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Bright future for parks predicted in new IAAPA report


According to Global Theme and Amusement Park Outlook for 2015 to 2019, just published by IAAPA, total attendance at theme parks and amusement parks is expected to rise at an annual rate in excess of 4% as new parks appear around the world. The report, which is available as a free download to IAAPA members, was


compiled with the help of Wilkofsky Gruen Associates (WGA). In its 35 pages we learn that global theme park spending totalled an estimated $39.8 billion in 2014, up 6.3% from 2013, but down from the 8.3% increase recorded in 2013. Per capita spending rose 3.4% in 2014. Attendance growth dropped to 2.8% in 2014, the smallest gain during the past five years. The slowdown reflects fewer major new attractions launched compared with 2013 and a slowdown in the regional park market in the United States. With a number of new parks and major attractions scheduled to be introduced in the coming years, and regional parks rebounding in the US, faster growth in attendance is expected over the next five years. Theme park attendance from 2009 to 2014 rose at a 3.7% compound annual rate. For 2015 (some parks have yet to declare their figures for last season), growth is projected at 6.4%, up a bit from the 6.3% gain in 2014. That improvement is centred on an expected rebound in regional parks in the United States rather than a global pickup. With new parks, new attractions and new hotels encouraging extended visits, attendance is projected to rise at a 4.4% compound annual rate over the next four years, from 957 million in 2014 to 1.2 billion in 2019. While economic conditions remain unsettled in many countries, a return to the severe downturn that affected the global economy in 2009 is not expected. In general, an expanding middle class in


Asia and Latin America will enlarge the potential market for theme parks in those regions while major new parks in the United Arab Emirates and Asia and new attractions in other regions with tie-ins to popular movies and other intellectual property will boost spending globally. Theme parks also benefit from being the rare entertainment options that is not subject


to competition from the Internet by providing a shared, physical experience that cannot be duplicated elsewhere.


IAAPA members can download the report for free via iaapa.org/resources/by- type/research-papers If you’re not an IAAPA member it will cost you $999, so you might as well join the association if you want it.


‘Legoland’ featured in plot


of new Lego Movie 4D The park is the star of a new 4D Lego movie showing exclusively at Legoland sites across the globe in 2016, but all may not be as it seems. The short 3D film reunites the stars of The Lego Movie in a new story catching up


with what happened to them after the hit animated feature film. In The Lego Movie 4D A New Adventure, Emmet, Wyldstyle, Unikitty, MetalBeard and Benny meet a shady new character called Risky Business, who plans to open a curious theme park bearing a suspicious resemblance to Legoland. The heroes must call on the Master Builder skills of a surprise ally to save the day. As the action unfolds on screen, audiences will be subjected to 4D effects such as wind, water and fog. The film premiered on January 29 at Legoland Florida followed a week later by Legoland California, and will go on to be shown at all Legoland theme parks and Legoland Discovery Centers worldwide. Returning to voice the mini figure characters were actors Elizabeth Banks (Wyldstyle), Nick Offerman (MetalBeard), Charlie Day (Benny) and Alison Brie (Unikitty). Actor, writer and comedian Patton Oswalt lent his voice to the scheming Risky Business,


LA-based Pure


Imagination Studios (Josh Wexler) created the 4D movie with input from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the writer-directors of the original Lego Movie, along with contributions from Rob Schrab, who is directing the sequel, due to be released in 2018.


10 FEBRUARY 2016


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