
Customers playing in virtual reality at The Vault in Seymour.
SEYMOUR – If fighting zombies, slaying dragons, or playing with slime sounds like a perfect break from reality, then The Vault in downtown Seymour is the place for you.
Located in the former Bank of America building at 115 Main St., and aptly named because the building still has seven old vaults, husband and wife Gris and Joe Champagne want people to know they are open for business for anyone looking to try out virtual reality gaming.
COVID Curse
The Champagnes opened the virtual reality gaming business on March 18, 2020 – the day Gov. Ned Lamont called for a mandatory shutdown of businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Having to shut down before it could officially open was devastating, owner Gris Champagne said.
“We were not able to open back up until July 3, 2020 because of (COVID) regulations for arcades and amusement centers,” Champagne said. “During the mandatory shutdown, we depended on my day job as the business would have been Joe’s primary and sole source of income.”
While Champagne said they took a financial hit, having poured their savings into the business, she managed to do remote escape rooms during the shutdown with corporate clients and families in an effort to stay afloat.
When The Vault was able to reopen in July 2020, the Champagnes turned their attention to ensuring customers not only had a fun, other-worldly experience, but a safe and sanitized one, at that.
As with all VR experiences, the prime piece of equipment is a headset. Champagne said cleanliness was always a top priority, and remains to this day, about ensuring a safe environment for all.
“Even before we opened, our plan was to sterilize headsets and controllers in between each use with a 99 percent alcohol solution,” Champagne said. “With the pandemic, not only did we fully wipe down the equipment with the alcohol solution, but we added a UV Microwave and UV wands for a two-step sterilization process. We also swapped out any cloth pieces on the headsets for leather, to facilitate clean up.”
More Than Just Gaming
The Champagnes got extra creative during the height of COVID, opening The Vault Academics, where they used their VR center and party rooms as classrooms from September 2020 to April 2021 for students to do remote learning since schools across the state remained closed for in-person learning.
“Many of the parents thank us to this day as they were able to keep their jobs and continue to provide for their families when schools were closed,” Champagne said.
Now with life returning to normal, sort of, the Champagnes are working hard to build the business.
“Virtual Reality is more than gaming, it’s an adventure, an escape you can enjoy with family, friends and colleagues while discovering the unimaginable,” said Champagne. “Once you put on that headset, it’s like dreaming awake. You can be an alien, a soldier, fighting zombies with family or defending a castle. We take pride in making sure we tailor experiences to your group and that your experience is exceptional. Virtual Reality is a captivating experience positively contributing to one’s mental health.”
What Customers Are Saying
The Valley Indy interviewed employees from IDEAZ in Glastonbury- an engineering and design-focused innovation company that specializes in advanced product design and engineering, including consumer products, hardware and medical devices. Eight employees hopped in their cars last week to make the hour-long trek to Seymour for a fun team outing.
“We are working remotely, and it’s been hard for our employees to get together and do something fun,” said Jillian Babin, business operations manager for IDEAZ. “We work in engineering and design and thought virtual reality would be something fun for our team, especially since a lot of our team members love video games.”
Babin looked online for VR venues and The Vault stood out with great reviews.
“We had the place to ourselves for two hours,” Babin said. “They had a cool old vault inside and the staff was super-friendly. We could not have had a better experience.”
And Now There’s Slime
In addition to the numerous VR adventures, The Vault also recently added a “slime lab.”
Champagne said the lab was born out of requests from students enrolled in the afterschool and summer camp programs, who did science experiments and made slime. She credits her 11-year old daughter, Hailey, for giving the slime lab life.
“Having four kids of our own (ages 2, 6, 9 & 11), we were able to see the many benefits of playing with slime,” Champagne said. “It sparks their creativity, stimulates their senses, builds fine motor skills and is surprisingly a very effective way to promote mindfulness. As an adult I find myself going home after work to play with slime. Playing with slime has become my stress reducer, and as a mental health advocate I feel the need to share it with others.”
The Vault’s full line of adventures can be found and booked online at
https://thevaultvirtualreality.com/
Weekly Events
Some of their weekly recurring events include Escape Tuesdays (25% off VR Escape Rooms); BYOB Thursdays; Date Night Fridays; Family Fun Day Sundays; Slime Sensory Play for Seniors Mondays; Family Slime Time Sundays and Themed Slime Workshops every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Vault’s 4,000- square foot venue itself can also be rented for corporate and team building events, holiday parties, bridal showers, birthday parties and more. Champagne said she has hosted parties for up to 80 guests, and The Vault also offers a mobile experience, where an escape from real life can be brought right to any off-site location.
The Vault is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m, Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and 7 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

Making slime at The Vault in Seymour.