Fans of Hot Wheels, Thomas & Friends, Barbie, and other iconic American toy brands will find plenty of fun and fanfare when Mattel Adventure Park, the first-ever Mattel branded theme park, starts welcoming guests in Glendale, Arizona.
The new entertainment destination combines the talents of today’s top names in attractions, amusements and design. Slated to open in 2023 just south of State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Mattel Adventure Park highlights the full spectrum of the iconic toymaker’s portfolio of brands and showcases the contributions of Mattel, Epic Resort Destinations (Epic) and other major industry trailblazers.
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Epic knew there was an opportunity to collaborate and innovate with Mattel to develop world-class branded attractions, upon seeing Mattel’s IPs brought to life in other location-based entertainment projects. To help bring the vision to life, Epic chose Super 78 to support the destination’s creative direction.
Aiding with everything from the interactive design and media production for the park’s Thomas Adventure Train: Treasure Hunt™ — which allows families to talk to Thomas and his friends before embarking on a journey on a real-life electric Thomas the Tank Engine — to Hot Wheels Unleashed 4D Ride multi-media attraction, which takes guests behind the wheel of a custom-designed Hot Wheels car in a thrilling 4D motion experience.
Chance Rides, an all American-based rollercoaster and classic ride manufacturer, worked with Epic to create high-tech coasters and rides based on toys, from two Hot Wheels rollercoasters, Hot Wheels Twin Mill Racer and Hot Wheels Boneshaker: The Ultimate Ride, to a fully electric Thomas & Friends train ride. Additionally, Epic chose to engage Zamperla, a cutting-edge, Italy-based amusement ride company known for its iconic coasters and thrill rides for children and adults, adding five family-friendly amusement rides to the Mattel Adventure Park’s Thomas & Friends World of Sodor™.
“We share a pioneering vision in collaborating with Mattel to develop a world class primarily indoor theme park destination,” says Mark Cornell, president of Epic Resort Destinations. “Our key to an innovative and impactful park design has been fully leveraged through strategic partnerships, teaming with industry leaders like Mad Systems for their award-winning audiovisual design and interactive integration capabilities; Daniels Woodland for iconic attractions theming and fabrication and Lightswitch, illumination experts implementing cutting-edge solutions for all of our attractions from rollercoasters to our one of a kind, four level Hot Wheels Go-kart track. The output of these partnerships has enabled us to create an extraordinary immersive branded theme park experience.”
