Archinect - News

Disneyland’s $1.9 billion campus expansion moves toward approval

2024-03-14T11:54:00-04:00

The LA Times and other local outlets are reporting on the progress made by Disney towards eventually realizing an expansion of the existing plot of Disneyland, a move billed as generating multiple community benefits for the city of Anaheim.

The $1.9 billion DisneylandForward project does not call specifically for any new construction and will be executed within the resort's existing 500-acre campus. According to an assessment of the plan from the Disney Tourist Blog, “DisneylandForward is the company’s pitch to the public and City of Anaheim for more flexibility in the master plans from the 1990s in order to give the company greater autonomy over what to build and where.”

In line with founder Walt Disney's vision for a constant expansion of the resort, the plan presents the potential for both an "immersive new theme park" and a "new kind" of entertainment district possibly containing a hotel and cluster of retail, dining, and entertainment plots to be created in the east and west co...

'An astonishing place to explore': Oliver Wainwright previews the trippy Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood

2023-01-25T13:00:00-05:00

Welcome to Super Nintendo World, the closest thing you can get to diving head-first inside a video game and experiencing the likely effects of swallowing one of Mario’s magic mushrooms. For Universal, it represents the first expansion beyond film- and TV-themed rides, and a step up in designing a total environment – with the opening timed to capitalise on the release of an animated Super Mario Bros movie this spring.

The park expansion officially opens on February 17th. Visitors will find attractions like the overpriced Toadstool Cafe, a “sedate crawl” signature race experience (sans shortcuts), cuter small details, and Bowser’s Castle, which apparently includes a self-help library and bomb-making workshop.

Previously on Archinect: Super Nintendo World Hollywood sets an opening date for 2023

Wainwright compared the latter to Kim Jong-Il’s palatial abode, a space he documented somewhat controversially for a 2018 investigation published by Taschen. A Universal Studios executive described its design as being geared to encourage profligate repetition, not unlike a casino's. The Hollywood location follows another that opened in Osaka in 2021 and will be joined by two others in Orlando and Singapore, due to open by the end of 2025.

Toronto reveals still-contentious revised plan for proposed Ontario Place redevelopment

2022-12-14T12:10:00-05:00

Revised plans for the proposed Ontario Place redevelopment in Toronto are once again drawing critical attention after being submitted to the city’s planning officials at the end of November.

Storeys has the details on the updated scheme, which still calls for one-third of the 155-acre site to be privately developed — a contentious provision that has led many Torontonians to call for the plan to be rejected outright in place of something more in tune with its original use as a public attraction. The revision also reclassified a 12-acre swath of beachfront land for public use in what appears as the only slight concession.

Previously on Archinect: Torontonians aren't happy with the city's planned Ontario Place overhaul

The update also includes details for a five-level underground parking structure to be enacted between the Therme Group’s nine-story private spa and the renovated Live Nation amphitheater at the cost of over 800 trees, which is about 40% of the current iteration's total c...

Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood is taking shape

2022-10-03T15:40:00-04:00

Get ready to enter the “World of Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach” as construction crews work to bring Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood to life. Sky5 captured video of the construction progress Wednesday as crews worked on various aspects of the project, such as the Warp Pipe entrance and Bowser’s Castle.

This latest Universal Studios Hollywood expansion will be the first Super Nintendo World in the United States, following the opening of its counterpart at Universal Studios Japan in 2021. The theme park was conceived in partnership with Nintendo and Universal Creative.

As seen in KTLA’s video coverage of the construction progress, the attraction looks to be shaping up ahead of its expected opening in early 2023.

Previously on Archinect: Super Nintendo World Hollywood sets an opening date for 2023

As per an NBCUniversal press release, one of the park’s main attractions is its “Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge,” which is described as “one of the most complex rides ever built within the entertainment industry.” Through the use of augmented reality, guests will be immersed in the environment of Mario Kart, where they will race similarly to the iconic video game.

