.
A peace-loving herbivore society is threatened by a clan of carnivorous beings hell-bent on tyranny and destruction. With the help of a lonely underdog who's made a powerful discovery, they use clever thinking and even cleverer contraptions to save their city from the forces of evil.
They discovered a secret. They left us a message. Will we listen?
Two young scientists discover colossal extraterrestrial artefacts buried deep beneath an ancient volcano; evidence that an alien species once walked the Earth. The mystery deepens when they realise that the aliens have left behind an urgent message for humankind—and a map to another world.
Tour highlights
Get ready for an unforgettable adventure into the imagination-fuelled universe of Unleashed.
Discover the real story of Wētā Workshop and New Zealand's culture of out-of-the-box thinking
Go behind the scenes of our crew’s own imaginary blockbusters and see how we bring fantasy, horror and sci-fi worlds to life
Shrink down to tabletop size and walk through a hand-built castle, then learn the model-making tricks behind it
Touch everything! Pick up the tools our crew use every day and get hands on with our creative worlds
Take the magic home with a complimentary souvenir video.
"90 minutes of wonder for our group, aged 5 to 95 years."
Heather
Google Reviews
"Coolest place in New Zealand."
Kathleen
Yonder
Journey into the heart of creativity. From storyboarding to special effects, design to the director’s chair — we’ll take you on a mind-blowing adventure through the creative process where you can discover our ideas vault, step into worlds, and touch, play and marvel as imagination comes to life before your eyes.
She'll be right. As long as she's fed.
An American family moves to an abandoned farm in remote New Zealand to start a new life, only to find their arrival awakens a vengeful mythological forest creature with a taste for human flesh.
Fight or fly. There is no fail.
A peace-loving herbivore society is threatened by a clan of carnivorous beings hell-bent on tyranny and destruction. With the help of a lonely underdog who's made a powerful discovery, they use clever thinking and even cleverer contraptions to save their city from the forces of evil.
They discovered a secret. They left us a message. Will we listen?
Two young scientists discover colossal extraterrestrial artefacts buried deep beneath an ancient volcano; evidence that an alien species once walked the Earth. The mystery deepens when they realise that the aliens have left behind an urgent message for humankind—and a map to another world.
Questions
Find out everything you need to know about our Tour.
Our tours depart from Unleashed by Wētā Workshop
Level 5, 88 Federal Street, Auckland
Opposite the Sky Tower.
For public transport options, please visit the Auckland Transport Website
The eternal question for intergalactic travellers! While we currently don’t offer dedicated spacecraft parking, we do have plenty of terrestrial car parking options at SkyCity. If your craft is taller than 2.1 metres or has a cloaking device, we recommend teleporting down.
We offer SkyCity parking validation for anyone who purchases a tour, creative workshop or spends over $49 on retail in the Wētā Cave. Validation will reduce the hourly rate of parking.
Parking validation is valid from 24 hours from entry.
Happy landing!
Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour starts. You can check in at the Wētā Cave ticketing desk.
The Unleashed Guided Tour runs for approximately 90 minutes. We'd also recommend allowing extra time to explore the Wētā Cave, our free retail store, so most visitors spend around 2 hours with us in total.
Yes! Photography is welcomed at Unleashed by Wētā Workshop. There’s also the opportunity to receive a free video within the tour space, so you’ll be able to take home a fun memory of your experience.
Yes. Unleashed offers a family pass for our tour. You can choose the combination that suits your group:
1 adult and 2 children
2 adults and 1 child
2 adults and 2 children
Children are aged 5 to 14 years. A family pass is a great-value way to experience the tour together.
Our tours are currently offered in English and Mandarin, with translated tours also available on our app in French and Japanese. Download the app instore on arrival or ask our team for assistance.
As for Klingon, Elvish, or Na'vi—we're working on it. Stay tuned for future updates as we aim to cater to speakers from every realm.
Absolutely! Though just a heads up–some of our experience is horror themed and parental guidance is advised for younger children. Guests have the option to skip the 'horror house' within our horror workshop if they wish.
Some
materials used throughout our tour may trigger allergic reactions in some
guests. These materials include latex, silicone and foam. Please email us if
you have any questions.
We invite you to get hands-on with practical effects and props – don’t worry, we don’t mean the singing and dancing type of interaction!
