Chinese Theme Parks

Martial Media, Culture and Other Arts Off Topic
1

I stumbled on this article today and figured a thread dedicated to Chinese theme parks might be amusing. Anyone ever been to one? They are a trip for sure.

Click the link below for a haunting gallery

China’s abandoned “Wonderland”
Once billed as the largest amusement park in Asia, the unfinished “Wonderland” park now stands derelict, a worrying sign of China’s property market.

The entrance to an abandoned building leads into a derelict amusement park called ‘Wonderland’, on the outskirts of Beijing December 5, 2011. Construction work at the park, which was promoted by developers as ‘the largest amusement park in Asia’, stopped around 1998 after funds were withdrawn due to disagreements over property prices with the local government and farmers. With local governments often dependent on land sales to fund payments on a staggering 10.7 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) of debt, Beijing worries that a collapsing property market will trigger a wave of defaults that in turn will hit the banks. More worrisome, the property market, which contributes about 10 percent of Chinese growth and drives activity in 50 other sectors, could drag the real economy to a hard landing. Picture taken December 5, 2011. REUTERS/David Gray (CHINA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION)

Other related theme park threads
Wudang Taiji Theme Park
Bruce Lee Memorials
Splendid China - Ghost town of an Amusement Park
Kingdom of Little People
TCM theme park
Love Land
Taekwondo Park (not China, but martial)

2

Window of the World. I saw the one in Changsha a few years ago. The stage shows at night were quite good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_of_the_World

3

World Chocolate Wonderland

World Chocolate Wonderland website (Chinese only)

Chocolate Theme Park Opens In China, Boasts Edible Terracotta Army
Huffington Post Alastair Plumb First Posted: 2/12/11 11:35 GMT Updated: 2/12/11 11:42

When the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, decreed his people to make him a terracotta army to protect him in the afterlife, it’s a safe bet he wasn’t expecting anyone to make chocolate replicas of his troops nearly 2000 years later.

But exactly that has happened, with the “World Chocolate Wonderland” theme park opening in Shanghai, China as part of the Himalaya Art Museum’s collections.

Hundreds of different objects - from lifesize BMWs to minature robots - have been made out of chocolate and icing, bringing the world a museum that will no doubt have its visitors salivating as they walk round it.

Despite being a 20,000-square-metre attraction, the park’s biggest crowdpleaser is definitely its chocolate army, boasting human-sized models as well as smaller, more intricate versions.

Curious chocoholics will also be able to create their own blend of sugary cocoa at the museum too, though chances are it’s not going to end up shaped like ancient Chinese soldiers. Sorry about that.

For more images from the “World Chocolate Wonderland” theme park, check out this gallery below - it’s got everything from Transformers to giant $100 bills. Seriously.

China’s Chocolate Fashion Looks Good, Tastes Great!
by China.new


A rather tasteful fashion show at World Chocolate Wonderland in Shanghai, China, featured clothing and accessories made from delicately (and deliciously) carved & crafted chocolate.

World Chocolate Wonderland in Shanghai is aid to be China’s largest chocolate theme park, which leads one to assume China is awash in chocolate theme parks not that this is a bad thing (yum!). In any case, being the biggest of anything is no longer good enough to garner headlines these days. Solution? Stage a chocolate fashion show, of course, and on December 15th, 2011 that’s exactly what transpired.

Now one might think clothing made from chocolate is impractical to say the least: remember melts in your mouth, not in your hands? Not to worry (or anticipate), the featured chocolate duds are supported by fabric bases and although they might not keep the wearer warm, at least they’ll sate the appetite between meals.

Five Chinese fashion designers were selected to create the high-calorie clothing and accessories shown at the opening event: Taiwan’s Kang Yen-Ling (), Helen Lee () of Shanghai, Beijing-born Tan Siyuan (), and a pair of mainlanders: Hsu Feng-Yu () and Lin Guodong (). Each designer was charged with fashioning 2 chocolate articles each.

The challenge of creating clothing and accessories using chocolate was no piece of cake, as it were. In fact it took nearly 3 months of close collaboration with World Chocolate Wonderland’s organizer to finally arrive at the range of chocolate fashions displayed at the runway show.

By the way, if you missed the December 15th intro showing, no worries: the chocolate-themed articles crafted for the show are on display at World Chocolate Wonderland, along with over 200 chocolate art pieces, from December 16th through February 19th of 2012… that is, unless hungry visitors succumb to sweet temptation first.

4

a kung fu theme park would be fresh.

5

I knew there was something here

I couldn’t quite put my finger on the trend that inspired this thread until this article.

December 27, 2011 – Updated December 27, 2011 11:57 HKT
Theme parks enter a new Golden Age

Investment in theme parks and cutting-edge attractions like Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando rose during the recession, suggesting the business is entering a new Golden Age.

“It’s almost like a Theme Park 2.0, or a re-boot,” said Brent Young, co-founder of the Super 78 production studio in Hollywood, California. “We are really coming into a second Golden Age in theme park development,” he said.

The 1st boom, which peaked in the 1970s, saw extensive construction of theme parks in the United States from the ground up.

Development of Walt Disney World, Six Flags, Busch Gardens and numerous regional parks led to a saturation of the US market by the 1980s.

