Annual review 2022
After two years of pandemic, Wunderland is also returning to a new normal, while it has also made a spectacular leap into virtual reality with the opening of YULLBE WUNDERLAND.
January
The changed Corona situation allowed us to offer our I-can't-afford-it promotion again this year. Those who normally cannot afford a visit to Wunderland were thus again able to visit the exhibition completely free of charge. The feedback was extremely positive and emotional, and we are very happy that the action found such a huge response and thus thousands of people were able to spend some carefree hours in Wunderland again.
March
On March 31, YULLBE WUNDERLAND was opened in the presence of the German Federal Minister of Digital Affairs, Dr. Volker Wissing, and Hamburg's First Mayor, Dr. Peter Tschentscher. In years of cooperation with Europa-Park Rust, a superlative high-tech attraction was created directly adjacent to the Wunderland. Technology from Hollywood and countless in-house developments make it possible to move around a huge adventure area while being transported with all your senses into digital worlds where exciting adventures await you thanks to complete virtual reality equipment.
In this way, a long-cherished wish for us Wunderlanders has come true, because for the first time, you can not only look at the Wunderland worlds from the outside, but also virtually shrink into them and, for example, support the Knuffingen fire department during an operation:
Learn more about the creation and the fascinating technology in this video:
May
In May, a new special exhibition was opened in the gallery in our new storage areas, which allows a journey through the 20-year history of the creation of the Wunderland. It all began with a crazy idea - what followed was an almost fairytale-like story that can now be relived:
August
Since the founding of the Wunderland, new sections have been built non-stop, while the work to maintain and renew the old sections has also become more and more extensive. Exactly on the 21st birthday on 16.08., there was finally a number that is unbelievable for us: 1,000,000 working hours, that is 114 pure working years, have already flowed into the model sections. It is therefore not surprising that the construction of some of the individual figures involved whole days of work, just as 13,000 hours went into the miniature Elbphilharmonie alone, 23 months into the Colossum and 150,000 working hours into the airport. We wanted to create a small memorial to this extraordinary team effort with this video:
November
Two new construction phases are in the final spurt for completion. One of them is Patagonia, which, like Rio de Janeiro before, was partly started by Wunderland modelers together with the Martinez family in their workshop in Buenos Aires. In November, after a long container ship journey, these parts arrived at Wunderland, where Patagonia will find its final place in our new store. We hope to complete and open Patagonia as early as next spring. The following video already allows a glimpse into this latest addition to the exhibition:
The other new construction phase currently being worked on is Monaco, where a realistic simulation of a Formula 1 race in miniature scale will be an extraordinary highlight. Gerrit and his team have been working on the extremely elaborate and complex technology for this for many years now. The excitement was all the greater when the complete track was finally installed at the end of November and the first test laps could be successfully run on it:
In cooperation with the Carlsen publishing house, we created an adventure series for children that takes young readers on exciting adventures in the Wunderland worlds. On November 28, the third volume was published, for which we were able to win Christoph Dittert, the fantastic author of "Die drei ???". This much can be revealed: This time, the journey takes them to Las Vegas, where the four young heroes are in for their biggest adventure yet.
The highlight of the year for us was undoubtedly the opening of YULLBE WUNDERLAND. As with the model railroad layout, we will not stop tinkering and thinking up new things - this much is revealed: not all adventures have been passed yet...
In addition to the work on the upcoming sections, a lot of work went into countless projects for the renewal of the existing sections this year, which is why new details can be discovered everywhere. And of course, we can't wait to open the two sections still under construction, Patagonia and Monaco, next year.
Besides that, there will be a few more things to see, but more about that soon ;)
We wish you happy holidays and stay healthy!
Your team from Miniatur Wunderland