Torontonians aren't happy with the city's planned Ontario Place overhaul

2022-08-30T17:46:00-04:00

Toronto residents are expressing their concerns over the Diamond Schmitt-designed plan for a massive new aquatic theme park at Ontario Place they say is “tone-deaf” and exclusionary of their basic needs.

Spurred on by the recent release of updated renderings and other details of Therme Group's second North American project, opponents say the city's Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel needs to consider a full-tilt reassessment of the scheme on the basis of accessibility, environmental impact, and a distressing lack of free public amenities.

“This seems like another plan to take away space, livable space that we are already so short on demand of down here,” a concerned area resident recently told the CBC.

The proposed Therme Toronto development. Image courtesy of Therme.

The new development is scheduled to stand on the site of a 155-acre public park and entertainment venue from renowned local architects Michael Hough and Eberhard Zeigler that has sat mostly abandoned since closing i...

'A roller coaster with both thrill and heart': Tokyo Disneyland's Space Mountain to undergo major renovation

2022-04-29T13:45:00-04:00

Tokyo Disney Resort has revealed that one of its most iconic rides, Space Mountain, will be closing for a major renovation. The overhaul will commence in 2024, and by 2027, the rebuilt cosmic attraction is promised to offer enhanced performance and immersive special effects. The reported cost of the revamp is expected to be approximately $436 million.

“I’m thrilled to introduce this attraction to guests,” said Walt Disney Imagineering Producer Kathleen Davis. “It’s not only a whole new ride experience, but the story also has so much emotion. Through the queue and then on the ride, we see our connection to our planet and gain a new perspective for how special it is in all the universe. It’s a roller coaster with both thrill and heart.”

In addition to Space Mountain, the park’s Tomorrowland will get an updated plaza, which “will represent a future where humans are in harmony with nature.” According to the Disney Parks blog, the space will offer guests areas to rest and relax, along w...

Super Nintendo World Hollywood sets an opening date for 2023

2022-03-14T11:50:00-04:00

An expansion at Universal Studios Hollywood will bring the spinning coins and floating blocks of the “Super Mario Bros.” video game to the theme park next year, marking the completion of one in just a handful of theme park expansions in the U.S. since the onset of COVID-19.

Park officials have billed the new expansion as a “visual spectacle of vibrant colors and architectural ingenuity located within a newly expanded area of the theme park, featuring a groundbreaking ride and interactive areas, to be enjoyed by the whole family."

Related on Archinect: Super Nintendo World theme park to open in Japan this summer. Image courtesy Universal Studios Japan

Universal’s last comparable expansion came in 2016 to the tune of nearly $500 million, which bought a six-acre plot in L.A. that was later developed into the commercially successful Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The added attraction, which is now set to open within an undetermined nine-month period next year, would constitute Universal's fourth such planned Super Nintendo World, joining an existing facility in Osaka, Japan, and followed closely by identical attractions in Orlando and Singapore by the year 2025.

“They are getting a jump on the market, getting people excited early,” industry consultant Den...

High Line developer Robert Hammond joins Therme as the company unveils a $350 million wellness theme park for NYC

2021-10-27T13:51:00-04:00

Luxury spa designer Therme Group is making a big splash as it looks to expand into the U.S. for the first time.

The megaspa makers are back with a new design that would add a “wellness theme park” to the city as part of a $350 million development proposal. That effort will be overseen by former High Line developer Robert Hammond, who has officially joined Therme according to reporting yesterday in Crain’s and the New York Post.

Hammond noted the public’s demand for spaces that come in the form of “a park and a botanical garden and a gathering place and programming,” adding that, like the High Line, Therme “combines nature, community, well-being, and art together.”

“As someone who understands firsthand the healing power of nature and the importance of mindfulness, I believe everyone needs a place where they can comfortably and affordably reconnect with themselves, nature, and the environment around them,” he added.

The group is actively searching for waterfront space in Manhattan an...

Proposed theme park near Angkor Wat temple complex rejected, for now

2021-03-29T15:40:00-04:00

Cambodia’s Culture and Fine Arts Ministry has rejected a proposal by the Hong Kong casino operator NagaCorp to build a resort and theme park near the sprawling Angkor Wat temple complex after concerns raised by Unesco. The government’s rejection of NagaCorp’s plan to develop 75 hectares of land located around 500m south of the protected buffer zone of Angkor was announced earlier this week, according to Cambodian media outlets.

