Dallas, Wednesday, 26 November 2025.
Merlin’s 2025 play strategy doubles down on IP‑led growth in North America, unveiling a second U.S. Peppa Pig park in Dallas–Fort Worth, a £70 million allocation to space‑themed LEGOLAND upgrades including indoor rollercoasters, and a global ‘celebration of play’ marketing push. For operators and investors, the intriguing fact is the explicit prioritisation of mid‑market resort premiumisation over flagship megaprojects — directing capital to scalable, lower‑capex attractions designed to lift attendance and per‑capita spend. The plan signals focused regional penetration in key U.S. family segments, leveraging proven IP to differentiate offerings across the portfolio. Retail professionals should note implications for ancillary revenue strategies, seasonality smoothing via festival programming, and the operational lift from inclusive design (e.g., certified Autism Centre features at the new Peppa Pig park). Execution timelines span 2025 openings and early‑2026 attraction launches, with measurable KPIs likely to centre on yield per visit instead of attendance and retention.
Linking back to the ongoing story
This update builds on earlier coverage that flagged Merlin’s strategy to convert preschool IP into standalone regional destinations — a shift first reported in a previous piece titled “Peppa Pig Goes Big in the US as Triotech Accelerates Interactive Ride Rollout” [4]. That reporting set the context for why Merlin’s moves matter to operators, planners and licensors; the new announcements move that strategy from concept to execution with concrete investments and openings [4][3][2].
A second U.S. Peppa Pig park opens in Dallas–Fort Worth
Merlin has opened a new PEPPA PIG Theme Park in the Dallas–Fort Worth market, announced as opening on 2025-11-25 and described as the company’s third global standalone Peppa Pig park following Florida (2022) and Günzburg, Germany (2024) [2]. Merlin reports the Dallas–Fort Worth attraction represents a $40 million investment and includes five age‑appropriate rides, nine themed playscapes, a splash pad and live shows; the park is also certified as an Autism Centre with wheelchair‑accessible paths, quiet spaces and sensory guides — details that underline Merlin’s operational emphasis on inclusive family design [2].
£70 million committed to space‑themed LEGOLAND upgrades
Merlin reaffirmed a £70 million investment earmarked for North American LEGOLAND Resorts and disclosed the first details of space‑themed experiences to be developed at LEGOLAND Florida and LEGOLAND California, including ‘groundbreaking’ indoor rollercoasters scheduled to launch in early 2026 [3]. Merlin frames this as the biggest single in‑park investment in those resorts’ histories and part of a strategy to ‘premiumise’ existing assets rather than prioritise new flagship parks, signalling capital allocation into mid‑market resort upgrades with the potential for scalable replication across the estate [3].
A global ‘celebration of play’ marketing programme ties the pieces together
Alongside the asset‑level investments, Merlin and the LEGO Group are running a coordinated global programme — the LEGO Festival — described as a ‘celebration of play’ that runs across seven LEGOLAND resorts over six weekends from 3 May through World Play Day on 11 June 2025, featuring five immersive zones and more than 49 new big‑build LEGO models [1]. That festival programming offers a mechanism to smooth seasonality, increase repeat visitation windows and boost ancillary spend through event‑specific retail and F&B offers, according to the rollout details [1].
What this means for operators and investors
Taken together, the Peppa Pig Dallas opening, the £70 million LEGOLAND allocation and the LEGO Festival show Merlin prioritising IP‑led premiumisation of existing regional resorts to drive attendance and yield per visit rather than chasing flagship, high‑capex destination parks; Merlin describes the programme as focusing investment on ‘priority attractions with the greatest potential for growth’ and bringing the LEGO brand ‘to life at scale’ across its estate [3][1][2]. This approach aligns with industry signals that operators are reallocating spend toward family‑focused, IP‑led products and mid‑market experiences as a route to revenue growth [5].
Operational and commercial implications
For operators and retailers, practical implications include the need to adapt master plans for modular, lower‑capex attractions that deliver measurable per‑capita yield gains; the Peppa Pig park’s Autism Centre certification demonstrates a concurrent operational investment in inclusivity that can broaden market appeal and reduce reputational risk [2][3]. Festival programming at LEGOLAND resorts provides an explicit seasonal‑demand lever while the indoor, space‑themed coasters aim to extend day‑parts and weather‑indifferent attendance — all measures likely to be tracked through KPIs focused on spend per visit, attraction throughput and length of stay rather than headline attendance alone [1][3][2][5].
Market context and near‑term timeline
These announcements arrive against a backdrop of uneven revenue performance in the U.S. parks sector; industry reporting notes a near‑2% year‑over‑year revenue decline for U.S. amusement parks even as operators plan large 2026 openings, underscoring why mid‑market premiumisation and IP deployment are timely tactical choices for revenue recovery and differentiation [5]. Merlin’s calendar places the Dallas–Fort Worth Peppa Pig opening in the immediate term (announced 25 November 2025) and the LEGOLAND indoor coasters slated for early 2026, with the LEGO Festival running across the May weekends leading to World Play Day [2][3][1].
Bronnen