Pokémon is Coming to Universal Theme Parks!

Pokémon Universal Studios Japan No Limits! logo
Combined Universal and Pokémon No Limits! Logo (Courtesy of Universal)

After years of rumors,  Pokémon is finally coming to Universal theme parks. It was announced on January 22, 2026 that the Pokémon IP will debut in Japan, but is then “Universal Destinations & Experiences will deliver unique Pokémon experiences across the company’s global footprint”. There were no dates, rides or attractions announced and this is probably a couple years out in Japan and probably 2029 or later in the United States. The release was very simple and vague, but it got the point across that Pokémon is coming!

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Happy 80th Birthday Dolly Parton, Namesake of Dollywood and New IAAPA Hall of Fame Member

Dolly museum at Dollywood giant butterfly

On January 19th Dolly Parton celebrated her 80th birthday. Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, TN takes its name from Dolly and the theme park is jointly owned by Herschend Family Entertainment and Dolly Parton. The park was known by several other names previously, but this arrangement came about in 1986, marking 40 years of the park being known as Dollywood. Although she is famous for not riding the rides, Dolly’s fingerprints are all over the park and it even features museum areas about her music, career and wardrobe.

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There’s a Theme Park Right Next to the 2026 Super Bowl LX Stadium

Levi's Stadium in February 2016 prior to Super Bowl 50
Levi’s Stadium in February 2016 prior to Super Bowl 50

Super Bowl LX is scheduled for February 8, 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the home of the San Francisco 49ers. This stadium is literally right next door to California’s Great America, a Six Flags park. When you’re watching the game on Super Bowl Sunday and you see some of the aerial shots of the stadium you might just catch a glimpse of a roller coaster, but the park will unfortunately be closed. Is this a lost opportunity for Six Flags? Perhaps, but even if the theme park gates are closed that weekend they’ll still make some money because of their parking lot. The park is also probably somewhat responsible for the buzz related to the neighboring electrical substation potentially contributing to player injuries due to its large power draw, but we’ll leave that one alone.

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Wild Adventures and Six Flags Over Georgia Are Great Examples of Theme Parks Doing Good for Their Local Community

Wild Adventures Wild & Bright

Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia always seems to be doing things to help their local community. This continued last month with Wild Adventures collecting more than $12,000 worth of children’s toys for Toys for Tots. The toys were donated during Wild Adventures Christmas Wild & Bright in Nov. and Dec., when guests who brought a new, unwrapped toy valued at $10 or more could purchase a single-day admission ticket for $19.99. The park has also done food drives and teaching water safety. If we look at just the toy donation, if the average gift was $12 that means 1,000 kids in south Georgia had a better Christmas because of the actions of the park.

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When Will We See a Minecraft in a Merlin Theme Park?

Back in November of 2024 there was a lot of excitement about the announcement that Melin Entertainment (the company behind Legoland and Alton Towers) was going to be building Minecraft attractions. These immersive areas will be built in collaboration with Minecraft developer Mojang and be built in existing Merlin locations in 2026 or 2027 in a collaboraton named, “Adventures Made Real”. It’s now 2026 and the promo video says 2026, but there’s still no further news related to Minecraft. Also, the Merlin parks have mostly announced other new attractions for 2026 such as Legoland Florida/California getting the Galacticoaster, Alton Towers getting the Bluey Coaster and Lego Billund getting the Minifigure Speedway Coaster. Therefore it looks like 2027 will be the year of Minecraft.

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Georgia Theme Park Opening Days for 2026

Wild Adventures entrance plaza sign

Happy New Year! It’s now 2026 and parks in Georgia have begun announcing their opening date for the new year. Most parks (with the exception of Fun Spot Atlanta) close for a few months in the winter before reopening in spring. Six Flags Over Georgia actually just moved its opening date two weeks earlier than previously announced the March 14th! Here are the announced dates so far:

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Review of Stealing the Secret “Cola” Recipe at the Ultimate Escape Game of Atlanta

“Atlanta” Room at Ultimate Escape Game Atlanta (Courtesy of https://theescapegame.com/atlanta/)

Ultimate Escape Game Atlanta features a very unique “Atlanta” escape room that is essentially based on Atlanta’s best known company, Coca Cola. This room challenges you to unlock the safe containing the “Cola” secret recipe before the clock hits zero. In addition to all things Coke, the room also showcases the city through puzzles and games representative of many Atlanta attractions and landmarks. This will be a spoiler free review, leaving out details of specific puzzles, as the hope is you’ll want to experience the Atlanta escape room for yourself and be surprised as we were throughout the experience.

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A Bluey Roller Coaster is Coming to Alton Towers

Bluey the Ride: Here Come the Grannies
Bluey the Ride: Here Come the Grannies! (https://www.altontowers.com/2026/)

A Bluey roller coaster has nearly completed construction at Alton Towers in the United Kingdom for a 2026 opening. The ride is located in the park’s CBeebies Land and signage around the construction leaves no doubt as to what is coming. For Americans who may not know, “CBeebies” is a free British public broadcast children’s television channel owned and operated by the BBC. Alton Towers is leaning into the attraction heavily for its 2026 marketing as you’d expect and no doubt this will be a huge hit with families who love the iconic show.

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The World of Sid and Marty Krofft: Atlanta’s Former Indoor Theme Park in the Old CNN Center

The World of Sid and Marty Krofft

If you visited Atlanta over the last couple of decades that trip may have included a stop at the former CNN Center integrated into the Omni Hotel. This is especially true if you were visiting the neighboring Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Dome, Mercedes Benz Stadium Philips Arena (now State Farm) or Centennial Olympic Park. The food court at the base of the atrium was massive with tons of choices for those looking for a quick meal, but there was also a CNN Tour. However, this space 50 years ago in 1976 housed an indoor amusement park called The World of Sid and Marty Krofft.

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Will SeaWorld and Busch Gardens End Ticket Fees?

If you’ve bought tickets or passes for SeaWorld or Busch Gardens online you may have noticed a service fee on top of the price and taxes. The fee is about 10% the website says it “covers costs such as credit card processing and fraud prevention”. This fee is part of a new lawsuit against United Parks & Resorts, Inc., parent company of SeaWorld Parks and Busch Gardens. The lawsuit accuses SeaWorld of using ‘bait-and-switch’ tactics by hiding extra fees until the final checkout stage of online ticket purchases, leading consumers to pay more than expected. 

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