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Industry News:
---- THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS ----
(12/15/2024) Blooloop's "Festival of Innovation" Posts List of Speakers
(12/6/2024) Have You Tried The Beverly? World of Coke's Most Viral Beverage Has An Interesting Secret
(12/4/2024) Who Wants To Buy A Cruise Line Annual Pass?!?!
(12/2/2024) Design For Beijing Haichang Ocean Park Revealed by Legacy Entertainment
(11/30/2024) Who Has The Top 10 Waterparks in the Europe, Middle-East and Africa Region?
(11/29/2024) Spokane's Historic 1909 Looff Carrousel Is Getting A Digital Upgrade For 2025
Theme Park Attendance Reports - (10/30/2024) Blooloop has posted a breakdown of the Top 25 most attended theme parks across the world based on their overall 2023 year attendance records, along with a growth comparison as to how they performed in 2022.
(8/19/2024) TEA/AECOM have released the 2023 Theme Index Report, collecting valuable attendance data from theme parks, museums and other attractions around the world. Follow the link to find the latest data from last year (2023) as well as links to reports going back as far as 2006. The nice thing about the 2023 report data is that finally the direct impact from the pandemic is “firmly in the past”, resulting in numbers across the globe that are more reflective of the way things were in 2019 and before. As a result, the reports from 2020 through 2022 froze the “ranking” of parks by attendance due to the pandemic, but the 2023 report also brings back the ranking process.
With that in mind, Disney is clearly ranked once again as the top theme park operator in the world, with over 142 million guests passing through their gates in 2023. China’s Fantawild Group comes in second with 85.6 million, followed by Merlin in 3rd (62.1million) and Universal in 4th with 60.8 million. China’s Chimelong Group and Happy Valley Group take the #5 and 6 spots, but are trailing far behind Universal with 36 million and 35.7 million, before we come back to the US for Cedar Fair at #7 with 26.7 million and Six Flags at #8 with 22.2 million, followed closely by United Parks (formerly SeaWorld) in #9 with 21.6 million then Parques Reunidos at $10 with 19.3 million. It’s worth mentioning that going forward, Six Flags and Cedar Fair reporting will eventually be merged, so if you merge the data from 2023 the combined pair would have an attendance of 48.9 million, putting them in the #5 spot right behind Universal.
Some of the biggest attendance gainers in 2023 would go to park’s in China that were slower to recover from the pandemic, such as Chimelong Ocean Kingdom (up 184.5%), Zigong Fantawild Dino Kingdom (up 177.9%) or Shanghai Disneyland (up 164.2%). In fact, most parks saw gains in 2023, with the two Universal parks in Orlando both seeing losses of about 9.3% each. I would expect to see that trend continue in 2024 as well, as many are likely delaying visits until 2025 when the Universal Orlando resort opens their new Epic Universe theme park.
There is so much information in the report, broken down between the various attraction types and location in the world, that these reports are an invaluable resource that you can spend hours pouring over the data as needed.
 General News - (12/15/2024) Blooloop will be hosting an online-only Festival of Innovation event, featuring a very large collection of speakers. The collection of presenters come from a wide range of entertainment and technical disciplines ranging from theme parks, movie studios, museums and the creators at various technical solution houses. Follow the link to see the dates and list of speakers slated to present.
(12/6/2024) Here is a fun bit of trivia… if you’ve ever visited the Coke sponsored Club Cool at Epcot, the World of Coca-Cola attractions in Atlanta, or a few Coca-Cola Store locations like the one in Las Vegas, you may have had the opportunity to sample an odd beverage by the name, “Beverly”. The bitter tasting drink was created for the Italian market where it was introduced back in 1969… but in the US, it’s become something more of a rite of passage, as friends bring other unsuspecting friends to these attractions for the sole purpose watching them try a taste of Beverly for the first time.
If you’ve never tried Beverly, the taste is something you really won’t forget, but it also seems to write itself into everyone’s memory a little differently, because if you ask a group of people to describe the taste of it, you’re going to get a lot of different answers. For me, it’s like someone mixed a tiny taste of bitter ginger with the tastebud numbing nuclear winter of a White Claw, and then dropped in a heavy shot of carbonated wallpaper adhesive goop, and shook it all up just before you slam it.
Eewww…
I still find it shocking that it was popular in Italy. And I say that in the past tense on purpose, because many don’t realize that Beverly was retired as a drink in Italy in 2009! So what makes this even more funny is when you realize that Beverly is still made TODAY… but for the sole purpose of these taste test sampling stations. Otherwise, you can’t actually buy it anywhere in the world.
(11/30/2024) While Screamscape has strived to showcase theme park news from around the globe, focusing in depth on water park attractions around the globe has been far more difficult due to just how many more there actually are, which has resulted in most of our coverage to be focused on North American properties. However, if you are curious about what the top attended waterparks are across Europe, the Middle East and Africa region of the world, Blooloop has actually posted a ranked rundown of the Top 10 waterparks in the EMEA by their attendance rankings over the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The list includes a number of extremely popular waterparks that even I’m not very familiar with, including the #1 on the list, Therme Erding in Germany that served 1,860,000 guests in 2023 and in addition to 27 indoor and outdoor waterslides, it is home to the world’s largest thermal bath and spa complex.