While a theme park of the proposed size near the Angkor Archaeological Park appears to be off the table for now, a Cambodian government spokesperson indicated potential openness to a scaled-down version in the future, The Art Newspaper reports.

Super Nintendo World theme park opening now scheduled for February 4

2020-12-01T14:04:00-05:00

Universal Studios Japan plans to open its $580 million Nintendo attraction on Feb. 4, finally debuting a long-delayed effort to introduce Mario and other beloved characters to real-world theme park visitors. Super Nintendo World, built on the existing Universal Studios Japan site, is envisioned as a life-sized replica of Nintendo Co.’s most popular games with rides, shops and walk-through activities.

Bloomberg reports that a Mario Kart ride inside a recreation of Bowser's Castle would be one of Super Nintendo World's first attractions.

Image courtesy of Nintendo.

The ambitious half-billion dollar theme park was originally scheduled to open last summer, but the global coronavirus outbreak forced the launch to be pushed back by several months. With the vaccine rollout likely to take well into next spring and summer, it remains to be seen if the February opening is achievable.

If you can't wait that long but are dying to dissect Nintendo worlds and environments, check out Ryan Scavnicky's architectural review of Super Mario Bros.

Super Nintendo World theme park to open in Japan this summer

2020-01-15T14:51:00-05:00

Super Nintendo World, the Mario-themed expansion to Universal Studios, is shaping up to be one of the most interesting and tech-infused theme park attractions to date. The park, launching ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of Universal Studios Japan in the city of Osaka, will feature wearable wrist bands called “Power Up Bands” that will sync with a smartphone app and track digital activities while you walk around

After breaking ground on its ambitious high-tech theme park, Super Nintendo World, in 2017, Universal Studios Japan unveiled more details this week about the anticipated destination slated to open in Osaka this summer.

"A life-size, living video game" -- Thierry Coup shows us the new app used to enjoy Super Nintendo World with a wrist band, touting an interactive experience #Nintendo pic.twitter.com/n468l5elnO
— Kurumi Mori (@rumireports) January 14, 2020

While official images of the park's architecture and spatial design are still under wraps, Super Nintendo World's operators already previewed some of the tech features and released a sugary-sweet teaser video featuring pop stars Galantis and Charli XCX.

Video via Nintendo on youTube.

If the upbeat game aesthetic centered around a fictional Italian plumber isn't your thing, another pillar of Japanese popular culture is currently building a theme park dedicated to Hayao Miyazaki's vast universe of worlds and characters: a Studio Ghi...

Shanghai Disneyland commences construction for Zootopia-themed expansion

2019-12-09T11:41:00-05:00

Shanghai Disney Resort today announced that the main construction for the its highly anticipated Zootopia-themed expansion had begun. It will be the first-ever Disney park worldwide to construct a park inspired by the 2016 animated film of the same name. The new expansion will sit adjacent to Shanghai Disneyland's Fantasyland, complimenting the progressively developing theme park.

Studio Ghibli reveals more details of their anticipated theme park

2019-06-07T19:48:00-04:00

At a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, Studio Ghibli producer and co-founder Toshio Suzuki, Aichi governor Hideaki Omura and Chunichi CEO Uichiro Oshima laid out the basic plans for the park. The site is located within the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park, and in keeping with director Hayao Miyazaki's strong environmental beliefs, is to be built in harmony with existing nature and without cutting down a single tree. The park will not feature roller coasters or other ride-type attractions.

The celebrated Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli announced more details of their upcoming theme park in Nagakute City, in Japan's Aichi Prefecture. The studio and their collaborative partners revealed that three areas of the 494-acre park will open in fall 2022. According to Japan Today, the “Hill of Youth Area” will feature the whimsical, steampunk architecture of the film Howl's Moving Castle; the “Dondoko Forest Area” — in reference to My Neighbor Totoro — will have walking trails; and the “Ghibli Big Warehouse Area” will feature shops, cafes, an exhibition room, and a rumored Cat Bus building. Other parts of the park, which will be modeled after the studio's other beloved films Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service, are scheduled to open in the following year.

