September 2023: Crescent Real Estate LLC acquired the Element Orlando Universal Blvd., a 165-key hotel operated under a franchise agreement with Marriott International. Located just outside the confines of the mixed-use development known as Icon Park, Element Orlando hotel guests have immediate access to 20 acres of entertainment opportunities.
January 2022: Asacha Media Group, a European consolidator, acquired a majority share in Arrow International Media, the producer of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Asacha has financed the Arrow acquisition through a mix of equity from existing shareholders and debt financing from Tikehau Capital.
In November 2023, kebabs, knitting and royalty were set aside, and Disney opened Zootopia, one of the newest theme lands in the world, at Shanghai Disney Resort last December, which is one of the biggest amusement parks in the world. The new attraction featuring rides and restaurants is in tune with Disney’s new global theme parks and resorts investment to the tune of 60 billion US dollars. The strategy is intended to take advantage of China’s budding interest in internal tourism.
Some of the attractions include the fun ‘Hot Pursuit’ ride, where guests take on the role of the character Officer Judy Hopps and chase after Nick Wilde in an effort to recover Gazelle, a kidnapped pop star, at Shanghai Disneyland Resort.
In October 2023, the parent company of Walt Disney revealed that as part of the project investment worth USD 60 billion, the world's first frozen-themed area within the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort will be introduced, upholding the market share of disney. This enchanting experience will include two separate attractions; the first consists of a dark ride, which is presented in the form of a boat ride through a winter landscape featuring songs from the movies. Simultaneously, the other is a roller coaster based on the theme of a sleigh ride. Besides that, a restaurant will be available and will serve yummy food based on Nordic culture.
In March 2023, it was reported that Imagicaaworld Entertainment Ltd launched Aquamagicaa, a water park located in Surat. An area of 4 acres of the park is reported by the company in its official regulatory filing to have 16 water-based rides and attractions sourced from popular global manufacturers. Again, Aquamagicaa has a variety of restaurants, shops, and day-use ‘Cabana’ rooms for guests who wish to make use of rooms during opening hours available.
Perhaps the most recent example is the announcement made in July 2023 of the establishment of The American Heartland Theme Park and Resort, which will invest an amount of USD 2 billion to build an amusement park of the ‘Americana’ concept in 2026. This will augment the theme park industry. The park will have an amusement park the size of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida or Disneyland in California. Similarly, the Park and resort are located on a development site of 1,000 acres in northeast Oklahoma.
The development is also supposed to welcome tourists from all corners of the globe to enjoy and appreciate the various cultures and native American values.