Niles: Why SeaWorld’s new park will use Oscar the Grouch to attract happy customers

Southern California is getting a caller taxable parkland adjacent twelvemonth — and it’s based connected 1 of the nation’s astir enduring amusement franchises. But volition that beryllium capable to marque it a success?

The Sesame Street-themed Sesame Place San Diego volition unfastened successful March connected the tract of the erstwhile Aquatica h2o parkland successful Chula Vista. It volition beryllium the 2nd Sesame Place taxable parkland successful the United States, pursuing the archetypal successful suburban Philadelphia.

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Sesame Street has been teaching and entertaining children connected tv for much than 50 years. It helped motorboat what is present Disney’s Muppets franchise, and its characters stay beloved icons for generations of Americans. After increasing up with this franchise, who wouldn’t privation the accidental to sojourn Sesame Street successful existent life?

Owner SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is betting that accidental volition gully families to Chula Vista starting adjacent spring. This caller Sesame Place volition clasp Aquatica’s h2o slides and attractions, overlaying them with Sesame Street themes. The parkland besides is installing caller adust rides, including a household roller coaster, but its item volition beryllium a recreation of Sesame Street itself — including Hooper’s Store and the 123 Sesame Street beforehand steps.

SeaWorld Orlando installed a akin Sesame Street onshore successful 2019, and that park’s award-winning Sesame Street Party Parade volition beryllium coming to the caller parkland successful California arsenic well. Like the TV amusement that inspired it, SeaWorld’s Sesame Street attractions crossed the state stay sharply focused connected young children.

That makes sense, but immoderate fans who grew up with Sesame Street are not lone aged capable to person children of their ain now, immoderate adjacent person grandchildren. This is simply a franchise that appeals crossed generations. While SeaWorld owns the taxable parks rights to Sesame Street successful the United States, different taxable parkland companies that licence Sesame Street elsewhere person developed attractions aimed astatine a broader audience.

Universal Studios built a acheronian thrust called Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase astatine its taxable parkland successful Singapore. In Spain, PortAventura successful 2019 opened Sesame Street: Street Mission — an interactive acheronian thrust wherever visitors usage distant control-like clickers to retrieve stolen cookies portion Detective Grover tries to find retired who has been swiping the treats. (If you cognize the Sesame Street characters, this is not the world’s hardest enigma to crack.)

Plenty of adults emotion these rides, which springiness them the accidental to measurement backmost into the satellite of Sesame Street that they fell successful emotion with arsenic toddlers. But small kids often respond champion to rides built particularly for them alternatively of large “family” attractions. That’s wherefore galore parents similar taking their young children to a spot similar Legoland California alternatively of Disneyland — oregon SeaWorld.

With Sesame Place, SeaWorld volition person a caller gross designed particularly for families with tiny children, allowing it to spell harder aft Legoland’s market. Still, arsenic a grown-up Sesame Street fan, I would emotion to spot SeaWorld springiness america a PortAventura-style Sesame Street household acheronian thrust somewhere, immoderate day.