The Interpreter Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 If all goes ahead, the complex shall be in direct competition to Disneyland in Paris, although with much better weather. While Benidorm's Terra Mitica continues to struggle to claw back its enormous debt, much brighter news was announced this week in the world of Theme Parks as Paramount Pictures are looking to build Spain's largest theme Park in the region of Murcia. The Park division of the filmmaker previously operated Terra Mitica and so this move comes as something of a surprise since they were unable to make a success of the park in Benidorm but they would have complete control over this project unlike the restraints they had to contend with in Benidorm. The twist is that along with being an amusement park, that Paramount would also be building their own film studios in Murcia and using this as their centre of European production, according to Murcian Councillor for Culture, Pedro Alberto Cruz. Cruz has just returned from a trip to Dubai and stated that Michael Bartok, Paramount's Executive President shall be carrying out an economic viability study in the first instance, before committing to any construction.... (emphasis in the original)http://www.torreviej...ures-23422.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast1979 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Done in the Theme Park business, indeed. I want to go to their Spain and Korea parks if for no other reason to see what Paramount might have had in store for us had ownership not changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 I love that they point out that the "struggling" Terra Mitica mentioned once was called "Terra Mitica: A Paramount Park". It's only fair to point out their previous endeavors that would likely be "crushed" by their newest. I'd obviously love to see this come to fruition. Any grand park built anywhere in the world is something I would look forward to as a lover of the industry. This should also be interesting in that, had France not "raised its bid" so to speak, the Euro Disneyland project was intended for Spain. And in fact, might have fared better in its very lackluster opening years, some say. And I'm always scanning the horizon for a rebirth of Tomb Raider: The Ride! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Does Paramount just dust off this press release about building a new foreign park every six months or so? (I'm sure the concept art will include the giant ferris wheel with the Paramount logo in the center again...) Granted, I haven't followed it that closely, but was there every any progress made on any of the other "announced" parks (China, Korea, Japan, etc.)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Not really, other than Korea, it is just a bunch of annoucements, and Korea isn't getting anywhere fast. Most of the concept art being used to promote it, it is just reused concept art from the American parks. http://www.thethemeparkguy.com/park/paramount-movie-park-korea/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 The Korean one, I think, is set up to be the much-awaited rival for Disney & Universal. The park looks incredible from the concept-art layouts that have been released. We're not talking a Ferris wheel with a Paramount logo, but an incredible, Universal-style park. The centerpiece of the park is the Paramountain (I should trademark that...) and a giant arch on the park's "main street" frames it to create the world's largest Paramount logo. Notice the fountain show around the Paramountain, the Tomb Raider-esque temple embedded in it, Titanic, what appears to be a HUSS Topple Tower, a HUSS Giant Frisbee, and a CityWalk-style entertainment center. It also appears as though this park may be the one chosen to finally recieve the long-lost Addam's Family Shriek Shack. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. The park honestly looks like a hybrid of Universal's Islands of Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea, two of the greatest parks on Earth in many opinions. My only fear is that, based only on these images, the park lacks a certain "charm." Many Paramount movies are beloved, but many more are sort of unrecognizable. (FACE/OFF? Drop Zone? Even Italian Job, to some extent, don't seem to resonate the way Jurassic Park does, and I'm not even a fan of Jurassic Park). It will be so odd - Kings Island will almost appear to be a cheap knockoff of Paramount Park. We'll have the unthemed, greatly-reduced-quality version of their Italian Job, and of their Tomb Raider, and of their MTV Soundwave, and of their 3-D rides... Very strange, indeed. But imagine, if you will, our original Italian Job: Stunt Track with Revenge-of-the-Mummy-quality darkride effects, etc. etc. That appears to be what is on the horizon for this park... let's hope so, at least. The following photos are from The Theme Park Guy. Could that be the long-rumored MTV Soundwave, our own Italian Job: Stunt Track, and a Tomb Raider flume ride with mysterious square building in background? I believe these three posters are showing off the "CityWalk" style shopping area, some sort of Titanic special effects show / dark ride, and even School of Rock - Live in Concert! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback96 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Paramount's probably thinking about a new park in the US, too. It's probably just at the back of their minds right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 Just to follow up, according to Screamscape: Spain - (3/27/10) As I expected that Paramount branded theme park announced for Spain is looking not so good. Paramount Pictures has already denied any involvement with this park or any other project anywhere in Europe. Follow this however the President of Murcia did produce “signed documents” from Dubai to back up the previous claims. I’m not sure why Dubai…but anyway… the local politicians from the opposing side however still claim it’s all the fairy tale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 Deal for Paramount Park in Spain Signed: Paramount Pictures said Friday it has reached a deal to open its first theme park in Europe in Spain, the world's third most visited country, which will create thousands of jobs.In a statement, Paramount Licensing said it "will not be an investor in the project but will licence intellectual property from its vast library of films and provide conceptual master planning and design for the project." The park will be located in the southeastern region of Murcia on the Mediterranean coast at a yet-to-be disclosed date, it added.... Spanish media reported that Paramount's planned theme park will create some 20,000 jobs and will attract nearly three million tourists each year.... http://www.google.co...i_7LrwkgBwj01MA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coney Islander Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 Interesting... How large would a park with 20,000 workers be in comparison to *Paramount's* Kings Island? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 The Spanish park may not necessarily have 20,000 workers, but may still create 20,000 jobs. There is a multiplier effect...parks create jobs other places as well, with suppliers, ride builders, etc., for example... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted September 18, 2010 Author Share Posted September 18, 2010 And more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1312615/Spain-New-theme-park-planned-rival-Disneyland-Paris.