The futuristic Philly experience by Steven Spielberg that few Philadelphians have experienced

Philadelphia is not a city renowned for its theme park rides. There’s no Benjamin Franklin’s Bumper Car Bonanza or Liberty Bell Log Flumes of Freedom around these parts.

But there is an immersive experience inside of a futuristic orb in the heart of Center City from a theme park industry leader that’s so legit it requires monthly certification as a state-licensed attraction.

The Universal Sphere, which opened in May 2019, is free and features a movie executive produced by Steven Spielberg, yet few Philadelphians I’ve talked to have ever heard of it, let alone ventured inside.

Maybe that’s because the 34-by-39-foot gleaming-white globe isn’t visible from the street, or maybe it’s because you’ve got to go into Kabletown (Comcast) to get to it. Whatever the case may be, it’s a hidden Philly gem and I’m here to crack it open.

The Sphere is located in the upper lobby of the city’s tallest skyscraper, the Comcast Technology Center, which is colloquially referred to as Vape Comcast (as opposed to the original Comcast Center, which we call Flash Drive or USB Comcast).

When you head in through the building’s main entrance, you won’t see the Sphere, but if you follow the electronic ticker tapes overheard (which are actually an art installation) and go up the escalator, it’s directly to your left, across from the far more popular Vernick Coffee Bar, where you can buy a blood orange Danish with gold leaf garnish for $5.50.

Customers at the fancy coffee purveyor seem completely unfazed by the large, unusual object across the way, which is somehow both visually intriguing and mildly dystopian. A cool, blue light usually emanates from below the Sphere, but sometimes that light is a warm red, making it seem equally as plausible that this orb could be an immersive relaxation chamber or a harbinger for an extraterrestrial invasion.

It is, of course, neither — that we know of.

The Sphere was born out of collaboration between several companies owned by Comcast, including Universal Destinations & Experiences, Comcast Labs, NBC, and DreamWorks.

Billed as “a cinematic experience” in a dome theater, for most of the year the Sphere features a roughly seven-minute film executive produced by Spielberg called The Power of I, about the power of ideas.

For a long time, that was the only thing you could watch in the Sphere, but last year two short DreamWorks’ cartoons were added into the rotation — Shrek’s Festive Flight, which runs throughout the holiday season, and Po’s Awesome Lunar Adventure, which is shown for four weeks around the Lunar New Year.

I’ve been to the Sphere twice now and have seen all three films under two very different sets of circumstances. In 2022, I was just a Jane Doe off the street and went with my husband out of curiosity.

The second time, when I went last month for this story, I identified myself as an Inquirer columnist in advance and was accompanied by no less than five-to-eight Comcast employees at any given time, which felt slightly excessive (unless, of course, the Sphere really is a secret alien portal).

I forget what first brought me to the Sphere in August 2022, but it’d been on my radar since I saw a photo of it and was reminded of the 1998 sci-fi thriller Sphere, starring Dustin Hoffman and Samuel L. Jackson.

I got free, timed tickets in advance (which is recommended) and my husband and I arrived 10 minutes early, as the website advised, which was totally unnecessary, since we were the only ones there.

Our guide led us around to a set of double doors on the Sphere’s surface that automatically slid open and were accompanied by the sound of an airlock. We then went into the Sphere’s dark interior, which includes a short hallway and several curved rows of benches that accommodate up to 25 people. Overhead, a blue light encircled the Sphere’s dome.

The guide rambled off a short intro and soon, the platform we were sitting on began rotating within the Sphere like a corkscrew.

Then the movie, The Power of I, began. During the course of the film — which I watched again last month — viewers are taken into outer space and down into the sea, and they’re told of curious explorers and inventors and their discoveries. The seats vibrate slightly at times and the surround sound is as crystal clear as the film.

“Ideas are our super power. They are the very thing that make us human,” says the film’s narrator, whose voice you may recognize but might not be able to place (it’s Peter Coyote, who narrates many of Ken Burns’ documentaries).