 (11/21/2024) The Blooloop 50 list for 2024’s Theme Park Influencers has been announced. The list contains a number of names many in the industry are sure to recognize, as well as a many more worth making note of for their own contributions. Give it a read and congratulations to all!
(11/19/2024) A launch of a new attraction company was announced at IAAPA this week called Extreme Legacy. It is described as “a full-service engineering design and manufacturing firm that services the amusement, attractions, and leisure industries. A majority female-owned company, Extreme Legacy also announced the appointment of Jaimie Enterkin as chief executive officer.”
“Based in Orlando, Florida, Extreme Legacy purchased Extreme Engineering’s 30-year portfolio of attractions. The purchase consists of the rights to Extreme Engineering’s intellectual property and expertise in engineering design and fabrication. The company’s name, Extreme Legacy, was chosen as a nod to Extreme Engineering’s 30-year legacy of creating award-winning attractions and providing breakthrough solutions around the globe.”
“Extreme Legacy is based in Orlando, Florida, and has manufacturing facilities in Texas. In 2025, the company plans to expand its manufacturing capabilities in Central Florida.” For more information, visit the new ExtremeLegacy.com website.
(11/9/2024) Blooloop has announced the Blooloop 50 Immersive Influencer list this week as well as the Blooloop 50 Museum Influencer list for 2024 last week, joining the previous list announced for the Zoo & Aquarium category. All that is left is to announce the Blooloop 50 Theme Park Influencers list for 2024, which will be taking place on November 20th, the week of the annual IAAPA Expo in Orlando.
(10/20/2024) Blooloop has announced the first of their four 2024 Blooloop 50 influencer lists this week, starting with the Zoo & Aquarium Influencer List for 2024. Click the link to give the list a quick read and congratulations to them all!
Look for upcoming announcements over the next couple of weeks as the other three Blooloop 50 groups are announced!
(8/30/2024) While we may be coming to the end of the Summer of 2024, I’m going to take a look back at the best new waterparks and waterslides that have opened around the world this year with our friends at Blooloop.
(7/12/2024) a new article at Blooloop goes over the process behind the creation of the unique ABBA Voyage attraction in London, and what the future may hold. While the original concept was dreamt up more as an idea for a touring attraction, the further into the development they got the more they realized they needed to build a custom dedicated space to hold it all so that the technology would work as intended.
As for the future, they are looking to possibly expand to other markets, especially at locations within North America, Australia and Asia. There are a lot of options and a lot of conversations going on as to where another ABBA Voyage could be built within the next year or two.
Internet Finds - (11/28/2024) According to the local news, Spokane’s historic 1909 Looff Carrousel in Washington will have its “band organ” digitally upgraded in time for the 50th anniversary of it being installed at Riverfront Park next year. Much like a player piano, the Carrousel was designed to use a punched-paper roll system to play music during the ride and was able to mimic the sound of a 60-piece band. While the paper roll system was still in place and functional, the attractions ceased using it and was instead using recording of carousel music instead due to the deteriorating state of the music rolls.
The old punch-paper music has now been converted to digital MIDI music files, along with a computer that will now allow the attraction to play not only its original music, but also allow for updated music files to be added as well, making it able to play versions of even contemporary songs along with a complete restoration of the band organ.
The Looff Carrousel was originally installed at Spokane’s Natatorium Park from 1909 to 1968, and when the park closed it was relocated to Riverfront Park in 1975 following the end of the Expo ‘74 event that took place in the park from May to November 1974. (Note: Believe it or not, I was there for that. I’m dating myself, because I was only 4 at the time and don’t remember much beyond the skyride that traveled over the river and waterfalls alongside the park.)
(11/27/2024) Amusement Park Warehouse has a great article showcasing a large number of flat rides and attractions sold to various traveling midway groups, as well as several sold to various FECs and mini-parks around the world. It’s worth a read to see what older rides seem to still be popular and as well as a look at some new ride models that will be appearing over the next couple of years at an attraction near you.
(11/9/2024) Taking the rumor mill into considering… and pondering the idea that Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure just might take its last ride this weekend, then who will take the record for having the fastest roller coaster in the world?
Currently, Kingda Ka regained the record for being the fastest coaster in the world (128mph) when Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi (149.1mph) closed for unknown reasons in early 2024 and has yet to reopen. By default, if Kingda Ka closes then the record would have gone to Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point at 120mph, but sadly that transformation of the former Top Thrill Dragster coaster lasted only about 3 weeks before being shut down for technical issues and it too has yet to reopen and based on current rumors, it may not reopen in 2025 either.
So what’s next? Would you believe that the next in line would be Red Force at Ferrari Land in Spain, which features a 111.8mph launch. After that would be Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which opened as Superman: The Escape, with a 100mph launch way back in 1997 as the world’s fastest coaster. Over the years however, there are many who claim that Superman fails to reach that speed anymore, and there is a tie for the next two speed demons, with both Fury 325 at Carowinds (NC/SC) and Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land (Japan) both claiming to reach a top speed of 95mph.
Beyond that, the list reads like a greatest hits list from Cedar Fair theme parks starting with Millenium Force at Cedar Point (93mph), Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland (92mph) and Orion at Kings Island (91mph) and then Pantherian (formerly Intimidator 305) at Kings Dominion (90mph).
