The Las Vegas Sphere has finally shown, not just teased, the upgrades coming to The Wizard of Oz when the refreshed production debuts next Friday (Sept. 25). Producer Ben Grossmann puts it plainly in a new preview video: “It’s not enough to just recreate the land of Oz. You have to feel like you’re inside of it.”

The logic is simple. A 75‑minute loop that people willingly sit through more than once needs fresh experiences. So the world’s most technologically advanced theater just made itself more technologically advanced. It’s still the same movie experience—just with more of the room participating.

These six additions sit on top of the effects that have been running since opening day on Aug. 28, 2025: tornado winds, swirling debris, fog, haptic seats, fire bursts, falling apples, and the flying monkeys version 1.0.

This is the marquee upgrade. In 2025, it was enough for physical monkeys to appear to fly off the screen and over your head. But more than 3.6 million people have already seen that stupid pet trick. The first-gen monkeys were 16-foot helium inflatables steered by drone operators. Their only motion, besides drifting forward, was wing-flapping. They floated more than they performed.

The new monkeys are animatronic. As shown in the video, they’re capable of moving their faces and bodies in menacing ways as they pass overhead during the witch’s attack. They also seem to be hanging from an overhead line, though the Sphere has not officially described the new flight system.

Smell is the quietest upgrade but may be the most powerful. (Scent anchors memories more strongly than any other sense.) The new Oz adds more scents timed to scene changes. Expect the room to smell different when Kansas gives way to Oz, when the orchard turns hostile, and when the poppy field knocks everyone out.

The original production already dropped artificial snow when Glinda broke the poppy spell. “Glinda’s Glitter” is the sparkle equivalent of that idea: a visible shower of goodness.

It will also double as a built-in alibi for any romantically involved conventioneer who mistakenly comes home with glitter on their clothes.