USA: Peppa Pig Theme Park Opens in February 2022 as Certified Autism Center
The world’s first Peppa Pig™ Theme Park, which will be developed as a stand-alone park offering at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort (see EAP news 26 Feb 2021), will celebrate its official opening on February 24th, 2022. The new park will include six new rides, including a balloon ride from Technical Park, which will be accessible for wheelchairs, as well as additional themed play-scapes and a water play area. “Guests will enjoy the ride from whimsical baskets, crafted to look like a hot air balloon and are specially designed to allow children who use wheelchairs to roll on to the balloon basket without needing to transfer from their wheelchairs. Merlin Entertainment’s creative and projects delivery team, Merlin Magic Making, along with the ride manufacturer Technical Park worked closely to develop this adaption to a fan-favourite ride to ensure more children could experience it safely along with a grownup, or adult companion”, explained Keith Carr, Project Director of Merlin Entertainments. With the “Muddy Puddy Splash Pad” and the “Peppa’s Pedal Bike Tour” two further wheelchair-accessible attractions will be developed.
Rex Jackson, President and Managing Director of Peppa Pig Theme Park & LEGOLAND Resorts North America, commented: “This new park just steps away from LEGOLAND Florida Resort further cements our resort’s position as the ultimate vacation destination for kids. Our teams are working diligently to find ways to make the attractions and play-scapes across this park as accessible as possible. A comprehensive accessible guide has been developed for all of the park’s experiences. I am honored to announce we are partnering with IBCCES to earn our creditation as a certified autism partner. Not only will Peppa Pig Theme Park open with a distinguished designation but the LEGOLAND Florida Resort teams are also working to earn a creditation across LEGOLAND Park, LEGOLAND waterpark and our three on-site hotels.”
Myron Pincomb, CEO & Chairman of the Board of IBCCES, added: “Through our partnership with Peppa Pig we will work with the park leadership to develop free travel planning tools and conduct a staff-wide autism sensitivity and awareness training […].” (eap)
