Here is this week's round-up of theme park news from Theme Park Insider.
Disney fans can win a night in Cinderella Castle while supporting a good cause. Give Kids the World Village, which hosts critically ill children and their families on Orlando vacations, is raffling off a Walt Disney World Magical Celebration Vacation Package for four, including a stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite. Entries are $10 each and you can buy multiple entries. If you were to win, you would get a one-night stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite, plus breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table along with two nights at a Deluxe hotel and three-day Park Hoppers for the family, plus domestic airfare, and one $500 Disney gift card. Buy your entries at the Give Kids the World website.
Sticking with Walt Disney World, the resort has announced previews for the Journey of Water, Inspired By Moana walkthrough attraction at EPCOT. Walt Disney World annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members can experience the attraction September 24 – 29 and October 1 – 4, from park opening until 5pm. You don't need to make a reservation for the preview, but you may need a regular park reservation to get into the park. Just show your AP or DVC card for entry at the attraction.
Elsewhere, Lake Compounce has confirmed that its Wildcat roller coaster will reopen for the 2024 season after a retracking from the Gravity Group. This follows the park's installation of Titan Track on Boulder Dash this year.
That leads us into the topic of theme park tech. And Merlin Entertainments is training a new generation of attraction engineers through an all-new Engineering Academy. Debuting initially in the Merlin's base in the United Kingdom, the three-year program will open with 12 apprentices this year. The Institution of Engineering and Technology has accredited Merlin’s Engineering Technician and Maintenance Operations Engineering Technician apprenticeship program, which is taking applications.
Collaborating with JCB Academy, New City College (East London/Essex), and East Surrey College, "this partnership will offer apprentices access to a meticulously structured curriculum and on-site training facilities at select Merlin attractions across the UK, offering budding apprentices the opportunity to receive hands on experience at attractions such as Alton Towers Resort, Thorpe Park Resort, and the London Eye," Merlin said in its press release.
Finally, Orlando-based Falcon's Beyond has announced a partnership with Hong Kong-based K11 Group to develop nearly a dozen themed entertainment attractions called Vquarium across China, starting with K11 Group's HK$20-billion 11 SKIES "retailtainment" destination near the Hong Kong International Airport.
"Vquarium will be a story-driven interactive adventure that explores oceans and waterways around the globe in a wonder-filled narrative that offers intimate and empowering encounters with virtual sea life to entertain, educate, and inspire," Falcon’s Beyond said in its press release. "Vquarium will be introduced through an interactive attraction that allows visitors to simulate going on an immersive undersea voyage. A multi-room, multi-level experience, the attraction will also provide creative food and beverage offerings, along with retail components."
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Raffles for very high-end prizes tend to make more money than high-bid auctions, in my experience, since people who don't have the cash to out-bid Ritchie Rich will sit out the high-bid auction but still take a chance on the raffle.
That said, I would be curious to discover the "market price" for a stay in the Cindy suite.
@Robert - 100% True that a contest like this will make more money then 1 person winning a stay by bidding but still can't help wish they would do it to see what it would go for. :)
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An amazing idea for charity would be to put up a stay at the castle for the highest bidder. Put a time limit on it and the winner wins the stay. Would be super interested to see how much that would go for.