The New Era is a Global phenomenon propelled by technological advances and a growing middle-class in Asia and emerging countries. In the US there is a squeeze on the middle-class. But in other parts of the World, there is an expanding middle class.”

China is experiencing a theme park construction boom comparable to what occurred in the United States in the 1970s.

The coming Disney park in Shanghai triggered an expansion of the Chinese regional theme park company Happy Valley. Disney broke ground in Shanghai in Y 2011, and anticipates a Y 2015 opening.

In the past when Disney has opened in a region of the World, it has encouraged others to enter. With the Shanghai Disney park, one expects a similar increase in construction and development.

The New Golden Age is marked by the additions of highly themed and immersive experiences using state-of-the-art technology.

The huge success of the Harry Potter ride at Universal Orlando, which executives say boosted attendance by 50%, has increased demand.

Since that attraction opened in June 2010, Universal has been breaking its attendance records.

Spending on new attractions in the United States also is up, estimates are that spending rose 30-35% over the past 2 yrs, following 4 yrs of mostly stagnant attendance and deep discounting at parks. Much of the new spending is on redevelopment and additions to existing parks according to an industry source.

Several examples of recent investment in the central Florida tourist hub include; Sea World Orlando’s planned overhaul of its Penguin exhibit to include state-of-the-art interactive ride technology, and the just-completed revamp of the historic Cypress Gardens ski-show park in Winter Haven into a LegoLand.

Ride manufacturers who met in Orlando in November for the annual International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions convention have never been busier, they are almost at capacity for the next couple of years according to reports.

Experts said the end is not in sight, thanks to technological advances that will continue to create demand.

Within the next 10 yrs, the experts expect attractions will enable park guests to feel as if they are sharing space with fully rendered 3-D characters and other nearly unimaginable experiences, it will be like going to the 5th dimension.

Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr

Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr. writes and publishes The Red Roadmaster’s Technical Report on the US Major Market Indices, a weekly, highly-regarded financial market letter, read by opinion makers, business leaders and organizations around the world.

Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr has studied the global financial and stock markets since 1984, following a successful business career that included investment banking, and market and business analysis. He is a specialist in equities/commodities, and an accomplished chart reader who advises technicians with regard to Major Indices Resistance/Support Levels.

6

Some more

Here’s a 15 photo essay from TIME:

Theme Parks in China

In the last few years, the Chinese have opened over dozens of amusement and entertainment complexes in a dizzying array of styles and motifs

Speaking of Windows of the World, wolfen, check this out:

Chinese Theme Park Opens ‘Angry Birds’ Attraction
By Frances Romero | @Frances_Romero | September 8, 2011


The Window of the World amusement park in Changsha, China recently opened an Angry Birds attraction as part of its month-long “stress-reducing festival.”

Visitors to the new attraction use giant slingshots to launch plush-toy birds into the air at pig balloons. Although the Angry Birds game was created by Finnish company Rovio, the new playground is located in the Window of the World’s American Zone, near a scaled down version of Mt. Rushmore. Angry Birds has been purchased by millions across the globe, making Rovio’s app one of the most popular ever. The attraction at the Chinese park, however, is not licensed by Rovio, which led to speculation that a lawsuit could be on the horizon.

But PC World reports that rather than threaten a lawsuit, Rovio has started negotiations with the park to possibly set up a long-term partnership. A stress-reducing attraction available year-round? Bring it on.

7

Ghanzhou

I remember being in Ghanzhou in 1986 and wandering into the weirdest theme park I had ever seen… double loop de loop roller coaster, amusement park etc all for workers ‘‘between jobs’’ LOL!! Scared the crap out of me going on that one considering the physical state of the place :’ S

LFD

8

Oddball Asia and Killer Birds

Counterfeit World of Warcraft
(Located in Changzhou, Jiangsu province)
! Jiade! Well at least that’s another Chinese theme.
Similar to the licensing problems with Angry Birds in Changsha, but no negotiations here - just subterfuge by renaming exhibits.

http://consumerist.com/2011/07/counterfeit-wow-theme-park-opens-in-china.html

…it’s a total knockoff. They didn’t pay Blizzard, the company behind those two games, a dime.

The folks over at Shanghaist visited the park and took lots of pictures and detailed the experience. The place is massive. There are statues all over the place taller than a grown man with characters from the two video games. The funniest part is how even though they stole all the details and characters from the games, they know they can’t go all out and call it “World of Warcraft Land” (although from the initial schematics that surfaced online a few months ago made it look like that was basically their original intention). They have to come up with their own phraseology. So Warcraft World is called “The Terrain of Magic.” The Starcraft ripoff zone is called “Universe of Starship.” The entire park is called “World Joyland.”

Haw Par Villa
(You don’t want to look at the disturbing exhibit pictures on this link, do you?)

I saw the Tiger Balm Garden Theme Park in HK (Mythology and Chinese Culture) but it was demolished i n 2004. It was interesting but tame by comparison.

http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/haw-par-villa-the-most-disturbing-theme-park-in-singapore.html

I mean this place will really blow your mind, with statues like a woman breastfeeding her father in law, armed monkeys, or the human faced giant crab. Now these apparently do make some sense if youve read up on Chinese mythology, but to an uneducated guy like me they just look freaky.