Waiting in the wings however is Falcon’s Flight, a new steel coaster currently under construction at Six Flags Qiddiya in Saudi Arabia, will has been planned to achieve a record-breaking 155.3mph. The earliest we may see Falcon’s Flight open however may be late 2025, and quite possibly not until 2026, so if this really is the end for Kingda Ka, then the crown would go to Red Force… at least until Ferrari World is able to reopen Formula Rossa.
(11/8/2024) While the former Six Flags New Orleans theme park closed for good after being sacked by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the ruins of the theme park have remained standing as a creepy reminder of what once was over the past two decades. That all starts to change this week as demolition crews have arrived on site and have begun to take down the structures from the closed theme park to allow for future redevelopment of the site.
(11/3/2024) There are a lot of headlines in the news lately about the struggles of returning employees to the workplace after the last few years saw many more people working from home. As part of the process, a number of businesses have been adding more ‘perks’ to the office space as an incentive to bring workers back in. Sure, even before the pandemic we’ve heard about free food, free snack and beverage stations, free childcare centers or maybe even an on-site fitness center, but an office in Stockholm, Sweden just upped the bar to a whole new level!
Creative Studio “The Great Exhibition”, formerly known as PJADAD, reopened their office under their new brand name on October 25th with something very special… a fully functioning indoor roller coaster. This is going to be one very exclusive credit for you coaster counters to strive for, and they call it The Frontal Lobe. The bright red coaster is about 200 feet long and is only about 10 feet tall with a shiny silver car that fits one rider at a time, and it winds though many different sections of the office past working employees! According to the description and photos you can climb aboard and go on a journey past the social media department, through the kitchen, up and over and main entrance and through a lounge area, curving around a meeting table, and more.
According to the studio founders, the dream of adding a roller coaster to the office serves many purposes, starting of course with the fact that it is just a fun experience in general. It also quite literally serves as a constant visual reminder to the creative studio staff of how to move away from the predictable and to create an raw out-of-the-box emotional experience. They also call the roller coaster a deliberate “act of resistance” against the rapid explosion of AI driven tech that can ruin creativity. A roller coaster is an office is not logical, nor something any computer simulation would suggest, as the illogical nature of the concept itself serves as a physical in-your-face representation of the concept of “fun”.
Due to some tight clearance issues to fit into the office space, the designers went through a number of revisions to the design, talking with both engineering experts as well as some members of the “backyard coaster” community before finalizing their design. A loud bell rings throughout the office just before anyone takes a ride on the coaster for safety reasons. All said and done, they say they spent around $150,000 on the project and have enjoyed seeing how their staff have taken to the ride in different ways. Some take it for a spin as part of the morning arrival ritual, while others prefer to take a spin on the coaster just before they leave at the end of a long day.
Now, what I’m sure the Screamscape audience wants to know right now is… just how in the world can we get invited in to take The Frontal Lobe for a spin? Or at the very least, is there a POV video of the experience we can see?
(10/21/2024) Ever wanted to own your own roller coaster? The city of Tuscumbia, Alabama has put the Python, an E&F Miler family coaster that stands just 11.5 feet tall, up for sale. The coaster was originally build as a Pythons Pit coaster for the Jeepers chain of indoor playland parks where it ran at a location in Michigan in 1998 before being sold to a small attraction in Nashville from 2003 to 2004, and then being relocated to Spring Park in Alabama.
According to the story they stopped running the Python in 2021 during the peak of the pandemic and just never reopened it. Overall it’s thought to be in decent shape, and just needs some maintenance to be reopened.
As of right now the current bid on the coaster is $2,000, but a local news story says that the town won’t take anything less than $8,000. Whoever wins is responsible for taking it apart and removing it from the current site and rebuilding it at the new intended location. The open bidding is said to be open until 2:45pm on Halloween if someone wants to own their own roller coaster.
(10/8/2024) One more quick note about The Legacy of Schwarzkopf documentary, there will also be a European Premier that will take place on Nov. 30th at Liseberg during the park’s annual Winterfest Event.
(10/6/2024) A new preview trailer for the upcoming “Legacy of Schwarzkopf” documentary can now be seen below. I’ve also been told that the film will hold a premier at the Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas) on November 9th, with another screening taking place at Fun Spot Orlando on November 20th during the IAAPA Expo.
(9/14/2024) For those who have been waiting for the release of Planet Coaster 2, Frontier Development has announced that the sequel to the popular theme park simulator will be released on November 6th, 2024 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Fans who can’t wait can now place their pre-order to get it on day-1 through the Xbox or Playstation online stores, through Epic Games or Steam.
(9/8/2024) The annual Golden Ticket Awards took place last night in a live presentation from Kennywood. Dollywood came away as the biggest winner with a total of six Golden Ticket Awards (Best Family Coaster, Best New Show, Most Beautiful Park, Best Guest Experience and Best Kids Area plus a Legend award for their Smoky Mountain Christmas event).
Fan favorite, Holiday World, took home three awards, including a new category for Best New Theme Concept for this year’s “Good Gravy!” family coaster.
Germany’s Europa-Park won two major awards this year for the overall Best Park award as well as Best New Roller Coaster for the new Voltron Nevera.
Silver Dollar City took the award for Best New Family Attraction with their new Fire in the Hole family dark coaster.
Mount Olympus took an award for Best New Water Park Ride for their creation, Rise of Icarus.