Let me tell you something, if you want to be inspired, Spielberg is your guy. I walked out of the Sphere both times after watching that film thinking my next idea — even if it was terrible, like Auto-Tune for automobiles — could change the world.

During my subsequent visit to the Sphere last month, Comcast staffed it with an excellent and exuberant guide who fully leaned into the narrative intros and outros she delivered with each of the three films.

I later learned from Christina Wong, executive director of experiential content for Comcast, that Sphere guides get special training.

“We work very closely with Universal Destinations and Experiences and we bring coaches up from Orlando that come and work with our guides for a couple days every time we do a new experience because that’s truly what transports you,” Wong said.

Even though they’re not currently playing, the folks at Comcast were kind enough to show me the two new films that debuted in the Sphere last year and will now be in regular rotation.

Po’s Awesome Lunar Adventure takes you on a roller-coaster-like ride with Po and his friends in a cart through Panda Village. It’s fun, high energy, and visually captivating.

Shrek’s Festive Flight is similar, in that’s it’s another roller-coaster-esque adventure, but this time, to the North Pole. I found this movie particularly fun because you start off on top of the Comcast Technology Center riding on Dragon with Donkey and Shrek and then fly over City Hall and Philadelphia. Having that local connection makes the experience feel much more personal and it’s awesome to see our city so beautifully animated.

“These people put the elf in Philadelphia!” Donkey says.

When the holiday-themed films run, related arts-and-crafts activations are set up outside the Sphere and characters from the movies and other performers come to visit with guests.

The Sphere is ADA accessible and Comcast has a wide range of devices to accommodate guests’ needs, including augmented reality glasses that offer an ASL interpreter in your periphery.

Several sensory-friendly shows are held each day and the staff can provide light-sensitivity glasses and noise-reduction headphones.

Meghan Mirsch, senior manager of experiential content, said every device the Sphere offers is also available at Universal theme parks.

“They’ve been great partners to us in that they will test this on a massive scale and tell us what works, or maybe there’s something that they’re asking us to test … since we have much smaller crowd size,” she said.

Karen Dougherty Buchholz, executive vice president of administration for Comcast, said the Sphere serves the same purpose as the LED wall in the Comcast Center — to invite community members into the building and to give Philly something fun and unexpected.

“We really want to create joy,” she said. “I think it’s hard to walk away from any of those three experiences without a smile on your face afterwards.”

People bring their families in at the holidays, schools bring students for field trips, and companies bring employees for team-building, Buchholz said.

In 2023, the Sphere marked its 100,000 visitor. Now heading into its sixth year, it’s on track to reach 200,000, according to Buchholz. That said, the LED wall in the Comcast Center, just a block away, marked 2 million visitors in its first 10 years.

Buchholz pointed to the fact that the Sphere was only open nine months before it was shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remained closed until November 2021.

“I would say the momentum is on our side now and I do think it is an iconic [experience]. As we continue to look at our programming, we have found that people really like the fun, new programs as well,” she said. “I think the best is ahead of us.”

Perhaps the fact that the Sphere isn’t visible when you immediately walk into the lobby, like the LED wall is in the Comcast Center, plays a factor in lower traffic. The Sphere also hasn’t established itself as a must-do Philly holiday activity — yet.

But with the recent closure of Center City Macy’s and the future of its beloved Christmas light show uncertain, there may be a hole for free holiday activities in the city that the Sphere could fill.

The Sphere is only open Monday to Friday during most of the year (there are weekend hours during the holiday shows), which makes it difficult for 9-to-5 workers to get to, unless it’s on their lunch break.

I think the length of the experience is also both an asset and a detriment. Comcast recommends guests carve out 15 minutes total, which isn’t long enough to bring someone in just to see the Sphere, but it is a great addition to a trip you’re already making to Center City.

Finally, I know the Sphere’s biggest hurdle may be that it’s in the lobby of the company that sends you your cable bill, but I promise that inside of it, you’ll feel a world away.

For more information or to make a free reservation visit: comcastcentercampus.com/universal-sphere/