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 If only I had a quote-of-the-day blog: Previous Paramount projects have involved the Kings Island in Canada, which has adrenaline-fuelled rides and daily shows. However, the company sold all its American theme parks in 2006.It had originally planned to re-enter the theme park business with a new opening in Dubai, but the idea stalled when the Emirate's financial markets collapsed. Anyway, I'm glad that the whole "Dubai" crazy is more or less ending. It would have been incredible to see a dolphin-shaped island, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Six Flags, Discovery Cove, Aquatica, Paramount Park, Universal Studios, etc. all in one place... But it was clearly just a rushed attempt to capitalize on the oil prices of a few summers ago, and now that that's "over," so are the plans. Spain is a fantastic location for a major park - it's similar to France in most every tourist-important way (landscapes, weather, etc) except it doesn't rain 80% of the time like in France. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Paramount grants 30 year license: http://www.simplynet...theme_park.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 But pay attention to that last line. Particularly the park about "if financing can be secured." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I was lost driving near Murcia, Spain one time heading down to La Costa del Sol from Barcelona. At that time (late '90s) it didn't seem like that much of a touristy area (more industrial). It was also in Murcia that I discovered the joys of Spanish Pizza Hut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollerzach Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I miss Paramount Kings Island ); Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBOB Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 The fact that Viacom wants to build new theme parks makes me wonder............ Did Viacom really want to get rid of the American parks because they were an "already established, unecessary asset", or in reality, was it more like "These seasonal theme parks that we already own are regional, and are not structured to be the ego boosting mega-resorts (cough-Disney-cough-Universal) that we want them to be?". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 The fact that Viacom wants to build new theme parks makes me wonder............ Did Viacom really want to get rid of the American parks because they were an "already established, unecessary asset", or in reality, was it more like "These seasonal theme parks that we already own are regional, and are not structured to be the ego boosting mega-resorts (cough-Disney-cough-Universal) that we want them to be?". I think it's actually more like "we want someone else to pay to build and operate parks, then just pay us for licensing" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 And even under CBS, that's exactly what Viacom was getting. Then CBS sold the parks to Cedar Fair for a Kings Ransom...and Sir Kinzel decided to pay Viacom no more as soon as practicable. Terp, who learns much by being Snoopy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 If you look on the web you can see some of art work for the 4 parks before Viacom bought Paramount. Kinda wished we got the movie park the art work looks very nice. Who knows we could have two parks at the Island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 If you look on the web you can see some of art work for the 4 parks before Viacom bought Paramount. Kinda wished we got the movie park the art work looks very nice. Who knows we could have two parks at the Island. There was some impressive artwork done for the stateside Paramount Parks as well... the attractions just never looked quite as good when they opened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 To be fair, Paramount Communications (aka Paramount Pictures) never got to do what it wanted with the parks because shortly after the acquisition from KECO, Paramount Communications was itself acquired by VIACOM. The latter never seemed quite sure what to do with the parks, and passed them from division to division of the company... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesReviews Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 It also appears as though this park may be the one chosen to finally recieve the long-lost Addam's Family Shriek Shack. Never heard of this. What is/was this attraction? Also... I think it's safe to assume (given the theming) that the coaster would be named Gladiator. Or perhaps Maximus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBOB Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 If you look on the web you can see some of art work for the 4 parks before Viacom bought Paramount. Kinda wished we got the movie park the art work looks very nice. Who knows we could have two parks at the Island. Just curious, is the top piece of artwork a rendering of the rumored "cityscape/citywalk" that Paramount had planned to re-theme International Street into? I think that this would have been neat, if and ONLY if the Royal Fountains and Eiffel Tower were planned to remain in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoaster Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 So cool to see this over-seas. However it would have been cool to see more of this with Paramount retaining ownership. Maybe more of a year round resord especilally for Kings Island there flagship!! at the time. Hope for the best, for these new parks. and yes KI now has generic looking attractions from our movie going days!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Back in the early days of Paramount Studios ownership of KI, I was hoping for a "Hollywood Blvd" type area. I thought the area to the north of The Racer would have been perfect for that (pretty much where the dino walk is going now...) I even built it once in RCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 So cool to see this over-seas. However it would have been cool to see more of this with Paramount retaining ownership. Maybe more of a year round resord especilally for Kings Island there flagship!! at the time. Hope for the best, for these new parks. and yes KI now has generic looking attractions from our movie going days!! But Kings Island in February? Brrr. And why? Ignoring the temperature limitations on many roller coasters operation and the essential maintenance that occurs during the offseason, there simply wouldn't be attendance to support payroll. Even Carowinds has a similar schedule, and it's much farther south. Even parks like Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion (which usually have relatively temperate weathers with very very little snowfall) don't bother to remain open year-round. Even with Busch Garden's new Christmas event, there's still dead-time in November, and from January to March. Just a thought - it seems that overseas parks who simply contract out movie studios properties do quite well. See, for example, Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea. From my understanding, the resort is not owned by the Walt Disney Company. Instead, both are owned by the Oriental Land Company, who simply pays (probably ridiculous amounts) to The Walt Disney Company to use their names, likenesses, properties, characters, etc. in a large liscencing fee, and in return, Disney leases out their Imagineers to design for the parks. The year that that resort got DisneySea (arguably one of the most beautiful and well-themed parks on Earth), one of the state-side, company-owned resorts got a park that's currently undergoing a $1.2 billion re-build since it wasn't done right the first time... Perhaps having other companies finance the park is the way to go. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think of it like a franchised restaurant. Pay upfront to use the name, abide by all of the rules of the parent, and try to make your individual franchise as successful as possible with the help (and also, limitations) imposed by the parent. Am I on the right track? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 http://www.themovechannel.com/news/5239e210-6e3d/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I am not sure if it has been mentioned, but in my opinion I hope that this park stays a Paramount Park while it's in operation. From the renderings, I couldn't even imagine rebuilding after paramount would leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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