The shabby-futurist architecture of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Disneyland's newest addition

2019-05-30T13:48:00-04:00

Significant expansions to Disneyland, the fabled theme park in Anaheim, California, are not taken lightly among its designers and imagineers. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the newest 'land' at the park, has been hotly anticipated since it was first announced over five years ago. The 14-acre addition opens tomorrow, and a select number of photos and pieces of information have been released ahead of time.

Black Spire Outpost. Photo by Chris Pizzello

Because Galaxy's Edge lies on the North-West corner of the park, its designers have gone to great length to make it appear isolated and derelict. The buildings are paneled, boarded up and covered in dust; the walkways are littered with luggage beyond human scale; a circuitous bazaar, known as the Black Spire Outpost, is strewn in ramshackle awnings and arrhythmic lighting patterns.

View this post on Instagram Only 10 more days until #StarWars #GalaxysEdge at #Disneyland opens! As you can see, the Cast is ready to wel...

How Walt Disney World plans to run on clean energy

2019-02-08T18:06:00-05:00

...Climate change is bad for business. But as I’ve seen firsthand, companies that invest in clean energy, engage customers in sustainability efforts and leverage their influence to drive smart policies can turn a downside risk into tangible cost-savings, customer retention and global leadership.

Many of Walt Disney's original plans for Disney World, in Orlando, Florida, were scrapped shortly after his death in 1966. Disney envisioned EPCOT (short for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), for instance, as a hotbed for scientific research and a model for energy and material conservation. While EPCOT in its current form produces its own food and some of its own energy, it is a far cry from Disney's original vision.

Walt Disney announcing his plan for the Florida Project, which includes EPCOT. 1965.

But more than fifty years later, a series of changes are making serious headway at the worldwide destination. Angie Renner, an Environmental Integration Director at Walt Disney World Resort, spoke with Jake Hiller of the Environmental Defense Fund about the theme park's initiatives. "Today," Renner stated, "we are striving towards three main environmental goals: divert 60 percent of our waste from landfills by 2020, reduce net emissions 50 percent (from 2012 levels) by 2020,...

MVRDV completes a white and gold entertainment complex by Seoul’s Incheon Airport

2018-09-21T16:38:00-04:00

MVRDV has recently completed The Imprint, a new 2-building art and entertainment complex next to Seoul’s Incheon Airport. Featuring a nightclub in one building and indoor theme park in the other, the windowless structures are part of the larger Paradise City complex of 6 buildings next to South Korea's largest airport.

The Imprint by MVRDV, located in Seoul. © Ossip van Duivenbode

The program required an expressive facade with no windows. The firm created an imprint based design using façade features of the surrounding buildings, lifted entrances, and a golden entrance spot covering one corner of the nightclub building.

The Imprint by MVRDV, located in Seoul. © Ossip van Duivenbode

The façade was constructed of glass-fibre reinforced concrete panels. As many of the 3,869 panels are unique with construction requiring moulds to be individually produced using the f...

Studio Ghibli theme park to open by 2022

2018-04-30T15:38:00-04:00

The fantasy world of Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki will come to life as a theme park, set to open in central Japan in 2022, the regional government said Wednesday. Miyazaki is the cofounder of Studio Ghibli, the nation’s premier animation studio, and is renowned internationally for works including “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away.” Studio Ghibli has released a basic concept for the vast park, which will be built by 2022 near Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture.

Plans for a Studio Ghibli theme park have been floating for some time, but they appear to become more concrete now with the announcement by local officials in Japan's Aichi Prefecture and the release of (very conceptual) illustrations of the park depicting structures that resemble buildings from animation classics like "Howl’s Moving Castle" and "My Neighbor Totoro."

Images: Studio Ghibli.

