Crayola plans to open at least five more of its Crayola Experience attractions around the U.S. in the next five years.
The expansion is part of a licensing deal with a newly-formed company, Bright Colors LLC.
“BrightColors’ management have a proven track record not only in creating memorable attractions, but also in providing guests the highest level of service in operations,” Warren Schorr, Crayola’s senior vice president of business development, said in a press release. “They are the perfect complement to the standards already established for Crayola Experience.”
Five Crayola Experience locations are currently in operation, including at the Florida Mall in Orlando and the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The centers offer hands-on, family-friendly activities such as naming and wrapping a Crayola crayon, watching crayons getty made, and creating art from melted crayons.
Animal Kingdom’s “Disney KiteTails” show ends Sept. 30
The “Disney KiteTails” show at Animal Kingdom will come in for its final crash landing on Sept. 30, ending a one-year run at the park.
The show featuring large Disney character kites debuted last October as part of Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration. Making use of space left unoccupied since Animal Kingdom’s “Rivers of Light” nighttime show went dark, “KiteTails’” most notable feature how kites were intentionally crashed into unoccupied seating sections. Disney added narration to explain to guests that this was planned.
“KiteTails” was one of three nighttime shows that began Oct. 1, 2021 at Disney World. Epcot’s “Harmonious” is going to be replaced in 2023 and Magic Kingdom’s “Enchantment” will be altered in some form — or perhaps replaced entirely — to return the anthem portion of its predecessor, “Happily Ever After.”
Comcast CEO: ‘We’re playing offense’ against Disney
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts bragged about his company’s position in the theme park market against archrival Disney at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference in San Francisco.
When asked if the Universal theme park division of the company was seeing any “headwinds related to the economy,” Roberts said the parks “are powering us” after being a drag of financial results during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then he mentioned Disney:
“We’re investing in this business all over the world, and we’re playing offense. We’re – clearly, there’s one other company, Disney, that has a fabulous parks business. We’re gaining share. The ingenuity and the service and the customer satisfaction, it has never been better. And so again, we’ve looked for signs of slowdown, and I’m sure there will be moments. But right now, it’s allowing NBC to make these other investments not just in Epic Universe and in Nintendo but also in Peacock and elsewhere so that we’re not taking money from one pot to put it in another. This is very much transforming the company with its own balance sheet.”
Roberts also mentioned that he had recently toured the upcoming Super Nintendo World coming to Universal Studios Hollywood in early 2023, promising that guests “will love it.”