Your Guide to The Wizard of Oz Show at The Sphere in Las Vegas

Intro

So far in this West Coast trip, I had been in very specific events, like Halloween Horror Nights in Universal Studios Hollywood. Now, after being up all night at HHN, and then the United Lounge at LAX Los Angeles International Airport, I had made it to Las Vegas. Do not worry, I will show about the hotel and my landing later in this post. But for now, I want to show one of the main events for this Las Vegas stop, The Wizard of Oz at Sphere. I had seen this building in my previous trips to Las Vegas, but I had been craving to seeing it inside, and to be the judge of how amazing it is. Come explore this amazing marvel with me.

Arriving to The Sphere

I picked the last show of the day after my experience in Universal Horror Unleashed (you will see all of this in the upcoming post), and kind of had to rush on the Uber to be on time. I was dropped off at the Rideshare area and I was, for the first time, so close to this marvel of architecture.

There was a lot of signage but since it was my first time I was a little confused. This was like entering to a stadium for a concert. I mean, they do a lot of concerts here too.

Once past security and having the tickets scanned, we are welcomed to a huge lobby all full of The Wizard of Oz imagery. I am going to be honest, I was not very familiar with The Wizard of Oz until I started loving Wicked, the Broadway show, and now the movies.

Inside of the building

The Sphere in Las Vegas, officially called The Sphere at The Venetian Resort, is one of the city’s most striking and futuristic landmarks. Opened in 2023, it’s the largest spherical structure in the world, standing 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide. What makes it truly spectacular is its fully programmable LED exterior, called the Exosphere, which can display vivid, moving images that are visible for miles across the Las Vegas skyline — from realistic planets to giant eyeballs or fireworks.

Inside, the Sphere offers an equally jaw-dropping experience. It houses a state-of-the-art concert and entertainment venue that can seat about 17,600 people, featuring a 160,000-square-foot 16K wraparound screen that immerses audiences in visuals unlike anything else on Earth. The sound system is custom-designed with beamforming audio, meaning every seat gets perfectly balanced sound.

The Sphere hosts concerts, immersive shows like Postcard from Earth by Darren Aronofsky, and major events such as tech conferences and film premieres. Combining art, architecture, and advanced technology, it’s become one of Las Vegas’s most iconic and talked-about attractions — a symbol of the city’s constant push to redefine entertainment.

I had time for quick snacks. There are no previews, and the show starts right on the clock.

The seat arrangement is pretty vertigo inducing, and you better be careful looking for your seat. I almost fell, and wonder if people with less mobility could deal with the steepness, at least in the 400 section.

The show was about to start at 8:00 PM sharp. I knew this screen was a fake out but the reveal of the full screen was just amazing. It was the first surprise in a series of mind-blowing moments through the 75 minutes of the movie.

The Wizard of Oz at Sphere

The Wizard of Oz at Sphere is a re-imagined screening of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, produced specifically for the Sphere’s massive venue: a 160,000 sq ft interior display that wraps above and around the audience.

The film has been enhanced with AI tools (for upscaling, expanding the original frame, filling in off-camera imagery) and multi-sensory effects (sound, wind, fog, haptics) in order to immerse the audience rather than simply “watch” the film.

Key Features & Experience Highlights

Immersive Screen & Audio

• The screen wraps around the audience: Visually the venue takes the 4:3 original film and expands it into a more encompassing canvas.
• Sound: The original mono score has been re-recorded, and the venue uses 167,000 programmable speakers to direct sound precisely anywhere in the space.

Multi-Sensory Effects

• Physical effects tied to the film: For example, during the tornado scene you’ll feel wind arrays, debris, leaf projections, etc.
• Other touches: Fog, snow (in the poppy field scene), scent, seat haptics (vibrations), fire bursts, foam apples dropping in one scene.
• Outside activation: On the exterior of the venue you’ll see giant legs of the Wicked Witch of the East and ruby slippers as a visual landmark.