Fascinating photos of Disney's Magic Kingdom under construction

2016-10-07T14:11:00-04:00

After her grandparents passed away, Kelly Wise Valdes found a treasure trove of candid pictures taken by her grandfather, Chester "Chet" Wise, a master craftsman and woodworker who worked on the construction of the Magic Kingdom in Florida. [...] Thousands of construction workers were there during the Magic Kingdom construction. Disney kept a small handful of these master craftsmen and made them full-time Disney employees, and my grandfather was one of the chosen few.

Click here to find more photos. All images via cnn.com, courtesy of Kelly Wise Valdes.

Noah's Ark replica opens in Kentucky biblical theme park to “compete with the Disneys and the Universals”

2016-07-12T15:09:00-04:00

The park’s centerpiece features three decks of exhibits explaining Answers in Genesis’ views of the biblical flood account..[It] also features a two-story restaurant, aerial zipline cables and the Ararat Ridge Zoo... “...in a world that we see becoming very secularized before our eyes, it’s really time for Christians to do something of this size, of this quality, that competes with the Disneys and the Universals to get a message to the world.”

This might be worth a pitstop for anyone planning a U.S. summer road trip. Envisioned by the Creationist apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis, a replica of Noah's Ark — measuring 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet high — opened last week as the centerpiece of the Ark Encounter theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky. As it goes, the theme park [which apparently has a total construction cost of more than $150 million] is “more than just entertainment” and aims to promote the ministry's views on evolution. As it goes, criticism ensues.

Tallest Lego model in the U.S. unveiled: One World Trade Center in all its pixely might

2016-07-05T12:55:00-04:00

Just in time for the Independence Day weekend, Legoland is showing off an extensive remodel of its New York miniland, dominated by a towering replica of Manhattan’s One World Trade Center. [...] Nearly a year in the making, the redesigned New York area includes a number of new buildings, a dozen more moving automobiles and a subway system with new cars and tracks that are illuminated and feature sound effects that mimic the real thing.

The Legoland announcement proudly boasts these details:

"The One World Trade Center LEGO model is built with more than 250,000 LEGO bricks, and took eight Master Model Builders more than 1200 hours to build. This dynamic structure weighs more than 1,000 pounds and towers at a record breaking 26 feet, making it the tallest LEGO model in the U.S. For the first time ever, guests can use a special LEGO tower viewer giving them a skyscraper view of Miniland U.S.A. The area also features LEGO model replicas of the 9/11 Memorial’s twin reflecting pools, the grove of memorial trees and the impressive World Trade Center Transportation Hub."

Subterranean theme park: photographer Richard John Seymour captures the new life inside an ancient Transylvanian salt mine

2016-01-18T15:11:00-05:00

Deep in the Transylvanian countryside lies an ancient salt mine dating back over two millennia. Today Salina Turda has become an unlikely tourist attraction, with thousands of visitors descending its vertical shafts each year to play mini-golf, go bowling and row around its underground lake. [...] British photographer Richard John Seymour recently travelled to Salina Turda in his quest to document human-altered landscapes.

Keeping the Disneyland magic alive, by limiting neighbors' building heights

2015-12-14T17:47:00-05:00

The policy, limiting building heights of 75 to 240 feet within a half-mile radius of the Disneyland Resort, isn’t meant to keep outsiders from getting a peek at the rides and attractions. Rather, the Disney Cone is aimed at limiting views of the outside world for the 25 million-plus annual visitors who walk into the parks for a sense of escape and fantasy – just as Walt Disney had first envisioned on Disneyland’s opening day, more than 60 years ago.

Dismaland, Banksy's anti-capitalist art show, gave host town a £20M boost in tourism

2015-09-28T14:25:00-04:00

Over the past five weeks, more than 150,000 people have visited the subversive theme park in a derelict seafront lido, which had been shut since 2000 and reopened in a blaze of publicity on 20 August. [...] But, it is the town's tourist businesses that have reaped the benefit - to the tune of £20m, says Visit Somerset, more than three times what the trade body initially suggested. [...] Everyone has noted the irony of the anti-capitalist art show boosting business.

