MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS PROVIDES ENTERTAINMENT TO FAMILIES STAYING AT HOME

 BY GABRIELLE


Merlin Entertainments is continuing to connect and stay in touch with families despite parks remaining closed and families having to stay at home during lockdown.

The ‘Making Magic with Merlin’ initiative involves bringing ‘Merlin Magic’ to homes everywhere.

By partnering with the online educational publishing house Twinkl, Merlin Entertainments is able to share content from Sea Life centres to families. Twinkl created a free Home Learning Hub that gives daily lessons to three to 16-year-olds in Britain.

The teaching experiences include behind-the-scenes looks at Sea Life attractions presented by Sea Life centre’s aquarium experts.

The Twinkl and Sea Life remote sessions will begin on May 1 and will involve informing children about what penguins eat. Sea Life’s penguin keepers will present the first session.

Attendees can also brighten up their day with a vibrant video background designed by the Aquarist team at Sea Life London. The video backgrounds can be downloaded for free. Among the most popular backgrounds are those that feature sea life and make it look like attendees are swimming with jellyfish or a sand tiger shark during their calls.

THEMEBUILDERS CREATE INDOOR THEMING FOR INDOOR PLAYGROUND IN BELGIUM

 BY GABRIELLE


Themebuilders Philippines Inc., specialists in themed design, has developed indoor theming for the largest indoor playground in Belgium. The project includes glow in the dark murals and fibreglass items.

The Tarzan and Jane indoor playground is located in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. The family entertainment park opened in 2018 and is the largest indoor playground in the Benelux region.

Themebuilders have created glow-in-the-dark murals for the park’s mini-golf course. Visitors can enjoy gazing at immersive scenes centred on marine life, a safari and the arctic. Fibreglass objects bring the scenes to life further, including a life-size polar bear, ice formations, a crouching tiger in the bushes and a dolphin suspended in mid-air.

The Tarzan and Jane indoor playground features a number of fun activities for guests of all ages, including laser tag, a snow glider, a toboggan run. There is also a games room, trampolines, inflatable play and an obstacle course.

Themebuilders create unique and detailed theming for theme parks, attraction sites and entertainment centres around the world. Earlier in 2020, the theming specialists created realistic animals for the Fajnpark theme park in the Czech Republic.

HOLIDAY WORLD THEME PARK TO HOST VIRTUAL OPENING DAY

 BY GABRIELLE


With its original opening day in early June postponed due to the ongoing global pandemic, Holiday World in Santa Clause, Indiana, is now hosting its opening day digitally.

The online opening day is taking place on Saturday May 2. The theme park’s president Matt Eckert and owner Leah Koch will be kicking off the digital fun day at 9am, which will end with a firework show at 9pm Central Time.

Throughout the day there will be entertainment videos, alongside cooking tutorials based on recipes of food served in the park. There will also be special chats with Eckert, Kock and Lauren Crosby, another owner of Holiday World.

Leah Koch commented on this unique way of opening the theme park: “We may not be able to welcome guests through our gates on May 2 as we had originally planned, but we’re going to celebrate it just the same.

“Opening day is a special day that we count down toward every year. We can’t wait until we can open our gates to guests again, but until then we’re going to celebrate and help our guests bring opening day home,” Koch added.

NEW BIRD SPECIES TO BE DISCOVERED AT SHANGHAI DISNEY RESORT

BY GABRIELLE


Shanghai Disney Resort is celebrating Earth Month through the discovery of new bird species at its eco-friendly Wishing Star Park.

Wishing Star Park is a recreational area at Shanghai Disney Resort, comprising of a 100-acre lake, a 900-seat amphitheatre and family-friendly activities.

The lake provides a quality living environment for wildlife and is home to a diverse variety of birds and butterflies. Since the park opened in 2015, the bird species has more than doubled and the lake is now a hub for birdlife to thrive, attracting the likes of Tree Sparrow, Light-vented Bulbul, Chinese Spotbilled Duck, the Common Coot, and much more.

Many rare birds are also seen at the lake, including the Japanese Buzzard, Western Osprey and the Peregrine Falcon.

Shanghai Disney Resort was closed due to the coronavirus outbreak but has been partially reopening since March. The Shanghai Disneyland Hotel is open with limited operations, as it Disneytown, also with limited operations and offerings.

The Wishing Star Park is open with a limited number of recreational experiences, including the discovery of new bird species during Earth Month.

SHOPDISNEY HOSTS DISNEY MOVIE WATCH PARTIES ON TWITTER

BY GABRIELLE


ShopDisney, the online Disney shopping store, is to host Disney movie watch parties on Twitter to help keep people entertained during lcokdown. The initiative will be hosted with the hashtag #shopDisneyMovieTime!

The movie parties kick off on April 30 at 5pm Pacific Time, with the much-loved story of ‘The Little Mermaid.’

The following week on May 7 at the same time, shopDisney will host the Disney classic ‘Moana.’

Disney fans can stay in the loop of what will be coming up by following the #shopDisneyMovieTime hashtag on Twitter.

