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Paddington Bear Coming to Europa-Park

Rob

Rob

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In what I can't help but feel is a strange move, EP seem to be introducing a Paddington Bear IP over the winter season and in 2018.



"Paddington will be a central figure of the England-themed part of the park, with a dedicated section, including a shop. The brand’s presence will also include a VR Ride."

The main season ice show in 2018 will also be Paddington themed; sounds like it may be an external production rather than in-house by EP as the article says the show will also be going on tour around Germany.

I suppose either Paddington is very big in Germany (?) or it's a way of trying to increase awareness of EP in the British market. Either way I am not going to change my anti-IP stance, I have reservations about this, especially the ice show.

:)
 
...and the VR?!

It sort of sounds like England will get at least a partial retheme. Or could it be an additional area built out from the existing England area? I’d prefer the latter. Unless the VR ride is going to be pretty small I can’t think where it would go in the existing area.
 
Can I sneakily admit I enjoyed both VR experiences on the mine train (Not so much on Pegasus) :oops:. After doing each experience once though I would probably never do them again.

Haha Rob, I was going to suggest the London buses ;)

There is a new movie coming out I think? Fully agree this seems a bit odd. I wasn't around Europa Street when Arthur was being built, did this have a similar feel about it or is it more odd because its a well known IP in Britain?
 
I'm all for Paddington Bear amblin' his way to Europa Park, he's a nice fit for that quaint yet quirky version of England we all see in popular culture and could definitely improve what's already in the area. Although I expect the Three Little Pigs to remain, begrudgingly, untouched.

I'm expecting the shop to be stocked full of Robertsons' Marmalade and a quarter of the cast from the first film to turn up at the park.
 
Whatever you think about Paddington, England is probably the worst area of the park and is in need of a refresh or at least a refurbishment. The only nice part is Crazy Taxi and London Bus.

They could maybe build a Bench-sized ride where Queen's Diamonds and the Viktoria [sic] Arcade currently are, with a small Paddington shop. Would be good to see that area of the park given some attention, and doing that, Eurosat and Universe of Energy in the same year wouldn't be unusual for them.
 
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I just had an idea for this. Maybe the VR ride will be those slides (not sure if they're even in England, but oh well!) transformed into the scene from the first film where Paddington slides down the stairs in a bathtub!
 
Matt N said:
I just had an idea for this. Maybe the VR ride will be those slides (not sure if they're even in England, but oh well!) transformed into the scene from the first film where Paddington slides down the stairs in a bathtub!
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They are in Ireland so that is not happening!

:)
 
So, this whole Paddington thing in my opinion is pure stupidity. I get that they want to try and give England an identity and I can accept some Paddington stuff in the English area, no real problems with that. I'm sure the shop will be tasteful and enhance the area somewhat.

The Ice Show however is going to be in Greece. And the VR is going to be on Alpenexpress (as seen here) which of course is in Austria.

It just seems like a real mish mash with no consistency. I do not see what this achieves!

:)
 
Rob said:
So, this whole Paddington thing in my opinion is pure stupidity. I get that they want to try and give England an identity and I can accept some Paddington stuff in the English area, no real problems with that. I'm sure the shop will be tasteful and enhance the area somewhat.

The Ice Show however is going to be in Greece. And the VR is going to be on Alpenexpress (as seen here) which of course is in Austria.

It just seems like a real mish mash with no consistency. I do not see what this achieves!

:)
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What? That makes no sense! Unless Paddington 3 is set in Greece and Austria and this is like a prelude, then it makes no sense at all. And I also thought of a point. For all you guys rave about EP, they now have more IPs than Alton Towers, who are owned by a company who we complain about for their overuse of IPs amongst other things. (Admittedly, they still have less than Thorpe (Saw, IAC, Angry Birds, Derren Brown)).
 
Technically, Towers has multiple IPs (that just sit under one banner)...

The Ice Show location isn't exactly a problem, NONE of the shows there are ever exactly Greek themed because it sits outside the area...

