Theme Parks are in a bad spot. Guests coming to the parks is down, and big parks that were delayed from Covid aren't finished and need extra funds. However, there is still cool stuff like Halloween Horror Nights.
The arcade scene doesn't have any big announcements and seems to be getting by in its own way.
Theme Parks and Experiences
Automotive Theme Park with giant drag strip
The Ghibli Theme Park is awesome
Neal Stephenson and WETA Workshop are making an experience together
Muppet Vision 3D may be on the chopping block
Coraline has an artsy experience created near Laika studios
Universal UK Theme Park approved by majority
The first Netflix house will be in Dallas
Dragon Ball Theme Park announced. Mostly AI concept shots
A waterfall in China turned out to be fake. A hiker found a pipe pumping out water.
Immersive experiences in Las Vegas
Oregon has a theme park in the woods. I had no idea
A theme park called Fun Spot now requires anyone under 21 to have an adult with them when visiting. It's found in Orlando, and can be seen from Universal. I worked there when I first moved to Orlando. It's big by normal standards, but is dwarfed by Universal and Disney. It also has a policy to not stop any fight that breaks out in the park, so the employee doesn't get stabbed.
The Living Computer Museum in Seattle is closed for good. I loved this place, even though the GPS took me on a wild ride the first time I went there.
Blue Man group as a permanent performance feature is coming back to Orlando. It used to be a replacement for Nickelodeon studios, and is now heading to Icon Park
TPE: Halloween Horror Nights 33
Universal to have theme nights just like Halloween Horror Nights, for Geeks. Star Trek, D&D, Back to the Future are the ones talked about
All of the haunted houses and zones for Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando
The map for Halloween Horror Nights 2024
A tour of the tribute store for Halloween Horror Nights
A quiet place haunted house has sound and touch triggers so you have to walk carefully or be extra scared. I went with ASL folks, so it was especially weird.
Fast and the Furious is down, and big long rambly article follows. It's for a haunted house for HHN
TPE: Star Wars Hotel
How the Star Wars Hotel failed
The woman in charge of the failed Star Wars hotel has a new job away from Disney.
TPE: Attendance Down
Theme parks are down 10% from last year. Meanwhile expenses for theme parks have increased.
Attendance is down at Disney, which means they can't use it to prop up streaming.
It's down at Universal as well
Another article about attendance at Universal
Disney can't seem to grow anymore than it has already.
TPE: Evermore
The big evermore announcement of it's closure.
Evermore will change, and hints are laid out for fans to figure it out.
TPE: Disney d23 Announcements
Lots of stuff like new rides and a full Villain World
There's a lot of hype for it, but most fans I know think it's a bit of smoke and mirrors. They're announcing it, and even saying money is for it, but not actually going through.
Another article on the presentation
TPE: Universal Orlando
Lots of stuff at Universal. I went there the other day and enjoyed all the new stuff.
Themed audio at Universal Parking lot has been changed
Universal has a new day parade. It's a very nostalgic look at classic films.
TPE: Epic
The story of the design and building the new Epic Universal Park preview model
Orlando had less visitors while Japan had more
The new ride is shown off at Epic Celestial Park
The latest drone photos make it look like a ttrpg board.
Epic: Hotel
The new hotel has a lazy river and a lot of theming. If it's like Cabana Bay, then it's good.
It's called Helios and it's being integrated the same way Cabana Bay was with Volcano Bay. This is a good sign. The art Nouveau style is also cool.
It has fairly basic rooms, with a lot of add ons like an arcade.
Have the trailer
This changes how hotels are categorized at Universal
Epic: Harry Potter
The new Harry Potter world has been announced
It's at Epic and will be about the Ministry of Magic
Possible downsides to Epic
The announcement was made July 31st
News about one of the rides is now out.
TPE: Videogames
Resident Evil the experience will be at Universal Japan. It will not allow kids
The failed pokemon event in the Phillipines
https://ghostarchive.org/archive/EIgyk
VG: Super Mario World
Super Mario World has a new motion tracking game
More on the interactive wall
An article on the reveal
TPE: Kid Cities
A nice documentary on kid cities
Kidzania, a kid city, has a Nintendo game designer area
Arcade FEC Social Gaming
If you ever watch TV, movies, or photo shoots and see arcade games in the background, there is a specialized operator who supplies them. This is one of them. I know the one in Vancouver BC. He is a reseller with tons of connections.
Seattle got rid of its arcade license fee a year ago.
Giant screen will play sports and cultural events for audience. IE imagine watching the big game like it's almost in the stadium.
Arcade: Classics
Best Retro home based arcade cabinets this year
Jet rocket is an old Sega game that doesn't have a monitor or computer
Bellevue Washington gets a giant social interactive center by Mirra
A tour of SNK USA in 1995
Arcade run’n’Guns
A review of the Namco ND-1 arcade board
Arcade: Classic Fans
I don't really know where to put this one. A school in Hawaii has an arcade run by the students to teach them business and work ethics. They learn to Maintain machines, run a shop, and attract customers while some learn to make their own games. Seriously an awesome thing. A couple friends of mine are part of this, and they love it.
A teacher created an arcade to get his students more active. I'm sure that was his excuse.
A fan built the unreleased Lemmings arcade game
Yeah trying to find things to do like that is tough. Kids less interested in old cars and want flashy, and it's not easy to just get a look at without getting way too close to thuggish and childish behavior. We've talked about going to Monterey in a year or two, but that's still a stretch.
Look up Mario Andretti FEC. It's a franchise that has go karts, race simulators, and arcades while referencing good driving culture.
Lord help me of there was a Top Gear Theme Park