Not to mention the Ten Stages of Hell exhibit, a place that will creep the hell out of a grownup, let alone a child. According to Chinese mythology, a soul must pass through ten courts of judgment, before being allowed into heaven, and Haw Par Villa has very detailed representations of these trials. As youre about to see, they are not pretty.

All in all, Haw Par Villa is still considered a must-see attraction for people fond of Chinese culture, and efforts are being made to restore it to its former glory. If you want my opinion, dont take your kids with you
…

Helllllllo Kitty!

http://www.odditycentral.com/news/just-what-the-world-needed-hello-kitty-theme-park-opens-in-tokyo.html

‘Human eyesight just can’t stand all that pink’ :stuck_out_tongue:

[QUOTE=GeneChing;1150524]

Speaking of Windows of the World, wolfen, check this out:[/QUOTE]

Yes, I noticed the Angry Birds are in Changsha.

Some birds are more equal than others…

9

I’ve been to Haw Par Villa in Singapore

That place was wonderfully weird. The Buddhist Hell depiction was awesome. There was this statue of King Yama and people would make offerings to it. Mostly, it was cigarettes stuffed in Yama’s mouth, but someone had left a huge cow tongue with him when I was there. It added authenticity to the hellishness.

I’ve published a few photos from that to add color to some of my past articles. I’d have to really dig through the archives to remember which ones, however.

I’ve been meaning to start a thread devoted to Buddhist Hell up in the Shaolin forum.

10

Clean Politics Park

Best
Theme Park
Ever.

If only they had a rollercoaster. :wink:

Beijing hopes to tackle corruption with Clean Politics Park
By Tom Han**** | January 31, 2012, 7:39 AM PST

BEIJING - As anyone in China will tell you, solving the country’s ongoing problem of political corruption is no walk in the park. Unless you’re walking through Beijing’s “Clean Politics” park, that is.

The 50 acre public park, which opened last June, takes “Clean Politics” as its theme. Built on the bank of the ancient canal that once linked Beijing with Southern China, statues of exemplary government workers from China’s past fill the park. Yu Chenglong, a famously honest eighteenth century civil servant who is the subject of the Chinese opera “The Honest Official,” gets his own statue, as does the first local government official to join the Communist Party.

The park also features some abstract sculpture. One giant effort resembling a broken Rubik’s Cube is plastered with the Chinese character “Qin,” meaning hard work, and there’s also a spherical statue called the Harmony Ball. Even the plants reflect the theme of political honesty. The orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, and plum blossom plants surrounding the statues are known as the “Four Gentlemen” in traditional Chinese art.

The park is part of a wider “Clean Politics” education drive.

One statue shows a government official in front of large bronze mirror, “Government officials can come look in the mirror themselves when they visit the park, and consider if they’re truly honest,” Chen Jie, a local resident visiting the park with her husband, said. Plastic signs made to look like tree trunks stand at intervals throughout the park, containing speakers which broadcast inspirational sounding electronic music, including the theme song from the film “Chariots of Fire.”

Political corruption is widespread in China, which ranked 78 out of 179 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index last year. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called corruption “the biggest threat” to the country’s stability in comments last March. The head of Beijing’s city disciplinary committee, the government body responsible for investigating corruption, was present at the park’s opening ceremony.

China’s government sees investment in “Clean Politics Education,” as one way of reducing corruption, and Beijng’s Clean Politics Park is not the first of its kind in China. The city of Taiyuan advertises itself as having the largest Clean Politics themed park in northern China, which is a “key site for the spreading of clean political education,” according to local media. A similar park in Yulin, Southern China features statues of corrupt government officials as examples to be avoided. In total, at least eight Chinese cities have similar parks.

But on a cold and windswept January morning, visitors to the park downplayed the park’s political implications. “I’m just here for the scenery,” Chen said.

Chinese city boosts tourism with homegrown theme parks
English.news.cn 2012-01-19 18:51:28

HEFEI, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) – Most U.S. citizens know the city of Orlando for its cornucopia of amusement parks and other tourist attractions. The city of Wuhu is building a similar reputation in China, with domestically developed theme parks attracting thrillseekers from all over the country.

“I can’t imagine a park like this being in China. I think it rivals the theme parks found abroad,” said Wu Mei, a tourist from Shanghai, after watching a film at the Fantawild Adventure Theme Park, located in Wuhu in east China’s Anhui province.

The park is different from many others in the country in that its high-tech rides and attractions were completely designed and built in China. Fantawild Holdings, based in the city of Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong province, owns two theme parks in Wuhu.

“The company has a research and development team of over 1,000 people, allowing it to update its products with new designs to keep people interested,” said Hu Guanghua, marketing director of Fantawild’s Anhui branch.

In 2011, the Fantawild Adventure Theme Park received 2.33 million people, up 10 percent year-on-year. More than 10 million people have visited the Fantawild parks in Wuhu over the last four years, making the city a popular tourist destination.

Before the theme parks opened, large tracts of empty land were a common sight in Wuhu. Large hotels, restaurants and retailers were rarely seen, said Kong Lingcai, an official from Wuhu’s Communist Party of China (CPC) committee.

But less than two years after the parks were built, more than 100 hotels and restaurants were opened in the city, Kong said.

The city’s job market is also booming. Hu said the Fantawild parks in Wuhu employ over 2,000 people, while related industries in the city are employing even more.

