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Construction is currently underway for a new themed-\ entertainment attraction, Kingdom of Poseidon in Harbin, China. Harbin is an area that’s famous for an annual winter Ice Festival, with hundreds of caved blocks of ice that create an illuminated IceKingdom.

Kingdom of Poseidon, a project of the Malaysia-based KWZone Group, features a wide range of rides, live shows, and experiences based upon the myths of Poseidon and other ocean-related stories. The design leverages the latest in technologies, including 4D effect, video mapping, and other approaches to immersion in “undersea, oversea, and by-the-sea attractions.”

Source:
http://entertainmentdesigner.com/news/theme-park-design-news/goddard-group-leading-way-chinas-entertainment-boom/

In Shanghai China, The Goddard Group is currently designing Polar Ocean World, a marine-themed cultural park that will contribute to Shanghai’s overall tourism agenda. It is a project of the Haichang Holdings Group. The park will be built on a 300,000 meter site situated next to Dishui Lake.

Polar Ocean World is scheduled to open in 2017 and will be Haichang’s seventh polar-themed destination in China. The park features 13 exhibition halls, four large animal encounter areas, 18 rides, cinemas, and more. The focus is to combine entertainment, ecology, and scientific research.

Source:
http://entertainmentdesigner.com/news/theme-park-design-news/goddard-group-leading-way-chinas-entertainment-boom/

As scheduled, Dubai Parks and Resorts will open its three theme parks in October 2016, making it the largest integrated theme park resort in the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent.

“We will be opening three gates at the same time in 2016,” said Raed Al Nuaimi, chief executive of Dubai Parks and Resorts, said in the video released on November 8, 2015.

Source:
http://www.emirates247.com/business/economy-finance/on-schedule-less-than-a-year-for-dubai-mega-theme-parks-to-open-video-2015-11-11-1.610175

As scheduled, Dubai Parks and Resorts will open its three theme parks in October 2016, making it the largest integrated theme park resort in the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent.

“We will be opening three gates at the same time in 2016,” said Raed Al Nuaimi, chief executive of Dubai Parks and Resorts, said in the video released on November 8, 2015.

Source:
http://www.emirates247.com/business/economy-finance/on-schedule-less-than-a-year-for-dubai-mega-theme-parks-to-open-video-2015-11-11-1.610175

Land sold to Paramount developer.

Lafarge Tarmac has signed a deal to sell land needed for a planned new £2bn theme park in Kent. The 388 acre site at Swanscombe Peninsula was formerly the largest cement plant in the UK which closed in 1993.

Source:
http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2015/01/12/land-deal-agreed-for-2bn-kent-theme-park/

Dubai Parks and Resorts, a Meraas Holding company, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Parques Reunidos as park operators for two theme parks planned for the emirate.

A deal to run motiongate Dubai and Bollywood Parks Dubai will marks Parques Reunidos' foray into the Middle East and was announced on the sidelines of the World Travel Market in London.

Parques Reunidos is an international Madrid-based entertainment operator that manages 54 theme and amusement parks, water parks, zoological and marine life parks around the world, primarily across Europe and the US.

Source:
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/operator-picked-run-two-dubai-theme-parks-570547.html

Dubai Parks and Resorts, a Meraas Holding company, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Parques Reunidos as park operators for two theme parks planned for the emirate.

A deal to run motiongate Dubai and Bollywood Parks Dubai will marks Parques Reunidos' foray into the Middle East and was announced on the sidelines of the World Travel Market in London.

Parques Reunidos is an international Madrid-based entertainment operator that manages 54 theme and amusement parks, water parks, zoological and marine life parks around the world, primarily across Europe and the US.

Source:
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/operator-picked-run-two-dubai-theme-parks-570547.html

Legoland Dubai To Feature 15,000 Lego Structures In Six Themed Areas

Article:
http://gulfbusiness.com/2014/10/legoland-dubai-feature-15000-lego-structures-six-themed-areas

US-based International Theme Park Services is currently developing a $300 million indoor theme park as part of the Doha Oasis Mall project in Qatar.

Adventure Island, spread across over 28,300 square metres, is expected to house the world’s first reverse-launch roller coaster, called Dragonfire, a 4D theatre with hanging gondolas serving as the seats, a 40ft tall gorilla and a sky tram, according to reports. The overall mall project is slated to open in 2017.