Some other notable winners were:
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (Disney’s Hollywood Studios) for Best Dark Ride
Fury 325 (Carowinds) for Best Steel Roller Coaster (for the 8th year in a row)
Chiapas (Phantasialand) for Best Water Ride (a 2 time winner)
Phoenix (Knoebels) for Best Wooden Coaster
While it isn’t live just yet, the full list of winners should be posted soon for the official award site, GoldenTicketAwards.com.
(9/7/2024) Warhammer 40,000 fans are a rabid bunch, and to be fair, they’ve been patiently waiting for their time to shine in the limelight. Championed by celebrity fan, Henry Cavill, there a live action film and series destined for Amazon Video has been disturbingly going through a bit of chaos regarding the creative progress. Cavill was not only set to star in the production, but also serve as an Executive Producer on the creative team behind it all for Amazon Studios. Without getting into it, there are some creative differences between the two now, and they have until the end of the year to come to an agreement, otherwise the entire thing can be called off, much to the disappointment of the rabid fanbase.
Fortunately, if you located anywhere near a Zero Latency VR attraction location, you will soon be able to enter the Warhammer universe yourself with the soon to be released “Space Marine VR - Defenders of Avarax”, a free-roaming VR experience. According to the latest update, players will be able to enter the Warhammer themed universe at Zero Latency locations around the world starting on Sept. 25th. Follow the link to learn more about the experience and how you can book your tickets in advance. Meanwhile check out the teaser video below...
(6/30/2024) The first Monopoly Lifesized attraction will be coming to the US as a traveling attraction, and will be first set up in Colorado by October 2024 by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
(6/16/2024) As much as it may surprise some of you readers, I’ve stayed completely out of the realm of the No Limits roller coaster simulator software. I remember what it was like when Roller Coaster Tycoon first came out, finding myself in an endless time-suck, losing hours upon hours, lost in the matrix of those early days of theme park simulation. Being a husband and father of three… I knew better than to go down the No Limits rabbit hole, and instead just chose to enjoy other’s creations over the years.
While things from the software’s creators have been quiet since the dawn of the pandemic, I was alerted this week to the arrival of their first news post since January 2020. Apparently the first new DLC in over four years is now available for No Limits 2 users, adding an officially licensed Vekoma MK1101 coaster style to use. The new add-on is being offered only through Steam, and they've posted instructions for anyone who has purchased the stand-alone version to get a free Stream key to gain access to this update.
With new development obviously taking place now, perhaps this is a sign that even more things are to come.
(5/25/2024) For years we’ve seen numerous Flight Simulator attraction and later Flying Theater attractions, but are you ready for a Hot Air Balloon Simulator? Fulldome.pro , who are known for the creation of projection dome technology for numerous others, are now offering a Balloon Simulator. Through the use of a vertically installed wrap-around dome offering a full 360º view as you drift off on what will seem like a authentic balloon flight.
The size and scope of these can be designed to custom fit the available space, as the first version is now open at Espace Ballon, a Swiss hot-air balloon museum, where guests climb into a balloon style basket positioned in front of a half-sphere like dome screen. Fulldome.pro has also launched their “Super Ride Dome” which positions riders in the middle of a near-full sphere shaped projection system, which I believe could also be combined with their new Balloon Simulator concept.
(4/30/2024) An interesting partnership was struck between Lucra and the gaming/entertainment center giant, Dave & Busters, this week. The goal seems to be to take the experience of visiting a Dave & Busters location, which is typically all about the games you play, and with the aid of Lucra, to create a new “full immersive experience” that they can roll out to Dave & Busters locations nationwide.
The new partnership will see Lucra’s “proprietary gamification software” to be integrated into the Dave & Busters guest app, which will allow the chain’s loyalty members “to digitally complete with each other, earn rewards, and unlock exclusive perks while competing with friends at Dave & Buster’s - bringing together the sports arena and the arcade for an unparalleled, gamified experience.”
While we have yet to see what the final experience will feel like, the concept of adding an increased layer of Gamification through competition with other on-site players does sound like a fun new addition that could definitely keep some guests on site longer and turn into the opportunity for increased revenue.
(4/6/2024) Back at the end of 2023 you may recall reading that at the end of the final live performance of the band KISS they previewed how the band would live on forever in Avatar / Hologram form. The details of exactly how this would happen moving forward were still to be worked out but now we have the next piece of the puzzle.
KISS has now officially sold their “music catalog, brand name and likeness” to Pophouse, the company behind the official ABBA Voyage hologram concert show in the UK. This comes as no surprise, as they were also involved with the creation of the preview avatars along with JOCOUP Creative. Pophouse was created by ABBA singer, Bjorn Ulvaeus, so they have a good idea of how to translate the live performance experience into this next generation format.
According to the write-up over at Blooloop, they confirm that the first KISS hologram style concert project is in development and expected to launch sometime in 2027. It is also interesting to note that Pophouse has also acquired Cyndi Lauper’s music catalog as well, giving us a glimpse into another future project from the endeavor.
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE - (12/23/2023) A quick congratulations goes out to Maurer Rides and Carnival Cruise Line today for the official first launch of the Carnival Jubilee taking place today, which features another Maurer Rides “BOLT” coaster mounted to the top of the ship. The Carnival Jubilee is the newest Excel Class vessel, the largest in the fleet, and the third such design following the launch of the Carnival Mardi Gras in 2021 and the Carnival Celebration in 2022, which were the first two to feature the BOLT coaster, a custom variation of Maruer Ride’s Spike coaster concept.