The city government plans to build more parks over the next five to 10 years, aiming to create a “theme park complex” in the city.

“We hope to build Wuhu into an ‘eastern Orlando’,” said Xiong Taixiang, vice director of the Wuhu government’s cultural industry development office

The “eastern Orlando,” however, will not be a mere copy of the U.S. city, but will include more Chinese content, as can be seen in the decor at the Fantawild parks.

“We are trying to integrate Chinese culture with our high-tech facilities,” Hu said.

The construction of a theme park based on China’s intangible cultural heritage is expected to start in Wuhu this year.

11

Slightly OT

I just wanted to post this because of Napoleonland.

What do Angry Birds, Noah and Napoleon have in common?
By Jayne Clark, USA TODAY
Updated 48m ago


By PATRICK LIN, AFP/Getty Images
They’re all destined to become theme park attractions, that’s what.

An Angry Birds attraction will debut in the Sarkanniemi theme park in Tampere, Finland in April, Attractions Management reports. The attraction has the blessing of Rovio Entermainment, the Finnish developer of the popular mobile game. (This was not the case in September when a Chinese theme park rolled out its own – unlicensed – version of Angry Birds in which competitors used giant bird-loaded slingshots to knock off enemy swine as part of a month-long stress reduction festival.)

Meanwhile in France, a right-leaning former government minister has proposed a Napoleonland theme park as a counterpart to Disneyland Paris, about 40 miles away. The idea reportedly got a thumbs up from French President Nicolas Sarkozy (dubbed “Napoleon in a suit” by one French political commentator).

Not surprisingly, some British commentators have their knickers in a twist over the news.

“Why simply take your children to pose with Mickey Mouse when they could be re-enacting the battle of Trafalgar in a giant aquarium – or dry-skiing past frozen corpses from Napoleon’s desperate retreat from Russia?” writes a columnist for the Guardian.

And this from London’s Daily Mail: “To British eyes it may seem extraordinary that a French president should associate himself in any way with a man whose actions led to the deaths of millions of people — and whose defeat paved the way for British 19th century supremacy, reducing France to the rank of a second-rate power where, let us be honest, it has remained.”

Ouch!

Closer to home, the group behind a giant Noah’s Ark-themed attraction in northern Kentucky has purchased the final land parcel for the project – 800 acres in all. But fundraising efforts are slowing its progress, the AP reports.

Answers in Genesis, the group behind the $150 million Ark Encounter, say they’ve raised about $5 million thus far, but are seeking $24 million in donations.

All of these plans are kind of wild, but if distance weren’t an issue, which image would you pay to see? Angry Birds, Napoleon or Noah?

12

Universal in Tianjin?

I never thought this thread would become such a barometer of China’s growth.

Wait, Mrs. Dangerfield? :confused:

EXCLUSIVE - Universal in early talks on China park, joint venture
By Ronald Grover
Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:43pm IST

REUTERS - Tianjin, China’s sixth-largest city, has held preliminary talks with Comcast Corp’s NBC Universal about a joint venture to build a theme park in the port city, according to the head of a Chinese trade delegation visiting Los Angeles.

The Tianjin city government also intends to meet at a later date with other Hollywood studios, angling to become the latest to partner with U.S. media conglomerates and develop entertainment for China’s growing consumer base, while fostering a future generation of local filmmakers.

“We are establishing a center for culture and creativity and we want to become partners with the biggest and best companies in this area,” Tianjin Vice Mayor Cui Jindu said through an interpreter in a phone interview with Reuters. “They have a lot of experience in this.”

It can take years to hammer out theme park agreements in China, as Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) learned with its Shanghai endeavor. Several cities, including Beijing, have reportedly vied in past years for such high-profile investments, eyeing the prestige attached to a major global tourist attraction.

The Chinese official, part of a delegation in Los Angeles on Academy Awards weekend, convened at the home of Joan Dangerfield, the widow of comedian Rodney Dangerfield.

Dangerfield is a partner in the Beverly Hills-based consultant, Opus 73, that links foreign investors with U.S. companies.

Cui did not indicate that a deal with Universal was imminent, but he said Tianjin – city of about 10 million within easy distance of Beijing – could partner with the major Hollywood company to build a theme park and perhaps even a studio.

“There are still hurdles to overcome,” he said, adding that his city was prepared to provide a financial contribution to any joint venture created. Any partnership would also need regulatory approval.

The Chinese delegation intends to make initial contact with other studios and will talk with other companies in addition to Universal before making a decision.

“We want to talk with Warner Brothers, with Disney and others,” he said. “We are at the beginning of this.”

Universal declined to comment.

Other Hollywood studios have recently formed alliances with Chinese companies and governmental units.

On February 17, “Kung Fu Panda” creator DreamWorks Animation SKG said it planned to build a production studio in Shanghai in a deal that was announced while Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping was visiting Los Angeles, wrapping up a U.S. trip.

Last April, Disney broke ground on a $4.4 billion resort in Shanghai that will include a theme park and hotels, and be majority-owned by three large state-owned media or construction companies.

In May, Tianjin itself opened a $690 million animation studio to help boost its local animation industry.

The Chinese delegation, which arrived two days before the annual Academy Awards ceremony, had no plans to attend the Oscars event itself, Cui said.

“But we will attend some of the peripheral events,” he added.

13

Dragon Wings / High Five

This sounds…dangerous.