DEAL POSTPONED UNTIL 2021

BY GABRIELLE


The 2020 edition of the Dubai Entertainment Amusement & Leisure (DEAL) exhibition has been postponed until 2021.

The exhibition was originally planned for March 2020 but was postponed until mid-June. The show’s organisers, International Expo Consults (IEC), have confirmed that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event will be put back a year to 2021.

In a statement about the announcement, the IEC said:

“After thorough evaluation of the current global Covid-19 situation and the prevailing travel restrictions, we have decided to postpone the DEAL show to 2021. In the current global pandemic backdrop, the safety of all of our exhibitors, partners, visitors, staff and associated stakeholders will continue to be our top priority.

“Furthermore, the Dubai World Trade Centre (the venue) is now temporarily converted into a field hospital. Thus, all the major shows, concerts and events across the UAE have also been postponed for the rest of the year.

“After careful review, in-depth discussion with the Dubai World Trade Centre and the feedback received from exhibitors, partners and associates, we arrived at a difficult decision to postpone the show.”

ATTRACTIONS INDUSTRY HEAVILY IMPACTED BY CORONAVIRUS IN MENA, BUT VENUES BEGIN TO REOPEN

BY GABRIELLE


The leisure and attractions industry across the Middle East and North African (MENA) region has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), an average of US$6.71 billion per month in business has been lost in the industry in the region. WTTC estimates put $80 billion of the $102 billion generated by people visiting MENA from overseas is in leisure tourism, including visits to theme parks and entertainment centres.

Of the region’s gross domestic product, 8.7% is made up by the travel and tourism industry. The WTTC states that theme parks and FECs contribute to MENA’s GPP above all other segments of tourism, with families spending more on entrance fees, food and drink, and hotels, compared to any other type of tourism.

Restrictions are starting to be lifted in the region, with shopping malls, the location of many FECs, beginning to reopen. Strict safety measures are however in place, including temperature checks on visitors at the entrance and the mandatory wearing of face masks.

Yuhanis Nawasreh, sales and development manager of Dubai-based distributor Warehouse of Games, spoke about the reopening of the industry: “We have started to move again. But there are many precautions, social distancing and capacity rules. FECs, cinemas and all other attraction and entertainment venues remain closed until further notice.”

FUTUROSCOPE IS GEARING UP TO REOPEN

BY GABRIELLE


Futuroscope, the French theme park centred on multimedia and audio-visual techniques, is preparing to reopen once the government gives the industry the go ahead.

The park was forced to close earlier in the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.  In preparation for the reopening, some members of staff have gone back to work. According to Laure Mosseron, marketing and communication director at Futuroscope, around 50 employees of the 700 who work at the park have returned to work.

The employees working again are mostly security guards but also include technicians who have been testing the rides in rotation.

On reopening, the theme park will maintain social distancing measures throughout the site, including on the rides. Cleaning procedures will also be increased and hand sanitiser stations will be available at different points across the park.

Mosseron says that the park’s priority “remains the health of our employees and visitors.” “Everyone is waiting impatiently for the government’s directives and the conditions on how we will be able to reopen, knowing that we would like to restart for the summer season,” said Mosseron.

CONNECT&GO PROVIDES CONTACTLESS SOLUTIONS FOR ATTRACTIONS INDUSTRY

BY GABRIELLE


Connect&GO, the Montreal-based providers of high-tech contactless solutions, is helping theme parks and other attraction venues prepare for a new post COVID-19 reality.

By utilising RFID technology, Connect&GO’s cashless payments solutions will help parks meet targets to reduce human contact among guests. A Connect&GO wristband is embedded with a RFID chip, which is associated with the wearer’s personal profile. Guests can log onto a customised mobile website to access their personal profile, make purchases, review activities and more.

When they arrive at the theme park, visitors can access their chosen activities and purchases by simply scanning the wristband.

Talking about the need for contactless technology, Antony Palermo, co-founder of Connect&GO, commented:  “In these unprecedented times, we’ve made it a priority to listen to the ideas and concerns of our clients and, through extensive round table discussions, we’ve managed to come up with an entire suite of contactless products and services we can offer. We’re proud to be helping our clients navigate this new reality.”

NEW APP ENABLES USERS TO ENJOY THE SOUND OF THEME PARKS

BY GABRIELLE


For theme park enthusiasts missing their favourite parks during lockdown, a new app could help them get their fix. Known as Ambients, the app brings the soundtrack of theme parks and amusement sites into people’s homes.

With the Ambients app, users can listen to the noise of a fun family day out at an amusement park via audio tracks designed to sooth without distraction. The app isn’t focused on white noise or the sounds of nature, but gentle laughter, conversation, the chat of children, and screams from white-knuckle rollercoasters.

Charlyn Keating, CEO of Stormbreaker Studios in Orlando, Florida, commented on the purpose of the app: “While on lockdown here at home, I’ve been missing the people-filled outdoor space.

“I started to feel a strong draw to places with crowds, like the beach, a theme park, or even a busy coffee shop,” Keating continued.

The Ambients app give users a choice of eight tracks, with more due to be available in the coming weeks. Each track lasts for ten minutes. The theme park track features screams from rollercoasters and nostalgic carousel music.