Look for the Carnival Jubilee to take to the waters on her maiden voyage today, departing from Galveston, Texas for the time being, while the sister ships depart from Port Canaveral (Mardi Gras) and Miami (Celebration).
(9/30/2023) Carnival Cruise Line has announced plans to open a new private beach resort destination on the south side of Grand Bahama to be called Celebration Key. They’ve already opened bookings for the 12 different ships that will journey there starting in 2025 from eight different homeports, ranging from the ports you would expect in Florida as well as ships departing Galveston, New Orleans, Baltimore, Norfolk and Mobile.
Development of the new destination is ongoing but it from what we can see, it looks like the plan is building a sea-dock, allowing walk-on/off access to the cruise ships, eliminating the need for using tender boats to shuttle guests to and from the shore. In addition to beach access, it also appears that a giant man-made inland lagoon will be created, along with more cabanas, splash pads and even small waterslides.
Currently Carnival Cruise Line ships on routes in the Bahamas stop at Princess Cays, a facitlity they co-share with sister company, Princess Cruise Lines.
Celebrity Cruises - (4/14/2024) If you’ve planned a trip on Royal Caribbean cruises with a stop at their private island destination, Perfect Day at CoCoCay, then you may want to prepare yourself for the island to be a little more crowded than you may have anticipated. According to this article a deal has been struck with Celebrity Cruises that will see those ships and passengers also stop to enjoy the exclusive destination 48 times between April 21st and the end of the year.
For those who have been looking for a way to get out and try the semi-exclusive CoCoCay waterpark attractions without the extra cost of taking a lengthy Royal Carribbean cruise, several of the Celebrity Cruises itineraries departing from Ft. Lauderdale will be short 3-day cruises that will make CoCoCay as their only stop on the entire itinerary, with fares as low as $277 per person for the trip.
Now, this news shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to those with extensive knowledge of the cruise industry, as Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean are both owned by the same parent company, in much the same way that Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruises are also owned by one company, with both lines making stops at their own private beach destination, Princess Cays.
IAAPA - (11/9/2024) For those keeping track, the annual IAAPA Orlando Expo will be taking place from Nov. 19 to Nov. 22, 2024. It has become a normal thing for parks and attraction developers to save some of their big announcements for the year to take place during the IAAPA trade show, so I thought it might be nice to list a few pending announcements that are already scheduled that week. This won’t be a complete list by any means, but these are some of the ones we know of so far that may involve major attractions or the unveiling of new attraction technology.
Brogent Technology, a force behind many media based attractions and flying theaters, will be hosting a press conference at their booth on Nov. 21 at 11am where they are set to reveal a new model of their “s-Ride” that will offer a “unique riding position” for the flying theater experience.
Extreme Engineering is announcing their ‘next chapter’ on Nov. 19 at 4:50pm.
Falcon’s Beyond says they have a major announcement to make about the growth of the company on Nov. 19 at 4pm.
Triotech will be holding a press conference on Nov. 19 at 3:30pm to unveil a large new IP based project they are working on.
VidantaWorld will be announcing something about the future of the their BON Luxury Theme Park in Mexico with a presentation featuring the Exec Vice-Chairman of Cirque do Soleil and the VP of Sales & Marketing from Vekoma and the CEO of Mack Rides on Nov. 19 at 12:45pm.
(9/24/2024) IAAPA has announced that the first IAAPA Expo Middle East will take place in Abu Dhabi from March 30 through April 2, 2026 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
(11/28/2023) IAAPA and Liseberg have announced some changes that will be made regarding the 2024 Applause Award program.
Starting in 2024, the Applause Award, which has only been issued bi-annually since the inception, will become an Annual award. They have also confirmed that the scope of the locations to be considered for an Applause Award will be broadened beyond just theme parks, it will now also be considered for waterparks, zoos, and resorts that meet the qualifications.
In 2024 the Applause Award announcement will also move away from the IAAPA Expo event to the new “IAAPA Honors” celebration, taking place for the first time in Las Vegas on March 3, 2024. IAAPA Honors will celebrate the 2024 IAAPA Hall of Fame inductees, the 2024 IAAPA Service and Young Professional honorees, and winners of the IAAPA Brass Ring Awards.
“The Applause Award was one of the first awards celebrating the amusement- and theme park industry”, says Andreas Veilstrup Andersen, President and CEO, Liseberg Group and Chairman of The Applause Award Board of Governors. “With the transition into an annual award, and with a somewhat broader definition of what an amusement or theme park can look like in the 21st century, the award will continue to stay relevant and even better reflect the ever-evolving attractions industry.”
“We are very excited that the Applause Award will join IAAPA Honors. The idea with this new event is to celebrate excellence in the global attractions industry but also put an emphasis on what each one of the attendees can learn from the award winners to improve their own business,” says Jakob Wahl, CEO & President of IAAPA.
The last recipient of the Applause Award was Tokyo DisneySea in 2022.
LEGACY ENTERTAINMENT - (6/3/2024) Legacy Entertainment has been announced as the lead designer for the upcoming Beijing Haichang Ocean Park. The new marine themed park was first announced back in 2023 and is now expected to open in 2027, drawing an estimated 3.5 million visitors annually. Operated by the Haichang Ocean Park group, the park is intended to ‘strengthen the Beijing Sub-Central Cultural Tourism Zone, already home to Universal Studios Beijing.”