Source:
http://gulfbusiness.com/2014/08/revealed-five-mega-upcoming-theme-parks-gcc

Dubai recently launched the massive Mall of the World project, which, along with housing the world’s largest mall, will also comprise the largest indoor theme park in the world. The park will be covered by a glass dome that will be open during the winter months, according to its developers.

The Mall of the World project, located along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, is expected to be built over the next 10 years and is estimated to cost Dhs25 billion.

Source:
http://gulfbusiness.com/2014/08/revealed-five-mega-upcoming-theme-parks-gcc/

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. said Wednesday that it has reached a tentative deal for a theme-park resort in the Middle East, which become the Orlando-based company's first overseas destination.

SeaWorld, which owns 11 parks across the United States, said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with a partner to "assess the viability of a multi-park development in the Middle East." It would not identify the partner, though SeaWorld said it was an entity with "an established track record of opening and operating world-class attractions."

SeaWorld executives said they are confident they will get a final deal done.

"We feel very good about the likelihood of this discussion of coming to fruition of us building these parks," SeaWorld President and Chief Executive Jim Atchison said on a conference call with analysts. "I would say our confidence is very high in it."

SeaWorld would not say how many parks it is likely to build nor exactly where. The company announced plans under previous ownership in 2008 to build a resort in Dubai that would have had a SeaWorld, Discovery Cove and Aquatica, though it abandoned the project a year later amid the economic crash.

Source:
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-05-14/business/os-seaworld-first-quarter-earnings-20140514_1_seaworld-orlando-seaworld-executives-seaworld-president

Universal Studios has reportedly signed a deal with the Zhuhai government to invest 150 billion yuan (US$24.29 billion) in a theme park in the city.

The park, to be located in Doumen district, will cover 10 square kilometers, Chinese property news portal Guandian.cn reported Friday.

Universal Studios planned to open a theme park in Beijing in 2018, with an investment of about US$2 billion. The terminal station of a metro line (East Four) that would connect to the site was even named “Universal Studios station”.

The Guandian.cn report didn’t mention whether the project planned for Zhuhai will be the Universal Studios’ second after the Beijing theme park.

Source:
http://www.ejinsight.com/20140801-universal-studios-said-to-be-planning-theme-park-in-zhuhai/

Good, detailed article here:
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/10/escape-from-gringotts-is-the-new-banking-crisis.aspx

The highly themed indoor roller coaster has been buggy to say the least in its first three days of official operation, just as it was in the week leading up to Tuesday's grand opening for the handful of bloggers and vacation-package buyers who attempted to experience the attraction.

It's a winner by most accounts. You won't find too many coasters where strapping on 3-D glasses is part of the immersive experience.

Reports from Universal Studios yesterday had people waiting 5 hours for the new Harry Potter-themed ride.

Signs at the entrance of Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts said the wait would be 300 minutes.

Source:
http://www.wbzt.com/articles/1290-wjno-local-news-wire-120981/universal-studios-guests-wait-300-minutes-12550432

Early plans for the proposed Paramount Park resort in the Swanscombe Peninsula have been met with delight by local residents.

Source:
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/11338774.Early_plans_for_Paramount_Park_released/

The $444 million (￥45 billion) Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction, which opens July 15 at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in Osaka, is predicted to bring in an extra 2 million admissions annually to the park.

Source:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/universal-studios-japan-boost-annual-718252

Looks like no more theme parks.

Gulf Finance House has returned to Dubailand five years after its first ill-fated foray into theme park development there ended with huge losses.

The investment bank announced a Dh5.5 billion Arabian Legends entertainment complex at Cityscape in 2004 that was scheduled to be completed last year. Due to the global financial crisis, however, it was forced to withdraw from the project, taking a US$300 million provision against its exposure in 2009.

Now the Bahrain-based investor is back after signing a land sale agreement with Dubai Properties Group.

The 1.2 million square foot development will comprise residential, commercial and retail spaces (...)

Source:
http://www.thenational.ae/business/property/gulf-finance-house-returns-to-dubailand

The parent of Six Flags Over Texas said Monday it has signed a “strategic partnership” with a real estate developer in China to build multiple Six Flags-branded theme parks in that country over the next decade.

Detailed terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company said it will receive royalties or licensing revenue and will send out a Six Flags team to help supervise construction and operation.

Source:
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20140623-six-flags-signs-deal-to-open-multiple-theme-parks-in-china.ece

Six Flags could not be reached for comment on the location of the proposed theme parks.

"Our international expansion strategy is focused on finding the right partners in the right markets, and Riverside Investment Group will be the perfect strategic partner for us in China," said Reid-Anderson.