High Five wooden roller coaster to debut in China
(Gravity Group)
March 13, 2012|By Brady MacDonald | Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

A racing wooden roller coaster debuting this spring at a Chinese theme park will feature a first-of-its-kind element in which riders in dueling trains reach out toward each other and attempt to exchange high-fives.

Dubbed the High Five by the American ride designers, the wooden coaster opening in April at Happy Valley Wuhan will be officially known as Dragon Wings.

Riders traveling in parallel trains along banked tracks during the unique High Five element will tilt inward 90 degrees, allowing their upward raised hands to almost touch during the near-miss moment.

PHOTOS: Dragon Wings wooden coaster at Happy Valley Wuhan

Designed by Ohio-based Gravity Group and built by Canada’s Martin & Vleminckx, Dragon Wings becomes only the third wooden coaster in China, where theme park visitors approach the rare rides with an unusual mixture of overwrought apprehension and unbridled glee.

Dragon Wings begins with a side-by-side ascent to the top of a 105-foot-tall lift hill. During the first drop, the twin Philadelphia Toboggan trains crisscross before racing into the marquee High Five element at 55 mph. Splitting into opposing banked turns, the trains then speed toward each other for a head-to-head pass. Racing side-by-side again, the trains navigate a weaving quartet of over-under passes before dissipating their remaining energy along a sequence of airtime camelback hills.

Four steel coasters are also planned for the grand opening of Happy Valley Wuhan, including an S&S Worldwide compressed air launch ride known as Extreme Rusher and a pair of Maurer Sohne rides – a Sky Loop dubbed Flight of Phoenix and an X-Car called Magic Express.

Located about 500 miles west of Shanghai equidistance between Beijing and Hong Kong, Happy Valley Wuhan will become the fifth in a chain of parks by the Overseas Chinese Town group. OCT operates Happy Valley parks in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu with a sixth park expected to open in Tianjin in 2013.

The new Happy Valley Tianjin park will also include an out-and-back woodie created by the Gravity Group/Martin & Vleminckx team. In 2009, the team built China’s first wooden coaster on a spit of land surrounded by water at Happy Valley Shanghai.

The new Happy Valley Wuhan park will include 30 rides and attractions set amid eight themed lands:

Dream Street - Shops and restaurants along an entrance promenade similar to Disneyland’s Main Street USA.

Happy Hour - A circus-themed land with twin drop towers, a carousel and a wave swinger.

Speed World - An adrenaline-filled land with a launched coaster and a pendulum swing.

River City - A waterfront-based land that’s home to the Dragon Wings wooden coaster.

Hurricane Bay - A themed landed based on a small American town with water rides and a 4-D theater.

Paradise - An environmentally-focused land featuring gardens with bird and animal exhibits.

Fishing Island - An island with a 400-foot-tall observation tower overlooking a lake.

Magic Castle - A children’s area with a family coaster, a junior drop tower, a carousel and a 4-D theater.

The new park will also include a Mayan-themed water park called Maya Beach with racing slides, speed tubes and circular bowls.

Global Theme Parks Market to Reach US$31.8 Billion by 2017, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global report on Theme Parks markets. World market for Theme Parks is projected to reach US$31.8 billion by the year 2017. Growth will be primarily driven by increased consumer per capita spending on entertainment and leisure platforms, and growing base of middle class households, increasing disposable incomes, urbanization in developing countries, and waxing popularity of mass entertainment.

San Jose, California (PRWEB) March 14, 2012

Follow us on LinkedIn – Theme parks are outdoor locations, which offer specialized amusement along a preconceived theme. Traditional theme parks comprise various themed lands containing rides (roller coasters, etc), games, concerts and themed events originating from specific subjects such as countries, myths, fairy tales and movies, among others. Theme parks are usually planned to serve as a fun outing for the entire family, and they are considered a form of leisure activity as they offer an opportunity for entertainment during an individual’s discretionary free time.

North America and Europe represent mature markets for theme parks with growth in visitor attendance stabilizing. Increasing competition from other modes of entertainment, continuing economic woes such as high levels of unemployment, and widening deficits will continue to challenge growth in these markets. Future growth in the world theme parks market will stem from developing countries in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East. Asia represents one of the fastest growing regional markets worldwide largely as a result of strong economic growth, rising standards of living, income levels, discretionary income, and increased per capita spends on entertainment/leisure. China, which houses few of Asia’s largest theme parks, is witnessing healthy growth.

A key noteworthy trend in the theme parks market is the park within a park concept. Most of the parks are adding second-gate attractions and a number of hotel rooms as part of attempts to restructure parks into integrated resorts, capable of operating throughout the year. Investments in park upgradation such as installation of new rides, creation of new zones in the park, deployment of interactive and wireless technologies including Wii, RFID badges, and kiosks, to make the park more interactive and lively, are all expected to help bolster attendance in the upcoming years. Another key technology trend, is the move towards adoption of simulation technologies, and virtual reality to replicate natural scenarios. High-end visual imagery with sophisticated special effects designed to optimize visitor experience is forecast to result in magnetizing greater crowds to the parks.

