Returning to the Planet

2 hours ago
3 min read

It must have been about ten years ago, quite early on at the start of my blog, that I first visited Laser Planet in Waterbury, CT. Since then the ownership has changed hands, it evolved first to Laser Planet Plus and is now known as Connecticut’s Laser Planet. I decided a return to the planet was well overdue. Back in the day when I was just beginning to blog I was a bit timid about asking to take photos in the arena…needless to say, I have totally gotten over that, lol! This time I got to experience an awesome, old-school Zone Nexus night in an arena that has some amazing retro vibes and you will get to see how cool Connecticut’s Laser Planet really is!

First, the fact that they are still operating Zone Nexus makes this a particularly unique opportunity. Kudos to their tech person because these packs continue to play very smoothly. I felt a wave of nostalgia come over me as I sat them hanging from the vesting racks.

I was joined by game marshal Sushi (I said “like the fish?” and he said yes) and we got ready to go in for a 1v1.

Just a quick review of a poster I haven’t seen in a while!

Ok, got it! :)

This arena is such an awesome example of an era where arena designers used airbrushing, paint and vibrant original artwork to set the scene across multiple levels. Immersive? Yes. Retro cool? Definitely! And ramps and catwalks across the entire second floor give you a sense that the tag could be coming from any direction as you look down on the maze below.

Memories of this place came flooding back to me as I made my way up the ramp.

Tagging from behind the fenced in barriers on the upper level made me think back to my first visit.

There is so much about laser tag that I just didn’t know back then. As I tagged each of the bases (located in three corners of the arena) I remembered the days when I didn’t know how or why it was important to work with your teammates to crack a base before going for it. Of course this time, I knew better, had no team for defense and discovered on the fly that I could take this base as many times as I wanted. That info changes the game a bit! :)

I paused to admire one of the coolest pieces of artwork in the arena.

Then I continued to traverse the arena, going back and forth primarily between the yellow and blue bases. Sushi had a similar M.O., so we kept trying to find the quickest path between bases while keeping each other tagged out. Kudos to an exceptional opponent!

In between running the base corners (correction, walking quickly!) I checked out the fourth corner, which Sushi called the “mirror room”.

The awesome thing about the mirror room is when I’m not bouncing shots off the arena mirrors, I can use them for touching up my lipstick, lol. :)

This was a lot of fun and I’m so glad I took a moment to “return to the planet” while I was in Waterbury.

After the game, I chatted a bit with staff member Kylie (I said “like Minogue?” and she said “most people say ‘like Jenner’” so that shows you how old I am!) and we discussed the history and longevity this business has had in the Waterbury community. It’s so great to see an arena like this continue to thrive.

So, if you are traveling through Connecticut and craving a Zone Nexus night of your own, be sure to turn here and find your way over to their planet!

And while I’m making recommendations, let me suggest some sushi (not the player, but the fish) just down the road at the Red Corner (not the base, but the restaurant), where my dinner was as amazing as the tag I experienced on this trip!