Over the last decade, the Legacy Entertainment team has been responsible for the design of several of the world’s most celebrated Aquariums and Oceanariums. Among these are The Sea Shell at VinWonders Phu Quoc in Vietnam, and the recently-opened Chimelong Spaceship, which currently holds seven world records. Legacy has previously collaborated with Haichang on the design of their flagship park in Shanghai. The 5 billion RMB park, which opened in 2018, has received a wide array of awards and accolades since its debut in 2018, including being named “China’s Best Theme Park” by numerous organizations.
MSC Cruises - (6/15/2024) MSC has announced that their new MSC World America ship is expected to launch cruises from Miami in April 2025. This will be the line’s latest “World Class” ship, and offer a variety of experiences for kids, including unique new LEGO branded experience such as a LEGO character parade, the LEGO: Family Zone, and a LEGO Game Show. Other family attractions will include a “BOXES” family game show, Doremix Family Disco and the largest Doremiland kids play area in the fleet, a Star Shooter VR experience, a ropes course called The Harbor, a Sportplex and more.
This is all in addition to the previously announced Cliffhanger swing ride we mentioned earlier this year, that will swing guests out and over the edge of the ship.
(4/13/2024) MSC Cruises has unveiled details about their latest thrill creation coming to one of their vessels. As we’ve reported numerous times, today’s modern cruise ship designers frequently borrow concepts from the amusement park sector when it comes to adding new and unique new attractions to these massive floating resorts. MSC last hit the headlines when they premiered the Robotron (A KUKA robotic arm ride) on the MSC Seascape in December 2022.
Now MSC Cruises has announced Cliffhanger, a unique swing ride, that will dangle guests over the side of the MSC World America vessel. Four guests at a time will be loaded into seats on deck level and then raised up and lifted out over the edge of the ship to swing back and forth approximately 50 meters over the surface of the water.
When the MSC World America launches in Spring 2025 with voyages departing from Miami, it will also feature bumper cars, a small outdoor waterpark, and based on artwork shown, it appears to have a ropes course with a zip coaster, a massive dry spiral slide, and some other yet to be announced amenities.
NEON / Victory Hill - (11/6/2024) NEON has announced that their new Harry Potter: Vision of Magic attraction will be ready to open at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore on November 22, 2024. This latest edition of the “Harry Potter: Vision of Magic” product is bigger than the initial version that is currently touring Europe and in Belgium, with the new Singapore version feature two entirely new environments, including an experience about the “whispers of Parseltongue” in the Chamber of Secrets and a series of rooms protecting a legendary treasure behind The Trap Door. Visit the official site to make your reservation to visit.
(8/19/2024) NEON has been quite busy as of late, reported to have opened six new experiences in six different countries, using four different IPs over the span of just 22 days. The list includes the opening of:
Impressions of Monet at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore
Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs in Cologne, Germany
Harry Potter: Vision of Magic in Brussels, Belgium
Jurassic World: The Exhibition in Mexico City, Mexico
Jurassic World: The Exhibition in Melbourne, Australia
Jurassic World: The Exhibition in Manchester, UK
(1/12/2024) If you missed visiting Jurassic World The Exhibition while it was in Atlanta, it is now too late. The temporary attraction has now closed up shop and the dinos are being shipped off to an all new destination… Houston, Texas. According to the official website Jurassic World: The Exhibition will open on the West side of Houston starting on March 8, 2024 at the Katy Mills mall.
(12/17/2023) NEON has announced a new partnership with their ANIMAX subsidiary who create stunning animatronic figures with the famous Boston Dynamics robotics company. The goal is to mix Boston Dynamics’ amazing robotics technology with ANIMAX’s own stunning figures and animatronics to create captivating experiences “in ways that were previously unimaginable”. This is a big step forward for ANIMAX who push their own creative mantra of “Get Closer” to “create intimate, immersive narratives that bring technology and audiences closer than ever.” They say that the joint effort between the two groups will culminate in a major reveal to come at the end of 2024.
While ANIMAX is known for creating the many figures used in the various NEON exhibits throughout the world, such as the new Harry Potter: Vision of Magic, Jurassic World, Avatar, Marvel, Transformers and more, the group has quietly produced some big-name products for major theme park attractions. In particular over the past couple of years, if you’ve seen or visited Super Nintendo World at Univesal Japan or Hollywood, I’m told that ANIMAX was responsible for many of the animated Nintendo character figures.
Boston Dynamics on the other hand is not only an expert in industrial robotics, but has become known for their untethered autonomous robotic creations such as the four-legged SPOT robots and the bi-pedal ATLAS. With this in mind, I can’t wait to see what the combined efforts of both groups are able to come up with.
Netflix - (6/22/2024) The decline of the American brick-and-mortar retail market may end up being Netflix’s gain! What… wait? Netflix is to benefit and not just Amazon? That is starting to look to be the case, as Netflix has announced they will open new “Netflix House” immersive entertainment centers inside shopping malls in Texas and Pennsylvania in 2025. Netflix will build their new Location Base Entertainment (LBE) attractions inside former retail store venues at the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania and the Galleria in Dallas, Texas.