World market for theme parks, which witnessed growth sag in the year 2009 as a result of the recession’s downward pressure on consumer spending, staged a recovery in the years 2010 & 2011. In Europe despite the concerns over the debt crisis, international attendance at European theme parks continues to hold up. The depreciation of the Euro amidst the pressures exerted by the eurozone debt drama is positively benefiting tourism in Europe with the number of middle class Asian tourists increasing in the region. In the event of the Greek crisis further pulling down the Euro, luxury goods in Europe is expected to become cheaper. This thereby will result in increased number of travelers from Asia, especially China, for cheaper luxury shopping. The strengthening RMB and a weakening Euro is making travelling to Europe cheaper for the Chinese. This higher influx of outbound tourists into Europe is expected to help theme parks in the region withstand the debt crisis.

As stated by the new market research report on Theme Parks, the United States dominates the world market. Strong growth is however expected to stem from Asia-Pacific, with the region projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% over the analysis period. Focused promotion of entertainment and tourism by governments in Asia is expected to improve per capita spending and attendance in theme parks in countries such as China, India, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Major players in the marketplace include Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Islands of Adventure, Lotte World, Magic Kingdom, Samsung Everland Inc., Six Flags Inc., The Adventuredome, Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, among others.

The research report titled “Theme Parks: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, drivers, issues, competitive scenario, strategic corporate developments, and profiles of major/niche global as well as regional market participants. The report provides annual revenue estimates and projections for theme parks for the following geographic markets – US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East/Africa, and Latin America.

For more details about this comprehensive market research report, please visit –
http://www.strategyr.com/Theme_Parks_Market_Report.asp

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) is a leading publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company currently employs over 800 people worldwide. Annually, GIA publishes more than 1300 full-scale research reports and analyzes 40,000+ market and technology trends while monitoring more than 126,000 Companies worldwide. Serving over 9500 clients in 27 countries, GIA is recognized today, as one of the world’s largest and reputed market research firms.

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14

Yeah I dunno if I’m down for wooden coasters. I’m just sayin’…

And the high five thing. Do they make you sign a release before you ride? I dunno. One retard and you got a multi-million dollar lawsuit on your hands.

Well, maybe not. I dunno much about litigation in China. As far as I know when a complaint is made they will line up honor guardsmen to slap the plaintiff with leather gloves till he takes back his claim.

Seriously though. Two coaster coming at each other. Hey let’s let them reach out and touch each other as they fly by in this new high tech wooden coaster!!! WTF???

This just isn’t gonna end well.

15

Snoopy & Transformers

MCM Wins Competition for Design of Outdoor Snoopy Amusement Park

MCM wins competition for the design of the outdoor Snoopy Amusement Park in Beijing. The park is designed to become an iconic feature of the Qinghe Gongjian Shopping Mall providing children with year-around entertainment.

MCM Group was selected, in part, for its extensive experience in attraction design, and having worked on multiple children’s projects throughout China. MCM has worked on dozens of theme parks and attractions throughout the world. As lead architect Juan Gutierrez notes, “MCM Group is exceedingly cost-conscious in creating, exciting attractions while minimizing expenditures, and delivering in incredibly tight deadlines.” The park design from Concept through Construction Documents is due in the spring of this year.

The Outdoor Snoopy Amusement Park will be an open venue with free admission. Composed of ten distinctly unique main areas, the park is themed around Charlie Brown’s backyard. Bright colors and bold graphic designs create an atmosphere of great fun with high energy. The entrance of the park is Snoopy’s Dog House that opens onto a raised platform with a view of the entire park. Larger than life Snoopy characters welcome visitors and tall flower sculptures embellish a puppet theatre made from a school bus.

Additional activities and structures include a Snoopy train and Peanut characters playing an array of sport activities. Adjacent to the train ride is a garden maze and nearby is a toddler’s playground. The center of the park is a large Snoopy themed carousel. MCM works closely with Chinese ride manufacturers to ensure high quality, entertaining attractions that can be delivered on budget and in a timely manner.

More pix on this Transformers park if you follow the link.

Chinese Artist Creates Transformers Theme Park
By Spooky on March 28th, 2012


It might look like the set of a new low-budget Transformers movie, but Mr. Iron Robot is actually a newly-inaugurated Transformers-themed park in Jiaxing City, China’s Zhejiang Province.

49-year-old artist Zhu Kefeng and his team have spent the last 10 years building giant metal robots from recycled iron and steel parts. He started out by making a realistic model of a car, then opened his own studio and began creating more intricate sculptures. He soon started doing commission work for people who liked his art, and for large orders he even set up a recycle bin where people could donate discarded metal parts. Zhu started working on Mr. Iron Robot theme park in 2010, with the money he had raised for selling his metal sculptures and his apartment in Shanghai. He and his team of collaborators worked hard and managed to turn an old abandoned factory into a modern attraction featuring over 600 Transformers-inspired sculptures.

Asked why he dedicated so much time to creating a kids’ park, Zhu Kefeng said “I still remember the joy I felt when playing with iron toys during my childhood, and I wanted to share that joy with children so I decided to build a theme park. The joy shared with others is even more enjoyable.” Every one of the Transformer-like sculptures at Mr. Iron Robot theme-park is made from recycled metal parts from used cars and motorcycles, and old machinery. He’s definitely not the first Chinese to build his very own Transformers, but I’m pretty sure he built the most.

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More Angry Birds

China loves that game.

