New Indoor Theme Park in London?

[James Watkins]

'Babylon Park' is set to open in Camden Market later this year.

Heard nothing about this.. can't tell if it's set to be temporary or permanent?



Edit: It would appear they have a park in Israel, which has an SBF spinning coaster, so I’m guessing that’s what we can expect here.

Babylon Park (Eilat, Southern, Israel)

Looking for statistics on the fastest, tallest or longest roller coasters? Find it all and much more with the interactive Roller Coaster Database.

rcdb.com

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

Looks more along the lines of an indoor fair than a theme park but it would definitely be good to see more indoor places like this open in this country. Given the weather you do wonder why this isn’t already a thing.

 

[Hew878787]

Merlin reading this information

 

[Skyscraper]

'Babylon Park' is set to open in Camden Market later this year.

Heard nothing about this.. can't tell if it's set to be temporary or permanent?



Edit: It would appear they have a park in Israel, which has an SBF spinning coaster, so I’m guessing that’s what we can expect here.

Babylon Park (Eilat, Southern, Israel)

Looking for statistics on the fastest, tallest or longest roller coasters? Find it all and much more with the interactive Roller Coaster Database.

rcdb.com

Sounds like it'll be similar to the Family Entertainment Centres (FECs) that are common in the States.

 

[air_head]

I'm pretty happy about this. London's been missing this sort of thing ever since the Trocadero, and more recently Namco Funscape closed. Really hope that it's a success!

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

I'm pretty happy about this. London's been missing this sort of thing ever since the Trocadero, and more recently Namco Funscape closed. Really hope that it's a success!

I remember doing the Pepsi Max Drop (an Intamin drop tower) at the Trocadero many years ago as well as the fantastic Alien War experience and Sega World, that place was brilliant in the 90s.

 

[KolonelKlink]

I'm pretty happy about this. London's been missing this sort of thing ever since the Trocadero, and more recently Namco Funscape closed. Really hope that it's a success!

This is the building it’s in if anyone’s interested - https://www.camdenmarket.com/hawleywharf/the-latest/about-us - basically a 2020s version of the 1990s leisure park with a cinema and chain restaurants.

Babylon Park appear to be a chain, and the Camden site is the biggest of the lot (35,000 square feet over three floors). Theming’s being done by P&P Projects who’ve worked on all kinds of stuff (https://www.ppprojects.com/projects/) so it may well look alright.

Feels like a bit of an odd location though - Segaworld and Namco Station both struggled in high-footfall, tourist-laden parts of central London, so I’m not sure a less touristy part of north London is going to generate huge numbers of visitors.

 

[air_head]

I remember doing the Pepsi Max Drop (an Intamin drop tower) at the Trocadero many years ago as well as the fantastic Alien War experience and Sega World, that place was brilliant in the 90s.

I moved to London for uni in 2006 and completely fell in love with the Trocadero. Coming from Stoke I’d never seen anything like it. I think what really sold it for me was the pinball machines; they had so many of them and from what I remember they were kept in pretty good nick. I was gutted when it closed.

 

[Burbs]

I work on Shaftesbury Avenue in London and so pass the Trocadero regularly. It's always sad to think of what it used to be now it's all closed up. Unsure how popular this will be if it opens though. Something that I doubt will be particularly high on many tourist's must-do lists when visiting London, unless they do something unique and special with it.

 

[air_head]

Reading the info on the link that @KolonelKlink posted, I’m not sure whether it’s actually intended for tourists. It seems to be almost a community space; perhaps that’s their target market?

 

[Benzin]

Feels like a bit of an odd location though - Segaworld and Namco Station both struggled in high-footfall, tourist-laden parts of central London, so I’m not sure a less touristy part of north London is going to generate huge numbers of visitors.

Camden Market is a massive tourist destination (a quick Google suggests its 4th most popular in London, claiming 27m visitors a year), and perhaps a fair more suited location for the potential target market than smack bang centre of London.

I assume its still full of alternative teens buying half the stock of CyberDog. So an arcade area would go down exceptionally well.

 

[jon81uk]

Feels like a bit of an odd location though - Segaworld and Namco Station both struggled in high-footfall, tourist-laden parts of central London, so I’m not sure a less touristy part of north London is going to generate huge numbers of visitors.

Camden market is full of tourists. It isn't the punk-focused market of the 70s. There is a lot of vintage clothing for sale still, but also a load of tat focused solely on tourists.

I assume its still full of alternative teens buying half the stock of CyberDog. So an arcade area would go down exceptionally well.

Depends on the mix of arcade vs softplay and kiddie rides. It feels like the wrong location for toddler stuff, but as you say an adult arcade might go down quite well.

 

[lozzalol]

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yeah, we wept, when we remembered Paramount

 

[KolonelKlink]

Bumping this thread as there's news of another supposedly heavily themed attraction opening in London this summer called Phantom Peak next to Canada Water Tube station that has at least one (boat) ride:

Discover Phantom Peak | An Immersive Open-World Experience

Step into the world of Phantom Peak, London's top immersive experience. Unravel mysteries, enjoy interactive activities, and create unforgettable memories today!

phantompeak.com

 

[jon81uk]

Bumping this thread as there's news of another supposedly heavily themed attraction opening in London this summer called Phantom Peak next to Canada Water Tube station that has at least one (boat) ride:

Discover Phantom Peak | An Immersive Open-World Experience

Step into the world of Phantom Peak, London's top immersive experience. Unravel mysteries, enjoy interactive activities, and create unforgettable memories today!

phantompeak.com

Don't think it will be a boat ride, just the option to row a boat.

Sounds a lot like a live-action Westworld.

 

[James Watkins]

Coaster looks pretty unique!

 

[WickerwomanH]

Bumping an old thread because I've just seen about this place recently on social media, and it appears to be free entry and pay per ride with an online cashless system, and the bigger rides being pretty expensive, at about £10 each. I'd be really interested to try it out!

 

[Skyscraper]

Bumping an old thread because I've just seen about this place recently on social media, and it appears to be free entry and pay per ride with an online cashless system, and the bigger rides being pretty expensive, at about £10 each. I'd be really interested to try it out!

It looks cool but is mainly a kids park, although there are a fair few arcade games. There are no thrill rides, only rides adults will care about is the coaster (custom designed to fit the building) and spring tower. Will be great for families with young children though!
TPWW has done a video tour but I won't link it as the team would come after me.

 

[Burbs]

TPWW has done a video tour but I won't link it as the team would come after me.

You are welcome to post a link to a video if it supports a point you are making or the discussion in hand, especially as it's one of the only videos online about the park from a theme parks point of view. It would be very helpful if you could let us know where specific things happen that we might be interested in: seeing the coaster for example.

 

[Skyscraper]

You are welcome to post a link to a video if it supports a point you are making or the discussion in hand, especially as it's one of the only videos online about the park from a theme parks point of view. It would be very helpful if you could let us know where specific things happen that we might be interested in: seeing the coaster for example.

That's a good point, thanks for clarifying.
Here's the video then, the credit/payment system is explained at 12 mins and Shawn rides the coaster at 13:26. The park does look really nice, very clean and welcoming.