Runtime & Format

• The experience is about 75 minutes — shorter than the original film runtime (to allow multiple showings per day in the venue).
• It is presented as an “experience” more than a simple film screening — the idea is that you step into Oz alongside Dorothy and her friends

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The tornado scene was what sold me on how amazing this experience was. You literally feel like you are in it. People actually applauded after this sequence. It was just mind-blowing. Once we go from the sepia colors to the full Technicolor palette things go wild. Here you can see the extensive use of AI, but also, how immersed we all are during this experience.

The added touches, like Glinda’s bubble arriving to meet Dorothy took me out for a bit, but it doesn’t mean I thought it was cool.

And of the many interactive items during the show, the falling apples were the best part. Just be aware that they will not throw them on the higher parts of the stadium. If you want to increase your chances of getting one of these apples, buy one of the lower seats.

And just like that, after 75 minutes, the movie was over, and now it was time to leave. I had no idea, but on the speakers they were saying there was more to see outside by the lobby. So I was about to head there.

Meeting The Wizard of Oz

Going down from the very tippy top of the auditorium was a trek, but I was about to make it to the lower levels, where the Wizard of Oz was waiting for a little show, and to meet and greet.

The props, lighting, everything was so well produced. No wonder the revenue for this event is $2 million per day. Incredible.

Finally made it down to see the show focused more on the Wizard of Oz. And it was cute, but I do not think it is a requirement to do.

Time to leave, and I was looking for the passage to The Venetian, to get back to my hotel which was not too far from there. Not without seeing all the props.

And the store. Although I did not buy anything, but it looked cute.

From the pathway to The Venetian, now I was able to see the legs of the Wicked Witch of the East, and the Ruby slippers. I had had a successful day, but I was so tired after not having had any sleep in the last 48 hours. It was time for me to go to the hotel, and get ready for tomorrow’s flight to a city I had not been for 11 years: Chicago.

My conclusions of The Wizard of Oz at Sphere

I loved this experience. I am glad I was able to add this to my short stay in Las Vegas, where I flew in mostly to experience Universal Horror Unleashed, as part of my Universal Halloween tour around the US. The price is very steep, just like the seats at the venue, starting at $100, but going to more than $400, but do not think as this as going to the movies, this is an event, an experience, something that all your senses are going to feel and admire. Just like the movie itself, there are parts towards the end where you just want it to end. I can’t stand some parts of the classic film, and with this showing it was not the exception. The physical interactions were amazing, definitely made you part of Dorothy’s adventure.

The AI enhancements took me out, as well of the trimming of the original movie. Duplicated extras in the background were very obvious, the cut and paste of the characters in the AI enhanced sets, as well as the lack of narrative and length of the movie itself.

Although, I do not regret seeing this movie on Sphere, I would have preferred having my first experience here with a concert, just like I saw in many videos with the Backstreet Boys. Maybe next time?

Arriving to Las Vegas

I wanted to quickly show how I arrived from Las Vegas, coming from Los Angeles, since that is how I left the last blog post. The flight was smooth, and I was able to sleep a little bit until it landed in Harry Reid International Airport. The skyline of The Strip was visible with the New York New York hotel in the distance.

I was welcomed into the city by a bunch of Casino machines at the airport lol.

As always, the Uber/Lyft waiting area at the airport was packed and disorganized. The heat hitting me made it worse. But I was able to get a quick Uber and went into my hotel.

I picked the cheapest room in one of the nicest hotels in the area, The LINQ – A Caesars Rewards Destination. They charged for early check in, which I needed to get some sleep, so I showered and went to bed before my appointment at Universal Horror Unleashed. I was sad I was not able to enjoy more of the city because of my very tight agenda.

Leaving Las Vegas

This is basically after doing everything in Las Vegas, including the activities from the upcoming blog post, but I really needed to go to Chicago haha. I had not been to that city in a while.

Finally left Vegas, and was on my way to ORD. So excited. But first, do not miss my take on Universal Horror Unleashed in the next post.