May 9, 2012 8:50 am
Angry Birds Maker Rovio Plans for Amusement Parks in China
By Michael Kan, IDG News

Mobile game publisher Rovio is planning to build theme parks in China revolving around its hit product Angry Birds, months after a local amusement park in the country sought to cash in on the franchise’s popularity with its own real-life version of the Angry Birds game.

Rovio has already established an official Angry Birds theme park on its hometurf of Finland. But the company aims to do the same in China, where Rovio has been actively expanding with official Angry Birds games and merchandise localized for the market.

The company plans to build Angry Birds theme parks, ranging from small to large in size, across various cities including Beijing and Shanghai, said Paul Chen, general manager for Rovio China on Wednesday. The first parks will appear this year, but more will roll out over the next 18 to 24 months, he added.

The Angry Birds game itself has reached more than 100 million downloads in China, according to Chen, who spoke at event part of the Global Mobile Internet Conference being held in Beijing this week. But to expand into China, Rovio has been forced to wrestle with online piracy and intellectual property infringement in the country.

This made news last September, when a Chinese theme park opened a new attraction called “The Real Version of Angry Birds,” allowing visitors to catapult bird-shaped balls at targets with a large slingshot. The theme park did not receive permission from Rovio to create the game, Chen said. But Rovio is in talks with the Chinese theme park on possible partnerships, he added.

Rovio’s own theme parks in China will be more like the one offered in Finland, which features a combination of rides and large play structures for children. But the company also wants to incorporate some digital elements visitors’ experience at the parks, Chen said. This will include exclusive Angry Birds content, such as animations or game levels, beamed to smartphones.

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Fantawild & Smurfs

Here’s Fantawild’s website. I don’t think I know any of those cartoons. :o

Chinese theme park goes global
Updated: 2012-05-22 09:40
( Xinhua)

BEIJING - A Chinese Disneyland-style amusement park, the Fantawild Theme Park, will be completed and open for business in Esfahan, Iran, by the end of this year.

The park’s owner, Shenzhen-based Fantawild Holdings, has also signed export agreements with South Africa and Ukraine. Projects are being prepared in both countries, said Liu Daoqiang, vice president of Fantawild Holdings.

According to Liu, like Disneyland, the Fantawild site will export the whole package of brands, technology, products and management.

The Fantawild Adventure Theme Park, with a large variety of amusement facilities featuring high-end technology such as 4-D animation, was firstly built across an area of 1.25 million square meters in Wuhu, central Anhui province.

In 2011, the six Fantawild theme parks in operation in China, raked in a revenue of 1.26 billion yuan ($199 million).

The Wuhu park has registered 11 million visits since opening in April, 2008. Liu said on Thursday that Fantawild’s blueprint is to have 10 to 13 theme parks across China, with annual ticket sales of three billion yuan by the end of 2015.

The park is different from many others in the country in that its high-tech rides and attractions were completely designed and built in China.

Fantawild Holdings, like Disney, is primarily an animation producer, with an animation output of 18,512 minutes last year, the longest in China. “These cartoons were both aired at home and exported to other countries, and the cartoon development capacity also makes innovation in our amusement facilities possible,” Liu said.

I didn’t know they were into Smurfs in Sichuan

‘The Smurfs’ theme park planned in SW China
Updated: 2011-09-15 15:14
(Xinhua)

CHENGDU - Papa Smurf and his merry band of blue-skinned friends will have a new home in China, with the construction of a “Smurf”-themed park scheduled to take place in the city of Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China’s Sichuan province, over the next three to five years.

The amusement park will be built with an investment of 20 billion yuan (about $3.2 billion) by Chengdu Teda Sino-Europe Construction Co., Ltd. in collaboration with IMPS, an international merchandising company based in Belgium, according to a report released by DTZ, a global real estate advisor.

Chengdu Teda said on its website that the agreement with IMPS was actually reached in July 2010, but did not say when the construction will start or where the park will specifically be located.

The park is expected to receive around 10 million visitors a year, making it a tourist destination on par with Chengdu’s giant pandas.

The Smurfs, designed by Belgian cartoonist Peyo in 1958, became popular after starring in their own television series in the 1980s. This summer’s live-action and animation film “The Smurfs,” starring Neil Patrick Harris and pop star Katy Perry, received a warm welcome from Chinese audiences.

In France, a “Smurfs” amusement park struggled to survive during the 1990s. The park is still there, but no longer features a “Smurfs”-related theme.

18

I went to the Sino-centric version of “It’s a Small World” in Shenzen.
Here’s a link to the place:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297415-d491514-Reviews-China_Folk_Culture_Village-Shenzhen_Guangdong.html

All the local folks were having a great time! Unfortunately I didn’t share
any of their cultural knowledge and had nothing to get nostalgic over
with any of the attractions whatsoever. Lesson learned!

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Iron Heroes Military Theme Park

Well this sounds fun. What a great place to take the kiddies.

Military theme park a big bang for fans
Updated: 2012-06-14 08:14
By Zheng Xin ( China Daily)

Want to fly a fighter jet? How about plumb the depths in a submarine? Or perhaps you’d like to run about in full army fatigues, shooting at your pals?

Well, you’ll soon be able to, at Beijing’s newest attraction: Iron Heroes Military Theme Park.

Covering about 20,000 square meters in Olympic Forest Park, the park has military exhibitions, re-created battle zones, high-tech simulators and mock war games.