According to Blooloop, the Netflix House attractions will provide immersive experiences that will be regularly updated, as well as offering retail and food offerings that will tie into the themes of your favorite Netflix programs as well. Up until now Netflix has opened a number of limited time Netflix House themed experiences in 25 different cities across the world, offering a range of experiences themed to Netflix IP hit series such as Brigerton, Stranger Things, Squid Game, Knives Out, Army of the Dead, Money Heist and more. These latest two sites will be on a grander scale, taking up residence inside former department store locations, “covering an area of more than 100,000 square feet.”
Norwegian Cruise Line - (11/5/2023) Norwegian Cruise Line has announced details about their newest vessel, the Norwegian Aqua when it sets sail in April 2025. The ship will feature a “roller coaster-waterslide hybrid’ called Aqua Slidecoaster. This will be a dueling pair of watercoaster slides that will use magnetic lift to propel the rafts through the courses. The ship will also feature a “Glow Court” digitial sports arena by day with an LED floor that will transform into a nightclub after dark. The ship will also feature it’s own version of ‘The Drop’, a fry spiraling free-fall slide that first premiered on The Norwegian Prima in 2022.
Princess Cruises - (8/25/2024) As the various cruise lines have begun to enter a sort of arms race to develop and add their own take on unique custom thrill attractions to their latest ships, it was almost inevitable that we would see one project stumble along the way. While some might have expected it to be the impressive Bolt powered roller coasters installed onto the Carnival Mardi Gras and Jubilee vessels, our first major failure appears to be from sister line, Princess Cruises.
In mid 2023 Princess Cruises announced the details about a unique new “ride” they were installing onto their latest and greatest vessel, the Sun Princess. The highlight was something called the Sea Breeze Rollglider, which is essentially a powered zip-coaster experience. The manufacturer was never named, but given the name used and some concept art, it matched up with the Rollglider line of products. These are not new, as the company says they’ve installed at least 41 of these around the world so far in three different styles: the Extreme Rollglider (more like an inverted roller coaster with a lift hill and a traditional steel support structure), the Panoramic Rollglider (less thrills, more for a peaceful installation in a nature setting, allowing for the track to be suspended from trees), and then there is the Electric Rollglider which needs no lift hill or gravity slope, and can be installed as a flat level attraction, using a powered vehicle system. (If you’ve been to Area 15 in Las Vegas, you’ve seen this very system in action, sending guests flying through the air on the tracks attached to the roof.)
So what happened on the Sun Princess? The Sea Breeze Rollglider was to be one of several attractions included in a fun-zone called “Park19”, that would also include a variety of other outdoor attractions like a ropes course, slides, and a net climbing experience. Currently the Sun Princess has been sailing around the Mediterranean and European ports, but is slated to relocate to sail out of Fort Lauderdale starting in mid October 2024 through to March 2025 before returning to the Med for next Summer.
The problem is, according to what reports I’ve been able to find, that Park19 has failed to ever completely open, though the attractions have been built. In total there were said to have been 8 attractions included in the Park19 experience, and thus far only the more mild ones have opened. Open attractions in the area include a splash pad, a jogging track, a sports court space, hammocks (all extremely common on many ships) and something called Infinite Horizon, which is a sort of leaning glass wall that tilts over letting guests look down upon the lower decks below.
However after months of guests hammering the line on social media, asking when the Park19 experiences were going to finally open, Princess finally relented with a disappointing response in late July. Prior to this, the company line regarding the closed status of Park19 was that they were waiting on final “safety certifications” on the various attractions before they could open.
However, this was updated with an official statement sent to Cruise Fever in late July 2024 stated that, “We regret to announce that Princess is unable to accept delivery of the RollGlider, Coastal Climb, and Ropes Course features within Park19 aboard Sun Princess and those experiences will not be opening.” It went on to say that they are looking into developing those areas into some kind of “future recreational opportunities”.
The wording is extremely strange, claiming they are ‘unable to accept delivery’ of attractions that have already been fully installed onto the ship for nearly the past year, many of which were seen being tested in early Spring 2024, with crew telling guests they were expecting to have them open by May. So now you’ll never get to experience the RollGlider at sea, along with the more simple ropes course attraction and Coastal Climb, which was a kid friendly net-crawl style experience up a couple of levels that ended with a slide experience back down two levels to the deck below. It is also worth mentioning that a social media report from guests on the Sun Princess in July 2024 confirmed that the splash pad attraction was also now not working as well.
Essentially, anything worth truly mentioning as being a marketable and unique feature on the Sun Princess, making up the Park19 attraction, has been scuttled, but unfortunately these large installations will still be a present and ongoing eyesore for guests for many months to come, until Princess can find the time to remove them. Some of this work could take place in mid October as the Sun Princess relocated to Fort Lauderdale on the morning of Oct. 9th and does not set sail again until Oct. 14th, giving them 5 days to potentially remove the ropes course or RollGlider track perhaps, but not nearly enough time to add anything new as a replacement. Otherwise, Princess has a fairly full schedule for her between now and the end of October 2026, so nothing may change for quite some time.
Meanwhile Princess is also set to launch a sister ship, the Star Princess, in October 2025. Star Princess was supposed to be a copy of the Sun Princess, complete with the full array of Park19 experiences, with an original launch date expected in Summer 2025 which has now been pushed back twice to the current October 2025 timeline. I can’t help but think that the current issues with Park19 on the Sun Princess may be to blame for some of the delays on the Star Princess, allowing them time to possibly rework the space into something new. Currently the official Princess website makes no mention of Park19 on the Star Princess, with the area only labeled as ‘Coming Soon’ on the current deck plans. Meanwhile the Sun Princess deck plans have now relabeled Park19 as simply “Jogging Track”.
