Not all themed attractions are created equal. Some are permanent, some are seasonal, and some attractions actually move from place to place, slowly travelling the world, not unlike the circus.
In fact, the circus is a great place to start, with a quick look at Feld Entertainment, which is perhaps the biggest company with expertise in travelling shows, including putting on live shows with various world-known IPs. Feld Entertainment is the force behind travelling shows such as Monster Jam, the Monster Energy Supercross, Disney on Ice, Marvel Universe Live, and the Jurassic World: Live Tour.
More than anything else however, Feld Entertainment was known for the world-famous Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, frequently promoted as “The Greatest Show On Earth”. Long before the rise of COVID-19, Feld shocked the world when it announced that the circus’ nearly 150-year run would be coming to an end in 2017.
At the time the company cited financial concerns over continuing to produce the Circus. Since at any given time, Ringling Bros. actually had two entirely separate travelling shows (the Red and Blue), each with its own different performers and animals, their concerns were valid. Mix this with the rising concerns over the use of live animals, especially elephants and big cats, and the company felt that the time was right for the circus to take a final curtain call.
Leap ahead to 2023 and we find that Feld Entertainment is now preparing to revive the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus later this year, but this time with an all-human performance act.
If this sounds familiar, then you may also be thinking about their biggest competitor, Cirque du Soleil.
Circuses: the original travelling attractions
What started in the mid-1980s as a travelling show concept from Quebec, Canada, Cirque du Soleil has now evolved into a multi-brand global mixture of both travelling and resident attractions. Over the years the company has expanded beyond just the Cirque brand, and has also acquired the ownership of the Blue Man Group shows as well as VStar Entertainment which specialised in a number of popular kids shows with branding from Nick Jr, Paw Patrol, Trolls, and more.
In addition to the original “Cirque” brand productions, the group has also partnered with a number of big-name IP owners to create hybrid Cirque shows themed to the music of The Beatles, Elvis and Michael Jackson, the art and animation of Walt Disney, and even a past show themed to James Cameron’s Avatar.
Unlike the Feld Entertainment shows which may stop in any given city for just a couple of days before moving on, the travelling Cirque du Soleil productions will set up shop in a major city and put on performances for several weeks on end before moving on to a new location. This concept has also transferred to the themed attraction business, with several operations now found around the world that will lease out a location for a few months at a time before moving on to a new city.
See also: Cirque Éloize: elevating the guest experience with live entertainment
IP on tour: exhibits and travelling attractions
If you live near a major market city, you’ve probably already seen ads for limited-time attractions such as Harry Potter: The Exhibition, Stranger Things: The Experience, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, Titanic: The Exhibition, Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N., Avatar: The Exhibition, Transformers: The Experience, Jurassic World: The Exhibition and many others.
You will typically find these themed attraction experiences moving throughout the world, from market to market, city to city, and country to country. The great thing is that while Disney or Universal Studios may not have a theme park in Atlanta, New York City, or London, these kinds of travelling attractions are a great way to bring in-demand IPs from those studios into markets other than Florida and California.Â
In just about every case, the IP owners are teaming up with highly skilled production companies who excel in creating these kinds of themed experiences that can be set up for a few months and then moved to an entirely new market in a matter of weeks.
Many turn to the likes of neon (Jurassic & Avatar), Imagine Exhibitions (Harry Potter & Titanic) and Fever (Stranger Things, Van Gogh). These firms have the experience to create these attractions and an understanding of the logistics needed in order to schedule and move them from place to place.Â
From museums to theme parks
Travelling exhibits and attractions started out touring the museum circuit as a way to move things like exclusive collections of art or relics from the tomb of a Pharaoh to the masses. However, it seems like the focus these days is being able to tap into the latest pop culture and hot IP trends. The advantage is that there is always a sense of urgency for fans to come to see these attractions as soon as possible because they are always ready to pack everything up and move to a new city in a matter of weeks and will likely never be back again.Â
In closing, however, don’t think the big theme parks haven’t taken notice. Disney in particular has taken note of this growing trend as well and has built a few versions of this concept just for its theme parks.
You may recall that Disney built the Star Wars: Launch Bay exhibits that opened in Disneyland, Walt Disney World and even one in Shanghai Disneyland for a number of years, catering to fans of the Star Wars brand. Disney once again tapped into this concept late last year with the opening of a new Avatar: Explore Pandora exhibit at Shanghai Disneyland.
The company also made headlines a few weeks ago when Bob Iger mentioned it was working on a way to somehow bring an Avatar attraction or exhibit to the California property in the near future.