“Visitors can experience a ride in a J-20 stealth jet, or the navy’s proposed 095 nuclear-powered submarine,” said Zheng Changjiang, director of Yueshikong, which has set up the park in cooperation with the China Association for Culture-Promoting Industry and the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ science communication research center.

Military theme park a big bang for fans

“By recreating battle scenes, military buffs and other visitors will be thrilled by the hyper-reality experience,” Zheng said. “In addition, the explanation and interpretation by military experts at the park will add to visitors’ knowledge.”

Ma Chenxue, a bank clerk in Tianjin, has been a military enthusiast since boyhood. He said he has been looking forward to such a park for too long.

“There are several military parks in China, but they are either museums with square-toed military history or amusement arcades for kids,” he said. “This is a pioneering work in that the theme park combines knowledge and fun.”

As well as being able to take part in interactive games, visitors can also learn through the trip.

The Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution has provided about 100 models of the most advanced weapons and military equipment, including an Apache helicopter, a Humvee and a Type 99 tank.

Wang Guoji, deputy director of the China Association for the Culture-Promoting Industry, said the park will help popularize the science and consciousness of national defense.

“Besides providing firsthand experience for military enthusiasts, the military theme park will get more of the public interested in the field,” said Wang.

With an investment of about 20 million yuan ($3.14 million), Zheng, whose father is a soldier and has been interested in war movies since childhood, said the park is also a fulfillment of his own dream.

“I had always longed to be a member of the air force and being in the park makes the dream come true, for a while at least,” he said. “Hopefully all the other military fans can feel their dreams come true.”

20

Slightly OT

KFP theme park? From China, Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Jersey just feels like a fail.

DreamWorks Animation Announces Plans for Meadowlands Amusement Park
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
Published: July 10, 2012

The Hollywood studio DreamWorks Animation has struck a deal to bring Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and other animated movie characters to a planned amusement park as part of a revived entertainment and retail mall in the New Jersey Meadowlands.

It would be the first theme park based on the studio’s animated movies since DreamWorks’s earlier plans for parks in China, Abu Dhabi and Dubai failed to work out. DreamWorks has sought to capitalize on the huge popularity of its films, much as Disney and Universal Studios have in the United States, Europe and Asia. The indoor theme park would include rides, attractions and a glass-enclosed wave pool incorporating characters from the studio’s movies.

The partnership between the developer, Triple Five, and DreamWorks is a rare bit of good news for a site that has sat vacant and unfinished since May 2009, when the previous developers ran out of money after spending $1.9 billion on a five-story complex just west of Manhattan, near MetLife Stadium, called Xanadu.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation, confirmed the deal, saying the theme park would involve the studio’s “characters, storytelling and technology in a unique and innovative family entertainment experience.”

Triple Five, the developer of the Mall of America, has renamed the project American Dream and drawn up plans to make it even bigger, with nearly 1.7 million square feet of retail space, an indoor ski hill, indoor sky diving, bowling, an aquarium, a live theater and the 14.7-acre amusement park.

But the project continues to be dogged by delays. In announcing a tentative agreement between the current owners and Triple Five in May 2011, Gov. Chris Christie said he expected the developer to strike a deal with the owners and get financing for the project by the end of 2011 so that American Dream could be open for the 2014 Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium. But executives working with Triple Five now say that $1.75 billion in financing will not be completed until October and that the complex will not open until September 2014, seven months after the Super Bowl.

Triple Five, which is owned by the Ghermezian family, has built two of the world’s largest and most successful entertainment malls. But the company faces special challenges in the Meadowlands, the least of which are the local blue laws that prohibit retail activity on Sundays.

Many retailers say they are reluctant to get involved with the project because of its troubled history. “There were enough false starts that retailers want to see some substance,” said Ron DeLuca, a partner at R. J. Brunelli & Company, which represents a roster of retailers who had signed leases at Xanadu. “Until American Dream becomes a reality,” he said, “it is difficult to get retailers to make hard commitments.”

The Jets and Giants, which both use MetLife Stadium, filed a lawsuit last month seeking to block construction of the project, saying it threatens to “clog the complex’s already congested transportation networks” on game days, when 80,000 fans converge on the stadium.

The State Transportation Department approved the project, however, and Triple Five moved on Tuesday to dismiss the suit.

The deal with DreamWorks provides the project with some Hollywood cachet and underscores Triple Five’s emphasis on entertainment.

Entertainment conglomerates like DreamWorks say they view theme parks as a way to expand revenues for an industry buffeted by piracy, flagging DVD sales and a drop in network television viewers.

The theme park industry is slow growing in North America, said John Robinett, senior vice president of economics for the Themed Entertainment Association, although the recent creation of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios in Florida and a $1 billion makeover tied to “Cars” characters at Disney’s California Adventure park in Los Angeles have raised attendance substantially.

Triple Five is hoping DreamWorks can do the same in the Meadowlands, where it says it hopes to attract 55 million visitors annually. But that may be easier in Minnesota or West Edmonton, Canada, where Triple Five already operates.

“Not only does northern New Jersey not lack for shopping malls; there are a lot of destination attractions,” said David L. Malmouth, a developer in San Diego and a former Disney executive. “Manhattan is a pretty compelling theme park in its own right.”