Green Tagged: Theme Park in 30

While Disney's income dip isn't exciting for investors, it signals that the tourism industry continues to moderate post-pandemic. Six Flags and Cedar Fair also released their final separate earnings; there's hope in those reports. Meanwhile, Universal has hijacked the news again by expanding Halloween Horror Nights to New York City. 

During the D23 Fan Expo last weekend, Disney confirmed plans for a new Villains Land expansion in Magic Kingdom, delighting fans and media alike. The announcement immediately drew comparisons to Universal's recent Dark Universe announcement. While this seems like a new season of 'Theme Park Wars' - how much of it was planned? In other words, are the two using each other to draw crowds and reduce t...

Universal kicked off the modern theme park ‘immersive’ trend with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010 – and now, it plans to up the ante. In 2025, as part of EPIC Universe, Universal Orlando Resort will debut its third installment of Harry Potter-themed lands with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. The central ride ‘Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry’ is Univ...

NBCUniversal Theme Parks division saw a 10.6% drop in revenue in the second quarter, and they’re attributing the drop to post-pandemic equalization; should we be concerned? Also, Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights announced the all-original haunted house, “Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines,” and Union members at the Disneyland Resort voted to authorize a strike against the resort.

Country Bear Jamboree opened last week, and features popular Disney songs from other IPs - is this world building on Disney's part, or world destruction? Also, Scott has something to say about the new Tiana's Bayou Adventure. 

The Mega Movie Parade opened to much fanfare at Universal Studios Orlando, two years after the previous daytime parade, Universal’s Superstar Parade, which closed in 2022. The parade targets a broader demographic and signals Universal’s continued testing to balance pricing and investment. Two more ways Universal is trying to find a balance include the express for Multi-Night Halloween Horror Night...

Following approval from the DOJ, the newly merged Six Flags operates 27 amusement parks and 15 water parks across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. All 42 parks will retain their legacy branding for now, and the company has signaled new investment in rides and enhanced park offerings through intellectual property. Also, Dark Nights at Hersheypark has added a fifth haunted house for the upcoming Hallow...

Six Flags unveiled partnerships with an expansive lineup of horror franchises to debut this Halloween season and is focusing development on the New Jersey, Los Angeles, and Mexico markets. Two of the franchises mentioned - Stranger Things and Texas Chainsaw Massacre - come from the Netflix catalog, which announced two new themed experience venues in Pennsylvania and Texas.  The story behind all th...

Universal Orlando Resort unveiled details about Dark Universe, one of the worlds coming to Universal Epic Universe in 2025. Dark Universe will feature a dark ride (Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment), a spinning family coaster (Curse of the Werewolf), a Monster Makeup Experience, character meet and greets, dining, and shopping. As the only ‘non-IP’ area at Epic Universe, we think Dark...

Universal's new lagoon show, Cinesational, opened to the public this week, and A Quiet Place haunted house will use American Sign Language. Knott's Berry Farm has added a hotline for guests to report line jumpers, but will this worsen the issue? Scott and Philip debate why line jumping is more of a problem now; is it a generational phase or low staffing and opportunity? 

Universal is testing a ‘Premium Scream Night’ package that allows guests to ‘preview’ Halloween Horror Nights the night before opening – will it perform better than Taste of Terror, and can smaller attractions try something similar? Also, Saudi Arabia expands its tourist bubble with its first gender-inclusive wave pool; Illuminarium Las Vegas introduces a show inspired by Hasbro’s Lite-Brite; and...

IAAPA Expo Asia concluded last week, having returned to Thailand after 17 years. The show welcomed 4,623 verified attendees, 352 exhibiting companies, and 3,187 qualified buyers from 2,480 companies. Philip attended the show, and we recap his takeaways in this episode. 

Philip visited Fantasy Springs and has a trip report to discuss. Scott believes the era of food festivals is over, and Halloween Horror Nights has already announced 5 haunted houses.

This week: Arrivals in Japan are set to surpass the annual record of 31.9 million seen in 2019, but this is causing friction among the locals; Qiddiya Investment Co. incorporates SEVEN to advance the Saudi entertainment industry; United Parks reports slight gains to start the year; and Cedar Fair and Six Flags are Struggling in Q1. 

Airbnb debuted 11 Icon experiences as part of its Summer 2024 Release and many of them are full-on themed experiences. As a bonus episode, Philip brings you into the room where Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky unveiled the Icon experiences. Explore the detailed theming of all 11 experiences in the full recording of the Airbnb press conference. See photos from Airbnb here .

Disney finally saw a profit in streaming, so why did its stock fall 10%? One answer could be theme park jitters. The "evidence of a global moderation from peak post-Covid travel" has raised concerns for Disney, despite the approval of DisneylandForward, robust Halfway to Halloween announcements, and new research showing travel spending in California reaching an all-time high of $150.4 billion in 2...

Universal released details about SUPER NINTENDO WORLD coming to EPIC Universe in 2025 while earnings at Universal Parks slipped during the past quarter. Elsewhere, Six Flags explained how AI will roll out in its properties, and Airbnb recreated the house from UP.

A Tram collision injured 15 at Universal Studios Hollywood, but does that mean the park has a safety issue? Meanwhile, EPCOT cuts a month from Food & Wine, Donkey Kong is delayed, and Japan is concerned about Overtourism. View the full show notes here .

Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris will be renamed Disney Adventure World , marking an official shift from 'how it's done' to immersive lands. Also, the Disneyland union contracts are up again, and we tackle a listener question regarding closures in Las Vegas. 

Abu Dhabi has announced it's 2030 tourism development plan, and we'll dive into the highlights. The 26 key metrics are divided into 4 main pillars that they hope will bring in 40 million visitors by 2030. 

Universal Orlando made history by announcing that Halloween Horror Nights will begin on August 30th, while select Unmaking the Horror tours will start on August 11th - this is one step closer to the three-month Halloween window Theme parks have been vying for decades. Meanwhile, Bob Iger pushed back against shareholders questioning whether Disney is prepared for Epic Universe.

This week we delve into the Isle of Berk details at Epic Universe and the world's first Dragon Ball theme park . 

This week: Scream Break returns to Six Flags Magic Mountain; Mattel Adventure Park is coming to Kansas City in 2026; New Walt Disney World drone show will soar above Disney Springs; ‘Phantom of the Opera’ VR coaster is coming to Europa-Park this spring. 

This week, Disneyland Forward Moves one step closer to approval, plus a roundup of expansions elsewhere. 

We discuss the 2024 Transworld's Halloween & Attractions Show, LIVE from St Louis.