Read the news in 5 minutes…
Movie Park Germany coaster; Universal Beijing Resort construction; Toshimaen closure, Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter, California reopening; Disneyland’s Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway; Gulliver’s World extension, Disneyland ‘down under’, The Met open; Planet Word Museum debut; AREA15 opening; Big SNOW open; American Dream reopening; Vancouver Aquarium closure; Cornish Seal Sanctuary campaign; Paradise Wildlife Park habitat; Game of Thrones studio tour …
Theme parks
Movie Park Germany is building an immersive, multidimensional roller coaster to celebrate its 25th anniversary, launching in 2021. The indoor coaster will boast various special features.
Construction on the main buildings of Universal Beijing Resort is complete, and building work on the globe at the entrance is expected to finish in September. UBR is set to open in 2021.
Toshimaen amusement park has ceased operations after 94 years, making way for Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter, opening on the grounds of Toshimaen in 2023.
California state officials are “actively” working with Disneylandand other theme parks on a “very dynamic conversation” about how to reopen amid COVID-19, according to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Disneyland Resort president Ken Potrock confirmed construction is underway on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, now set to open in California in 2023. Potrock shared a timelapse video of the ride’s construction on Instagram.
Gulliver’s World Theme Park Resort has got the green light for a £5.6 million extension with themed accommodation and woodland lodges, known as the ‘Woodland Retreat’.
Disney fans are calling on The Walt Disney Company to create a Disneyland theme park in Australia, in a petition titled ‘Time for Australia to have our very own Disneyland!’
Museums
The Metropolitan Museum of Artreopened in New York after nearly six months of closure with innovative initiatives including timed entrance ticketing and free bicycle valet service.
D.C.’s Planet Word Museum, a new attraction with interactive exhibitions and high-tech displays, has shared its official opening date of October 22. The museum will celebrate words in all forms.
Brands
Councillors have granted planning permission for the Game of Thrones Studio Tour, an interactive tourist attraction located at Linen Mill Studios in County Down, Northern Ireland.
Retailtainment
American Dream teased that it has been ‘working hard on big projects’ during the coronavirus closure, as the attraction welcomed visitors back to its indoor ski park Big SNOW.
After Governor Murphy’s recent announcement, American Dream is reopening its attractions including Nickelodeon Universe, DreamWorks Water Park & The Rink on October 1.
AREA15, an experiential art and entertainment complex heading to Las Vegas, has unveiled its opening date of September 17, 2020. Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart is set to debut in early 2021.
Zoos and aquariums
Ocean Wise is set to pause all public programming at the Vancouver Aquarium, which will close to the public in order to transition to a new model of operation in response to COVID-19.
Merlin Entertainments announced the SEA LIFE Trust Cornish Seal Sanctuary’s new campaign to protect seal pups this winter season, known as ‘Put Pups First’, which will help to educate the public.
Paradise Wildlife Park is opening a new Amur tiger habitat featuring a pool deep enough for the tigers to be fully submerged underwater, known as ‘The Land of the Tigers’.
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