(6/21/2023) The thrill ride arms race amongst cruise lines is clearly on, as the decks of the latest monster vessels are now commonly adorned by various amusement structures. Climbing Walls, Water Slides, Zip Lines, Go Kart, Robot-Arm Rides and even the Bolt powered roller coaster. The latest creation comes from Princess Cruises who has announced that their new Sun Princess will feature a ride they call the Sea Breeze Rollglider. The creation is sort of a hybrid between a zip-line and an inverted roller coaster. Guests are strapped to hang under the track which is electrically powered to propel them at speeds up to 11mph around a track that runs over the top deck.
The new Sun Princess will first tour the waters around the Mediterranean in 2024 before setting sail to begin cruising from Fort Lauderfale’s Port Everglades cruise terminal later in the year. The Sun Princess is the first of the line’s new “Sphere” class vessels and a sister ship to the Sun Princess is also in the works with a planned 2025 launch date.
Check out the animated preview of the new Sea Breeze Rollglider in the video below.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line - (11/9/2024) The concept of major cruise lines featuring stops at private islands or private beach clubs destinations is only growing. According to the latest headlines Royal Caribbean is working on adding three private ‘beach club’ destinations to their planned stops in Nassau, Paradise Island and Cozumel. Unlike the experience of a stop at the Perfect Day at CocoCay, these new beach club additions will require an extra charge to visit if you want the experience.
That said, it sounds like a second “Perfect Day” style experience is also in the works for Mexico’s Costa Maya port, as Royal Caribbean is working on plans to create a “Perfect Day Mexico” beach resort and water park experience after finalizing a $292 million deal to purchase the port itself and nearby land attached to create the new offering. Look for the port to be added to the line’s Western Caribbean itineraries starting in 2027.
Meanwhile look for Royal Beach Club Paradise Island to be offered in 2025, and Royal Beach Club Cozumel in 2026.
(9/24/2024) Royal Caribbean will launch their next Icon class vessel, Star of the Seas, in August 2025. The massive ship will begin service with runs out of Florida’s Port Canaveral at that time as the twin to Icon of the Seas, which is currently the world’s biggest cruise ship. Icon has made waves with guests from the impressive waterslide collection being offered along the top decks and a collection of other amazing attractions and Star of the Seas is expected to offer an extremely similar, if not identical, line-up of attractions.
(3/16/2024) Just a heads up for anyone cruising the Caribbean currently, especially if you are booked on Royal Caribbean. Due to the rise of violence in Haiti, Royal Caribbean has suspended all stops in Haiti, including at their private beach port of Labadee on the northern side of the island. In thrill ride circles, the Labadee area had become known for featuring the amazing Dragon’s Breath zip line experience as well as the Dragon’s Tail alpine coaster.
(1/29/2024) Our friends at Attractions Magazine have posted some new videos of the big highlight waterslides on Royal Caribbean’s new Icon of the Seas. This includes a look at the Storm Chaser mat-race slides, Storm Surge, Hurricane Hunter and the tallest drop-pod slide on the seas today, Frightening Bolt.
UBISOFT - (11/19/21) Storyland Studios and Ubisoft have announced the development of the first ever Ubisoft Entertainment Center will take place at Studios Occitanie Mediterranee on France’s Mediterranean coast, in 2025. This is supposed to be the first of many venues where guests can immerse themselves in the various worlds from Ubisoft games.
The first location will also be home to a film studio and feature many other entertainment and retail opportunities, and happens to also be “in the region of Montpellier, home of the Ubisoft studio that created our iconic characters Rayman and the Rabbids.” The attraction will feature some all new entertainment concepts as they push forward with all new gamification technology.
Also still in the works between Ubisoft and Storyland Studios are plans to eventually create a full scape Ubisoft theme park project. I think the development of this smaller attraction does represents a big step forwards to the goal of eventually opening a full scale park, but testing the waters of the various Ubisoft IPs, as well as being a creative sandbox to test out ways to interact with new innovative attraction concepts.
Virgin Voyages - (12/4/2024) Got a spare $120,000 and enough time-off saved to go on Vacation for an entire year? Or maybe you’re ready to quit and take some time for self reflection… as long as you have $120k, I’ve got the deal for you.
Would you believe that Virgin Voyages is now selling a very limited number of Annual Passes that will allow for you, and a guest, to sail on Virgin Voyages as much as you want for an entire year. Any ship… any itinerary…
I’ve been fortunate enough toi sail with Virgin twice now and I loved it… but I don’t have $120k laying around, or the time-off from my job, so this deal isn’t for me. But man… it would be a great way to report on attractions from around the world from a virtual office at sea! Check out the details here.
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Warner Brothers Discovery - (9/6/2024) Is Warner Brothers looking to get back into the attraction’s biz? According to the latest update, the new “Warner Brothers Discovery” restructure has created a new global division to oversee ‘Experiences, Parks, Exhibitions and More”. The purpose is to bring all of the teams that oversee the various studios tours, touring attractions and location-based experiences all together into a single team.
The goal of this new “Global Experiences” team will be to strategically expand and pursue new business opportunities in order to capitalize on the brand’s various Intellectual Properties.
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