Yes, we have rentable lockers available for you to store any medium to large sized bags, including suitcases, starting from $4. You can store your luggage up to 24 hours.
We get it—once you step into our world, it’s hard to leave. While we’d love to offer permanent residency in our castles and spacecrafts, local zoning laws and our resident creatures make it tricky.
Why not take a piece of the magic home instead? Visit the Wētā Cave for souvenirs to transform your home.
Questions
Find out everything you need to know about our Tour.
Our tours depart from Unleashed by Wētā Workshop.
Level 5, 88 Federal Street, Auckland.
Opposite the Sky Tower.
For public transport options, please visit the Auckland Transport website
The eternal question for intergalactic travellers! While we currently don’t offer dedicated spacecraft parking, we do have plenty of terrestrial car parking options at SkyCity. If your craft is taller than 2.1 metres or has a cloaking device, we recommend teleporting down.
We offer SkyCity parking validation for anyone who purchases a tour, creative workshop or spends over $49 on retail in the Wētā Cave. Validation will reduce the hourly rate of parking.
Parking validation is valid from 24 hours from entry.
Happy landing!
Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour starts. You can check in at the Wētā Cave ticketing desk.
The Unleashed by Wētā Workshop tour runs for approximately 90 minutes. We'd also recommend allowing extra time to explore the Wētā Cave, our free retail store, so most visitors spend around 2 hours with us in total.
Yes. Unleashed by Wētā Workshop offers a family pass for our tour. You can choose the combination that suits your group:
1 adult and 2 children
2 adults and 1 child
2 adults and 2 children
Children are aged 5 to 14 years. A family pass is a great-value way to experience the tour together.
Yes! Photography is welcomed at Unleashed by Wētā Workshop. There’s also the opportunity to receive a free video within the tour space, so you’ll be able to take home a fun memory of your experience.
Our tours are currently offered in English and Mandarin, with translated tours also available on our app in French and Japanese. Download the app in store on arrival or ask our team for assistance.
As for Klingon, Elvish, or Na'vi—we're working on it. Stay tuned for future updates as we aim to cater to speakers from every realm.
Absolutely! Though just a heads up–some of our experience is horror themed and parental guidance is advised for younger children. Guests have the option to skip the 'horror house' within our horror workshop if they wish.
Some materials used throughout our tour may trigger allergic reactions in some guests. These materials include latex, silicone and foam. Please email us if you have any questions.
We invite you to get hands-on with practical effects and props. Don’t worry, we don’t mean the singing and dancing type of interaction!
Yes, we have rentable lockers available for you to store any medium to large sized bags, including suitcases, starting from $4. You can store your luggage up to 24 hours.
We get it—once you step into our world, it’s hard to leave. While we’d love to offer permanent residency in our castles and spacecrafts, local zoning laws and our resident creatures make it tricky.
Why not take a piece of the magic home instead? Visit the Wētā Cave for souvenirs to transform your home.
Book online and save
Book online and save
Some of our other tours
Browse a list of other tours that you can book at Unleashed by Wētā Workshop in Auckland.
Twilight Tour
Discover the magic of creativity in a whole new light on an evening tour. 5:10 pm and 6:10 pm tour departures.
From $67 NZD
Private Tour
Your all-access pass — and yours alone — to a world where creativity knows no limits.
Price on enquiry
Some of our other tours
Browse a list of other tours that you can book at Unleashed by Wētā Workshop in Auckland.
Twilight Tour
Discover the magic of creativity in a whole new light on an evening tour. 5:10 pm and 6:10 pm tour departures.
From $67 NZD
Private Tour
Your all-access pass — and yours alone — to a world where creativity knows no limits.
Price on enquiry
Looking for a gift voucher?
Treat friends, family or yourself to a creative workshop. Redeem online or in-store.
Group bookings
FOR LARGE GROUPS LOOKING FOR A TOUR
Visiting for a special occasion or celebrating as a team?
Take a tour together—enquire for group prices.
Looking for a gift voucher?
Treat friends, family or yourself to a creative workshop. Redeem online or in-store.
Group bookings
FOR LARGE GROUPS LOOKING FOR A TOUR
Visiting for a special occasion or celebrating as a team?
Take a tour together—enquire for group prices.