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Kids Lands
with things that are familiar. However, not every park is – or needs to be – associated with a brand. There are plenty of great parks that do not rely on any external IP.”
“It depends if the IP really fits your The Thea Award-winning Barnas Brannstasjon at Kongeparken, Norway
lives as Thomas enthusiasts, so Thomas Land really is a magical place where people can revisit their childhood. We are confident we can compete with a major ride in terms of marketing potential and return on investment.” “Brands are becoming increasingly attractive to park
owners/developers,” highlights Hung at Forrec. “I believe what’s most attractive about IPs is that owners can anticipate the result: what it will look like, who it will appeal to, and what the experience should be. From the guest’s perspective, they connect with brands; they identify with characters/toys; there’s instant recognition and excitement
park, it should always feel and be authentic,” says Marjolein van den Stolpe of Jora Entertainment in the Netherlands, which completed the design and theming of the brand-free Bondegårdsland at Djurs Sommerland. Her colleague Sjors van Roosmalen at Jora Vision, on the other hand, recently acted as creative director on Bamses Värld at Kolmården animal park in Sweden – based around a popular character from Swedish TV. “Bamse is a bear who cares a lot about people, animals and the environment. Also his adventures (mostly) take place near his home in a Swedish forest. Kolmården is in an actual Swedish forest and they, being an animal park, care deeply about animals and the environment. No other
place would be a better home to Bamse!” “The commercial benefits are huge, “continue van
Roosmalen, “and advertising is much easier as people just have to see the brand to be motivated, instead of the park having to parade attractions. However there are side effects of having a well-known IP. People usually have high expectations of a brand. The park needs to match or even surpass those expectations. The entire area should be richly themed so people believe they are part of the story and rides need to be picked to fit the story instead of just adding a IP to an otherwise basic ride.”
Thomas Land Drayton Manor S
igning up a smiling blue steam train was one of the best things the Bryan family ever did at Drayton Manor Theme Park. Thomas Land opened in 2008, and has since become an industry role model for integrating a licensed
intellectual property (IP).
“As an experienced family park operator, Drayton Manor was approached by [licence holder] HIT Entertainment with the idea to bring Thomas Land to the UK,” explains the English park’s new managing director, William Bryan. “At this time, we were looking to widen our offering to pre-school children and, based on the success of Thomas Land in Japan, we took up the licensing opportunity for Europe’s only Thomas Land attraction, which opened in 2008. Since then the area has gone from strength to strength, which is why we decided to extend it this year with three new rides and additional facilities. We even have an airport!” The £2.5 million expansion, opened in time for Easter, provides an increased ride capacity of 23% to (5,130 people per hour), while the extra 3,200 square metres provides more space for visitors to move around freely. The three new rides, all by Zamperla, are the Captain’s Sea Adventure (Water Mania), Flynn’s Fire Rescue and Toby’s Tram Express (Barnyard). Meanwhile the existing Jeremy Jet’s Flying Academy has been moved into the expanded area – as pictured – where it is overlooked by the Sodor Airport complex featuring a café and five themed party rooms. Theming was developed by local company Pope Creative, building on the original Thomas Land design work completed by RMA Design, which also designed Peppa Pig World for Paultons Park – another IP success story. As well boosting Drayton Manor’s national profile and boosting attendance (not to mention merchandise sales), Thomas Land has also allowed the park to extend its operating season. At Christmas the area is transformed into a winter wonderland with decorations, giant Christmas trees, ‘real’ snow flurries three times a day. A new Thomas Land will open this summer at Edaville USA in Carver, Massachusetts. Is this currently little-known park ready for what’s about to hit it?
“
The
commercial benefits of having an IP are huge. Advertising is much easier as people just have to see the brand to be motivated, instead of the park having to parade attractions . However, there are side effects too
Sjors van Roosmalen, Jora Vision
”
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