Source:
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/2014-06/25/content_17613149.htm

https://www.hkcd.com/content/2014-06/26/content_853777.html
https://m.thepaper.cn/wifiKey_detail.jsp?contid=8040513&from=wifiKey#

Great Avatar Land news article with quotes by James Cameron. Source: Slashfilm
http://www.slashfilm.com/pandora-the-land-of-avatar-name/

Cameron spoke about the park at the Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Film Festival on Saturday May 31.

At a recent Q&A, James Cameron told audiences what the official name of the newest addition to Disney’s Animal Kingdom might be. “It’s going to be called, I believe, Pandora: The Land of Avatar.”

It’s going to have floating mountains. It’s pretty cool. I’ve seen the model and the design work the Imagineering people have done is spectacular.

Of course it’s gonna be gorgeous at night and they’re using every new trick, every new bit of technology that they’ve created.

The animatronics for the Na’vi characters are gonna be fantastic. For example, their early animatronics would use 12 axis of motion and I think the most they’ve ever done was 32 axis recently. I think they’re up to 64 just in the face of the Na’vi characters. So it’s gonna be remarkable. They really see it as a major, major attraction.

More:
http://www.slashfilm.com/pandora-the-land-of-avatar-name/

The Middle-East-based owners of Ebbsfleet United also own around three quarters of the company behind the Paramount Park project, it has emerged.

About a 75% stake of London Resort Company Holdings is owned by Kuwaiti European Holdings Company, whose subsidiary KEH Sports Limited runs Ebbsfleet United.

Source:
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent-business/county-news/ebbsfleet-owners-take-control-of-17615/

An investment of KRW one trillion from China will be poured into Incheon Robot Land in mid July, therefore speeding up the development of Incheon Robot Land’s commercial facilities.

Source:
http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/37045/incheon-robot-land-attracts-krw-1-trillion-investment-china

-- Dubailand’s future

Asked how Dubailand, a multi-billion-dollar entertainment and leisure district with theme parks being the priority, was positioning itself now, Al Habbai said: The vision still hasn’t changed… Dubailand will be one of the top destination in Dubai. We will butterfly garden, IMG theme park, lost valley by end of December.”

He added that most of the project either by DPG and other private investors were on track and expected to be completed before 2020.

Dubai Holding, Al Habbai revealed, was in discussion with Universal Studio to host a theme park in Dubailand.

“Dubai Holding is in discussion with Universal,” he said, without giving any details.

Source:
http://www.emirates247.com/dubai-developers-converting-office-towers-to-hotels-2014-05-08-1.548362

Asked how Dubailand, a multi-billion-dollar entertainment and leisure district with theme parks being the priority, was positioning itself now, Al Habbai said: The vision still hasn’t changed… Dubailand will be one of the top destination in Dubai. We will butterfly garden, IMG theme park, lost valley by end of December.”

He added that most of the project either by DPG and other private investors were on track and expected to be completed before 2020.

Dubai Holding, Al Habbai revealed, was in discussion with Universal Studio to host a theme park in Dubailand.

“Dubai Holding is in discussion with Universal,” he said, without giving any details.

Source:
http://www.emirates247.com/dubai-developers-converting-office-towers-to-hotels-2014-05-08-1.548362

Genting Singapore Plc, Southeast Asia’s largest casino operator by market value, will develop a casino resort on South Korea’s Jeju island to target Chinese bettors. The $2.2 billion project will be jointly built with Hong Kong-listed Chinese property company Landing International Development Ltd.

The Jeju resort will have a total of 800 gaming tables, including 200 catering to the high rollers, Yang said. It will be built on a 2.3-million-square meter site that includes a theme park, a shopping mall, villas and apartments as well as three hotels(...)

Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-07/genting-singapore-to-build-2-2-billion-casino-in-south-korea.html

Touted as the world's first true animal theme park, the Movie Animation Park Studios or MAPS, for short, will be constructed at a cost of RM450 million.
A 20.8 hectare site in Meru, located off the North-South Expressway, has been earmarked for the project.

It marks the Australian multinational corporation's inaugural investment in Malaysia. Sanderson Group has over 25 years experience in delivering high quality themed tourist attractions.

"What we aspire is to be on par, if not better than Universal Studios," Perak State Development Corporation chief executive officer and Animation Theme Park chairman Datuk Aminuddin Md Desa said during the ground-breaking for MAPS recently.

Source:
http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/perak-stirs-a-beat-with-theme-parks-1.565480