Believe it or not but the London Resort theme park project, touted as a British rival to Disneyland Paris, is back on tracks! Even better, Paramount is also back in the project after pulling out of the project two years ago, as
London Resort developer has signed a deal with Paramount Pictures, the studio behind Mission: Impossible and Star Trek, for attractions based on Paramount movies to be built at the London Resort.
Paramount, which makes films including Transformers and A Quiet Place, has re-signed
The resort, aimed at rivalling Disneyland Paris, Disney World and Universal Studios, was scheduled to open this year but a series of delays has pushed back the proposed opening date to 2024. Its developers say it will be the size of 136 Wembley Stadiums, offer 3,500 hotel rooms and attract 50,000 visitors a day. Fifty rides and attractions based on popular film and TV shows have been planned.
We also learn
in The Guardian article that London Resort has also turned to Pierre-Yves Gerbeau to get its £5bn project built. Gerbeau made his name nearly 20 years ago when he was hired to save the struggling Millennium Dome project, and has been appointed as chief executive of the company building the 535-acre theme park on the Swanscombe peninsula jutting into the Thames in Kent.
Where it becomes interesting is that Pierre Yves Gerbeau started his business career at Disneyland Paris in 1991, rising rapidly to become Vice-President of Park Operations and Attractions in 1997. His responsibilities included ticketing, the safety and maintenance of attractions, and sorting out the queues. He was credited with turning the attraction around after a difficult start.
““I am delighted to join The London Resort and to play my part in helping to create a world-class destination to rival all others” said Gerbeau. “The new partnership with Paramount is fantastic news, having Paramount on board is a major step towards realising that ambition. Now the best of Hollywood will be joining the best of British. Central to that strategy is to partner with the best brands from across TV, film, music and entertainment.”
Paramount, which originally lent its name to the resort when plans were announced in 2012, joins partners including ITV and the BBC signing deals to allow rides and attractions to be developed from shows such as Thunderbirds, Doctor Who and Top Gear. Aardman Animations, the company behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, had pulled out this year of a similar licensing deal with the resort.
Kevin Suh, president of themed entertainment and consumer products at Paramount, said: “The London Resort represents a truly global resort opportunity and we’re delighted to be playing our part in bringing iconic movies to life in truly immersive experiences and rides.”
Kuwait’s Al-Humaidi family, who own Ebbsfleet United, finances the park and the development company is chaired by the former transport minister Steve Norris.
Here is my take on all this: I know that a lot of you will believe that this London Resort will be a reality when you'll see it, but there is several things which make me put my bets on it again. First, the fact that a deal was finally signed with Paramount is an important point. Paramount is known to be very difficult to work with for the use of their IPs as theme park attractions and i suspect that London Resort finally accepted the deal that Paramount wanted, which may be was not accepted previously when Paramount went out some years ago. Of course Paramount has important licenses like Star Trek or Mission Impossible which would make great rides, if well done.
Two, the arrival of Pierre Yves Gerbeau, former Vice-President of Park Operations and Attractions at Disneyland Paris and who helped to save the Millenium Dome some years ago is also a good sign, as he's most probably someone who will be the right person for the job. So, we'll see...
