interactive media

Orlando, Sunday, 7 December 2025.
Merlin Entertainments will open a Peppa Pig–branded theme park in the United States in 2025, while Triotech — marking its 25th anniversary — is scaling a global product lineup of media-driven, interactive attractions for the same year. For retail professionals, the most intriguing fact is the coordinated push toward high-capacity, low-maintenance, IP-integrated family experiences that prioritize media refreshability over mechanical novelty. Expect growing demand for turnkey licensing packages, interactive dark-ride technology, motion-simulator content, and supplier partnerships that bundle themed retail-ready merchandise with attraction lifecycles. Key commercial considerations include licensing fee structures, predictable upgrade pathways for screen-heavy assets, inventory planning tied to character launches (eg, Baby Evie), and seasonal attendance patterns skewed to early-childhood households. Operators should reassess retail mix, SKU lifecycles, and POS experiences to capture per-capita spend shifts, and plan supplier contracts that balance capex predictability with modular content refresh options. Prepare merchandising calendars and KPI targets accordingly now.

Jacksonville, Friday, 3 October 2025.
Sally Dark Rides this year unveiled Attack of the Robots, a license-free mixed‑media dark ride designed for flexible footprints and phased roll‑outs. The most intriguing fact: operators can buy a turnkey, IP‑free package that reduces licensing costs while scaling capacity through modular layouts. The product mixes interactive elements, holographics and pyrotechnic-style effects to deliver family-friendly intensity, and is engineered to retrofit into existing buildings or populate new family zones. Parallel to the product launch, Sally is promoting on‑site factory group tours that expose production capability, demonstrate ride assets and shorten procurement cycles by lowering perceived vendor risk. For regional parks, zoos and cultural attractions, the offering promises faster lead times, clearer total‑cost‑of‑ownership comparisons and simpler integration compared with large bespoke suppliers. Operators should evaluate throughput configurations, maintenance profiles and theming budgets, but for mid-market buyers seeking predictable cost and schedule, this represents a pragmatic option in the dark‑ride supply set.