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Attractions news | Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge app | Lionsgate Entertainment City | Six Flags Dubai

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Blooloop briefing attractions news parques reunidos cancels lionsgate entertainment city

Welcome to the blooloop briefing; a roundup of attractions news from the last seven days.

In the news this week – Parques Reunidos cancels Lionsgate Entertainment City developments in New York and Madrid; MOA water park edges nearer; DXB Entertainments will pay Six Flags $7.5m for the right to cancel Six Flags Dubai theme park; plans for Snow Abu Dhabi announced; artwork for the £332m new Museum of London revealed and how to use the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge app.

Watch the news in 3 minutes

For a quick run through the week’s most eye-catching stories see our briefing video:

Read the news in 5 minutes

Theme parks

Parques Reunidos is to terminate the contracts for the opening of indoor leisure centres in Lisbon, Madrid and New York, at an estimated cost of €42m. The NY and Madrid attractions were a partnership with Lionsgate.

Cedar Fair has announced it is buying Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, Ohio. The attraction is located near Cedar Fair’s flagship amusement park, Cedar Point. The company will invest in upgrading Sawmill Creek.

DXB Entertainments will pay Six Flags $7.5m as part of a settlement agreement for the rights to decide whether to proceed with a Six Flags in Dubai, which was put on hold, over a period of five years.

Lionsgate Entertainment World, the movie-themed vertical theme park, has announced its grand opening date of July 31, when visitors can enjoy rides and attractions based on Lionsgate’s popular global film franchises.

Paultons Park has unveiled its latest expansion, Tornado Springs, a multi-million-pound Americana-themed world, opening in May 2020.

Museums

museum of london smithfield
Museum of London

The Museum of London has released designs for its £332m relocation to West Smithfield. The attraction is moving to its new home in 2024, and will exhibit more of its collection and increase its night-time offering.

Space Center Houston unveiled the restored Apollo Mission Control Center. Visitors will get a look at the restored flight control consoles and reactivated screens showing the images seen during the Apollo 11 mission.

Aston Villa Football Club is looking to demolish some of its current site, with future plans to build a museum, superstore and hotel. The club’s goal is to regenerate the whole park “in the near future”.

York Archaeological Trust has unveiled the first concept images of the potential Roman-themed visitor attraction in York. The pictures depict how the Roman Quarter, Eboracum museum and its exhibition space may look.

St Fagans National Museum of History has been named the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2019, beating four finalists and winning the prize of £100,000. The attraction is the first Welsh winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year.

Technology

play disney parks app star wars galaxys edge
Star Wars Datapad

Play Disney Parks creators have revealed how to use the app at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, explaining how to hack droids, translate alien languages, customise the experience, and pick sides.

Google Arts & Culture has recreated the Lion of Mosul, an ancient statue destroyed by ISIS in 2015, using crowdsourced photos and 3D printing. A replica of the statue will be on display at the Imperial War Museum.

Blooloop presented an educational hour on trends in projection technology for attractions with Bart Kresa at InfoComm 2019.

VR attractions trends were discussed in Blooloop’s session at InfoComm 2019 with social interaction and game mechanics being key themes.

Blooloop looked at Storytelling with sound: trends in audio at theme parks at InfoComm 2019.

Retailtainment

snow park abu dhabi
Snow Abu Dhabi

Reem Mall has released images and details of the world’s largest snow park. Snow Abu Dhabi is opening as part of the $1.2 billion Reem Mall project in 2020, and will feature 13 rides and attractions over several zones.

Nakheel Malls and Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club are creating a Zombie Apocalypse Park at The Night Market at Deira Islands, Dubai. The LBE attraction will feature VR, escape rooms, and haunted experiences.

The South Loop Waterpark at the Mall of America (MoA) is moving forward as Bloomington’s Port Authority and City Council are recommending Provident Resource Group as the nonprofit owner and operator.

Westfield London has created an AI powered pop-up shopping experience: The Trending Store, using machine learning to predict the latest fashion trends.

Zoos and Science Centres

Chattanooga Zoo, Tennessee is undergoing a $10 million expansion. ‘Reaching Great Heights Campaign’ will add giraffe and lion exhibits, as well as smaller African animal exhibits, as part of its ‘African Expansion’.

Zaha Hadid Architects has won a competition to design the New Science Centre in Jurong Lake Gardens, Singapore. The attraction, set for completion in 2025, will feature immersive learning experiences and improved educational facilities.

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Bea Mitchell

Bea is a journalist specialising in entertainment, attractions and tech with 10 years' experience. She has written and edited for publications including CNET, BuzzFeed, Digital Spy, Evening Standard and BBC. Bea graduated from King's College London and has an MA in journalism.

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