By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Fred Rogers Productions is getting into the theme park business in a big way, expanding its agreement with partner Palace Entertainment.
Fred Rogers, named for the popular star who created the PBS hit Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, has signed a multi-year licensing deal for six Palace Entertainment theme parks across the United States.
This new and more expansive deal will allow both organizations to bring programming and branding from popular Fred Rogers’ properties like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Alma’s Way, Donkey Hodie and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to family-oriented Palace Entertainment amusement parks throughout the country.
Palace Entertainment is a leisure park operator located in the United States, that offers more than 20 major entertainment and educational venues across 10 different states. These venues feature a wide range of family-friendly rides, attractions and educational experiences at unique and historic venues throughout America.
Park guests will now be able to enjoy immersive experiences and interactions with licensed characters from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood including meet and greets, weeks-long special events, shows and more.
For the first time ever, Daniel Tiger and his neighborhood friends will make appearances at Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Adventureland Resort in Altoona, Iowa; and Castle Park in Riverside, California.
Daniel and friends from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe will also expand the entertainment offerings at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut; Idlewild & SoakZone outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Story Land in Glen, New Hampshire.
Palace Entertainment says it chose to partner with Fred Rogers Productions due to the organization’s mission and the rising popularity of its thoughtful content on PBS KIDS, which sees nearly a billion streams per year.
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“We are always looking for new ways to offer our visitors unique entertainment and more reasons to visit,” said Palace Entertainment CEO, John Reilly. “Fred Rogers Productions values the same family-friendly entertainment as our organization, they are a natural fit to help us bring beloved IP characters to six of our amusement parks across the country.”
The theme park operator plans to expand its multi-year, multi-park partnership with more news to be announced, as the parks continue to build on these character experiences with more interactive experiences for guests to enjoy.
“Our new relationship with Palace Entertainment will bring our characters and brands to families across the country,” said Fred Rogers Productions’ COO, Christopher Arnold. “The experiences we create together will foster moments of joy and connection for all families.”
Dutch Wonderland will be among the first parks to benefit from the new partnership, with five characters from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood coming to the park for the first time during its expanded Happy Hauntings Halloween event this fall.
Coming on the heels of a massive investment in the event in 2023, the park continues to expand its family-friendly seasonal event offerings.
Beginning Saturday, September 14, Daniel Tiger and five friends from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe will be at the park for meet and greets. The characters will rotate on a bi-weekly basis until the final weekend, October 26 and 27, which will feature meet and greets with Daniel Tiger, Katerina Kittycat, Miss Elaina, O the Owl and Prince Wednesday.
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