Previously: Banksy about to open "Dismaland" pop-up exhibition in British seaside resort

New Showers Installed at Auschwitz

2015-09-01T23:48:00-04:00

The management at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum has defended the installation of sprinkler showers at its entrance, after a visitor complained that the new facilities were a painful reminder of the gas chambers used to murder prisoners.

Is Auschwitz now a theme park?

Chinese Fun: Photographer Stefano Cerio captures the eerie side of empty amusement parks

2015-08-25T18:31:00-04:00

In Stefano Cerio's series “Chinese Fun,” he explores the facades of amusement without an audience’s reaction. The photographer enters areas built for fun and leisure in the off months or closing hours, exploring the absurdity that creeps into the architecture of entertainment when there is no one to enjoy it but a single camera.

Shijingshang Park-Beijing

Shanghai Happy Valley-Shanghai

Water Cube-Beijing. Photo by by Stefano Cerio.

Cover of Stefano Cerio's recently released book, Chinese Fun. Click here to see more of the series.

All photos by Stefano Cerio.

In other recent amusement/bemusement-park news: Banksy about to open "Dismaland" pop-up exhibition in British seaside resort

Banksy about to open "Dismaland" pop-up exhibition in British seaside resort

2015-08-19T15:31:00-04:00

Rumors have been circulating around the internet for a few days, but later this week Banksy is now set to open a new pop-up exhibition entitled "Dismaland" at in Weston-Super-Mare, UK. The venue is called "Tropicana", a 10,200-square-foot site to be transformed into "Dismaland", a probable attack on American entertainment giant Disney. [...] As usual with Banksy, the details are very scarce, but earlier this morning Iain Brimecome and Jon Goff were able to fly their drone above the site [...].

Another aerial view of "Dismaland," expected to open later this week. Photo: Iain Brimecome & Jon Goff, image via streetartnews.net.

Photo via @francisclarke on Twitter.

Banksy in the Archinect news:

The rise and spectacular fall of Venice Beach's Pacific Ocean Park

2014-07-29T17:45:00-04:00

If you had walked along the beach in Venice in the early 1970s, you would have come across the sagging, crumbling, partially incinerated ghost of an old amusement park on a pier. [...] But when it opened in July 1958, more than half a century ago, Pacific Ocean Park — or P.O.P., as it came to be known — was the thing: an amusement park that married Venice Beach's kitschy seaside carnival culture with the space-age Modern architecture of the late 1950s.

Citymakers’ 4th-place proposal for Park Russia

2014-01-23T17:24:00-05:00

If you've been tracking our coverage of the Park Russia competition results, here comes another project! This time, it's from fourth-place finalist Citymakers, a masterplanning and city development company based in Moscow and Copenhagen. Citymakers entered the competition with Berlin-based studio anOtherArchitect.

Sneak a peek of their project:

Head over to Bustler for more details.

Related: Cushman & Wakefield-led consortium wins Park Russia competition
Park Russia proposal by 2nd-place finalist HOSPER

Five teams selected for Stage II of “Russia” Theme Park competition

2013-11-05T13:13:00-05:00

Five teams were selected for the second stage of the international architectural "Russia" theme park competition. The Jury, the Expert Council, and "Russia" park representatives met this past September to begin searching for the concept and financial model for the theme park. Twenty-six submissions out of 180 registered applicants from 41 countries made it to Stage I, which was then narrowed down to 18 after the Expert Council made further evaluations.

Out of those 18 submissions, only 5 finalists were selected to move on to Stage II:

BBDB: Balmori + base4+ DBA Proekt
Citymakers
Cushman & Wakefield
HOSPER
Mosproject-5

China's abandoned Wonderland

2011-12-13T13:54:20-05:00

A farmer carries a shovel over his shoulder as he walks to tend his crops in a field that includes an abandoned building, that was to be part of an amusement park called 'Wonderland', on the outskirts of Beijing December 5, 2011. Construction work at the park, which was promoted by developers as 'the largest amusement park in Asia', stopped around 1998 after funds were withdrawn due to disagreements over property prices with the local government and farmers.