Besides, IPs, and I cannot stress this enough, WHEN DONE WELL, are fantastic additions to a park... The Arthur area is very good (even if the indoor area is a Wuze Town rip-off ;) ), and one would assume that Paddington would be done to a similar level...

Couldn't really care less if adding him to the optional AlpenExpress VR suddenly causes great concern to everyone...
 
I think a lot of this is due to the limitations the park has due to it's size. Sure the place is big, but there's not a huge amount of space to implement anything major in one specific area without substantial expansion. The ice tent can't really easily be located anywhere else, and likewise a coaster can't really be built in the English area. It would have been nice for a Paddington show to take place in The Globe, but I guess with the Paddington Ice Show going on tour around Germany in Autumn next year, producing an all new show wasn't really going to be a realistic possibility.

Coastiality wise, I'm not bothered about that really. It needs to be on a coaster to work, and Alpen Express is an ideal fit for it due to the speed and length of the ride. No doubt there will still be multiple films to choose from such as Happy Family, and there's no need for an area theme for such experiences really.

I'll wait and see how it's all implemented, but I can't see Paddington being a prominent theme in the Greek or Austrian areas, in much the same that the current VR movies and Ice Show themes don't affect them at the moment. England will be the showcase for it, I just hope they do it properly :)
 
Benzin said:
Technically, Towers has multiple IPs (that just sit under one banner)...

The Ice Show location isn't exactly a problem, NONE of the shows there are ever exactly Greek themed because it sits outside the area...

Besides, IPs, and I cannot stress this enough, WHEN DONE WELL, are fantastic additions to a park... The Arthur area is very good (even if the indoor area is a Wuze Town rip-off ;) ), and one would assume that Paddington would be done to a similar level...

Couldn't really care less if adding him to the optional AlpenExpress VR suddenly causes great concern to everyone...
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I agree with you, actually. WWOHP Diagon Alley is my favourite theme park area I've ever seen, and that is an IP area.
 
After heading to Tropical Islands via Berlin we stumbled across this in Berlin Hauptbanhof

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My sister has been raving about Paddington 2 all week, so I decided to pick up something for her for xmas. Interestingly the bags used have a familiar logo.

r1zcqf.jpg


EP are already pushing Paddington for 2018 nationally.
 
Very unusual to see anything Europa Park based in Berlin! They really are rolling this out. I really like Paddington, and the sequel is supposedly excellent, so I'd be happy to see a Paddington dark ride or so on.

As an aside, what did you reckon to Tropical Islands?
 
If this is the Paddington "shop" then it is a little disappointing:



The England train station has also been re-named Paggington Station. I still don't get this!

:)
 
Plastic Person said:
Very unusual to see anything Europa Park based in Berlin! They really are rolling this out. I really like Paddington, and the sequel is supposedly excellent, so I'd be happy to see a Paddington dark ride or so on.

As an aside, what did you reckon to Tropical Islands?
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It took me be surprise to be honest. I was wearing an EP bobblehat and I thought that's why the conversation at the till turned to EP. It was only when I get on the train I spotted the bag.

*Off Topic*
We thought it was amazing. Its a great contained resort with plenty to do and reasonably priced too. If you have little ones and they enjoy swimming even better. Most of the outdoor bits were shut because it was raining but the lazy river, slide and jacuzzi in the rain was a lot of fun. Looking at the map the outdoor sections is huge with lots to do we just couldn't see it through the rain.It's really easy to get to from Berlin and we both said if we went back we would look to stop overnight in the hangar as it's a little too easy to overdo the Pina Colada's paying with a chip and settling on exit.
Just get there early if you want a lounger. It's little surprise the Germans have a reputation of being master with the towels when they are practising here throughout the winter.
*Off topic over*
 
Rob said:
The England train station has also been re-named Paggington Station. I still don't get this!

:)
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Paggington Station is a very strange name considering it's not even in Paddington! ;) On a serious note, I think they must be making Paddington quite a significant figure in England if they are renaming the train station Paddington Station. Also, is Tropical Springs that huge indoor water park in Berlin?
 
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