The heat of the planet’s molten lava was making me sweat, but it was worth every second of the journey. Mustafar spread out before me like a Star Was-fever dream. The orange and yellow magma bubbled below as Vader’s castle loomed in the distance. The transport rumbled beneath my feet as we traveled closer to our destination, and my only thought was “I’m here. This is actually happening right now.”

Of course, it wasn’t, and of course, I wasn’t actually there. But it sure as hell looked and felt like it.

That’s the beautiful of Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, the fantastic new hyper-reality experience at THE VOID, located at the Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, and London, England. You see, when we were kids, we were promised that the future held all sorts of things: hover boards, contact with aliens, and virtual reality. I remember seeing The Lawnmower Man and thinking, ‘Man…I can’t wait for that to be real.’ Well, that future is finally here.

While most present day VR experiences are more of a stationary affair, where you are confined to a chair or very small space in order for it to work, Secrets of the Empire sees your boundaries and tells them to screw off.

The ‘hyper-reality’ part of the experience is that you not only see the world of Star Wars around you, but you also move around in it to. You can feel the slight wind in your hair. You can feel the weight of the blaster in your hand. You lose yourself into the world.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I was first fitted with my back pack and helmet. I’m sure I looked ridiculous in it, but the moment the visor went on, it didn’t matter. The weight and feel of it made it FEEL like I was wearing Stormtrooper armor…just like my friend Jacob and my son Alex were standing next to me. Every character in every virtual reality film we’ve ever seen has that moment where they first enter the digital world and gaze at their hands in front of their face in wonder. All three of us had that moment, amazed by the fact that sensors around us were detecting our movements and translating our movements in real time.

Once the experience officially began, and we met up with K-2SO, I was enthralled. That bench he told me to sit down on? I could. That window we were looking out during our approach? I could reach out and feel it. Even K-2SO? Hell, he was right there too, in all his cold, hard steel glory!

There is something to be said to actually be able to move around and explore a virtual space from multiple directions. Sure, it’s cool to strap on a helmet and look in all 360 degrees to see a new world around you. But moving in and out of spaces, ducking behind cargo crates that you can not only see in the virtual space but feel in the physical one to avoid blaster fire…it’s an incredible feeling.

Secrets of the Empire isn’t perfect, of course. My hands got stuck in weird positions in front of my face a few times, and my legs were nonexistent, but for right now, it’s the best damn VR I have ever done, and would gladly spend more money to go back.

It’s no secret how much we love immersive experiences here at HorrorBuzz, and Secrets of the Empire fits right in with the best of them. In fact, before Galaxy’s Edge opens at Disneyland and Walt Disney World next year, this is the closet Star Wars immersive experience you are going to get. My brain was so convinced that these things were real that, at times, that I had to prevent myself from running whenever a new threat emerged. It’s that good.

Tickets are $29.95 per person for this experience, and are worth every penny. For more information, visit The Void online at: http://thevoid.com