Category: Articles
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How Michael Eisner Nearly Destroyed Stitch
Throughout the 2000s Disney created a whole host of new characters, but none captured hearts as much as Stitch, the little blue alien who went from naughty to nice. A product of a low budget movie, hoping to offer an alternative model to the high-budget animated films of the 1990s, ‘Lilo and Stitch’ was an…
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Why Theme Parks Need To Stop The Obsession With IP Lands!
The competition between Universal and Disney is an ever changing, high stake battle between two industry giants. It all really began back in the late 1980’s, when MGM Studios and Universal Studios Orlando opened just one year apart. The battle has raged on ever since and within this tussle we have seen different trends emerge…
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Walt Disney Studios Park – Can Disney save their worst park?
The Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, is officially moving away from ‘how it’s done’ soundstages to immersive worlds. These fully realised adventure worlds will become the focus of the park’s new identity and appear as realms that guests discover as they navigate deeper within the park. The park is planning on an expansion on…
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Celebrating the 25 Year History of Islands of Adventure
In 1999, Universal Orlando Resort opened up their second theme park, Islands of Adventure. Islands of Adventure was a major expansion and remains to this day the only non studios park built by Universal. Although, this is of course set to change very soon. In 1999, Islands of Adventure was unlike anything we’d ever seen…
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The Legacy of The Big One (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
Today, it’s pretty hard to imagine any park in the UK opening up the world’s tallest roller coaster. Maybe, at a stretch, you could see it happening at one of Merlin’s parks. Although, with Alton Towers ever present height restrictions, it’s tough to picture for even the most vivid of imaginations. But imagining this occurring…
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Disney’s FORGOTTEN Water Park Gators
Over the years, Disney has created a number of original characters for their theme parks. Some fade quickly into obscurity, whilst others become icons of the parks; Think The Orange Bird or Figment. In fact, two of Disney’s more obscure original characters were not designed for their theme parks but actually find their homes in…
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Alton Towers Secret Weapon Programme Explained
Today, the Secret Weapon name is one that will be met with immediate excitement from Alton Towers fans. Synonymous with the park’s best additions, this code name developed back in the 1990’s and has been used numerous times since. As fans of this codename and the coasters it has spawned, we wanted to explore its…
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The Failure of Movie Studio Theme Parks – What Happened?
Millions of people a year visit theme parks to escape the realities of everyday life, so it’s no surprise that most revolve around themes of fantasy and adventure, drawing on already established literary and cinematic genres for inspiration. This idea has remained at the heart of most theme parks, allowing us, the guests, to travel…
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Disney’s Most Misunderstood Land – DinoLand U.S.A.
DinoLand U.S.A. finds it home within Walt Disney World’s most intricately themed park. With land’s like Asia, Africa and Pandora, the standard’s for theming here are high. Thus, when most people find themselves walking through DinoLand U.S.A., they are confused to say the least. Why on earth is such a sparse and kitschy land housed…
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The Best Years In UK Theme Park History
What is the best year in UK theme park history? For you, it might well be the year you first became an enthusiast. Or it could be the year you had a season pass to all the major parks. Or, it could even be one of those years we had freakishly good weather throughout most…