Common Youngsters Resort is a brand new family-friendly theme park in Texas designed for fogeys with younger youngsters. This publish shares particulars concerning the rides & characters, up to date idea artwork, particulars now that the park has an official title, and our commentary about this smaller scale idea and whether or not Disney would possibly comply with swimsuit. (Up to date February 21, 2025.)
In line with Common, the brand new child park idea is ready in a lush inexperienced panorama and options themed lands that commemorate Common’s model of leisure, humor, and innovation. The park will deliver to life its beloved characters and tales in methods that may wow even the youngest theme park goers.
Common’s proposed park can be designed to be extra intimate and interesting for youthful audiences and can be sized for a regional viewers. Will probably be stuffed with family-friendly points of interest, interactive and playful reveals, character meet and greets, distinctive merchandise and enjoyable meals and beverage venues.
Though smaller in dimension, it is going to nonetheless carry the identical high quality as Common’s different bigger resort locations, based on the corporate. The idea can be roughly 97 acres in dimension, as in comparison with roughly 110 acres for Islands of Journey and Common Studios Florida.
Nevertheless, that’s not precisely an apples to apples comparability, as a part of the 97 acres of land bought by the corporate, the proposed park additionally has plans for an adjoining themed resort and room for growth. Your entire space is meant to have a totally completely different look, really feel, and scale than Common’s current parks and can enchantment to a brand new viewers for the model.
February 21, 2025 Replace: Common Locations & Experiences revealed the themed lands at Common Youngsters Resort, a theme park designed for households with younger youngsters. Presently below development in Frisco, Texas and legally required to open no later than Summer time 2026 (see under), Common Youngsters Resort will characteristic themed lands primarily based on DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek, Puss in Boots, Trolls and Gabby’s Dollhouse; Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants; Illumination’s Minions; and Jurassic World.
Ogre-sized enjoyable awaits in DreamWorks’ Shrek’s swamp themed playground constructed personally by Shrek. Youngsters can stomp, trip, snort and play as they have fun the magic of friendship, heat of household and energy of affection.
Then it’s time for probably the most melodic, most superior music competition with DreamWorks’ Trolls. At this colourful, joy-filled, and, after all, glittery fest, visitors of all sizes get to affix Poppy, Department and the remainder of the gang to deliver their voices collectively in concord whereas shining brightly.
That merriment continues with DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots, Kitty Softpaws and Perrito. A kitty adoption drive is in full swing with festive decorations, sideshow video games, enjoyable rides and meals. For these needing a cat nap, visitors can recharge in a sensory backyard.
The central hub of Common Youngsters Resort will characteristic shady lawns and interactive play areas that give children and their households loads of house to relaxation and play. Company can even meet characters from DreamWorks’ Gabby’s Dollhouse in an immersive retail expertise.
For the perfect day ever, Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick, Sandy Cheeks and Squidward will present visitors round their neighborhood below the ocean. From incomes a boating license to enjoyable on the seaside as bubbles float by, children and their households and pals can benefit from the nautical, nonsensical delights.
Subsequent, let the video games start as Illumination’s Minions overrun a peaceable trip retreat. When Yellow Minions try to rein of their Purple counterparts, it results in a wave of unpredictable, water-soaked enjoyable. Participate on this action-packed competitors, or simply calm down, and watch the chaos unfold. No matter you select, each splash, snort, and shock would possibly simply deliver everybody nearer collectively.
Discoveries abound as children find out about and are available nose to nose with beloved dinosaurs of Jurassic World in uniquely thrilling and interactive methods. The brand new journey solely created for younger explorers can be each exhilarating and awe-inspiring.
This listing of lands and characters needs to be pretty unsurprising, as that is mainly a listing of the most well-liked family-friendly mental property to which Common has entry.
At Common Youngsters Resort, youngsters could have the chance to play, sing, dance and uncover with a few of their favourite characters. Past the points of interest and reveals, households will discover ample areas to relaxation and in addition take pleasure in themed meals and drinks and store for enjoyable character souvenirs. Every of those areas elicit surprise with a lush, colourful atmosphere.
This imaginative, authentic resort brings Common’s type of storytelling to a brand new, youthful viewers. The family-friendly theme park will characteristic all ages points of interest, interactive and playful reveals, distinctive merchandise, enjoyable meals and beverage venues, and character meet and greets.
To prime it off, a colorfully themed on-site 300-room resort designed with households in thoughts will provide a spot to remain, play, and calm down after all of the enjoyable of the park. The colourful website can even function the doorway to Common Youngsters Resort.
“Common Youngsters Resort will encourage the unbridled creativity of children by way of creativeness, discovery and most significantly – play,” mentioned Molly Murphy, President, Common Artistic. “We’re designing the resort so children and households can really feel the joys of being bodily immersed of their most beloved tales and characters.”
Set in lush inexperienced panorama with a particular look, really feel and scale particularly for youthful youngsters, Common Youngsters Resort will ship the standard the Common model is thought for worldwide. Together with the announcement of the Common Youngsters Resort title, the corporate additionally launched new idea artwork (above) that replaces the previous artwork (under). We’re maintaining each on this publish as an example simply how a lot the venture has already developed from announcement to the start of development.
Talking of which, work on Common Youngsters Park is effectively underway. The venture broke floor two years in the past, and aerial flyovers point out it’s effectively on its option to making a Summer time 2026 opening. Common Youngsters Resort will drive financial influence for the area, creating hundreds of jobs together with greater than 2,500 new development jobs. All through the venture, the corporate will stay targeted on guaranteeing the resort provides worth and positively serves the neighborhood.
Common Parks & Resorts chosen the town of Frisco, in North Texas, as the realm for this new idea given the town’s rising inhabitants and skill to draw companies to the realm. The proposed location for the brand new idea is ideally located east of the Dallas North Tollway and north of Panther Creek Parkway.
“We’re excited concerning the alternative to companion with the town of Frisco and Mayor Cheney as we work to deliver this modern, new idea to life designed particularly for a youthful technology of Common followers,” mentioned Web page Thompson, President, New Ventures, Common Parks & Resorts. “We predict North Texas is the proper place to launch this distinctive park for households given its rising reputation inside this a part of the nation.”
“Frisco is likely one of the quickest rising cities within the U.S. and has been acknowledged as an awesome place to plant skilled roots and lift a household,” mentioned Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney. “This new Common idea will proceed to boost our tax base, develop employment alternatives and convey much more enjoyable to Frisco benefiting our residents, companies, and guests.” In line with Common Parks & Resorts, extra particulars concerning the Frisco Household Park Challenge can be revealed over time.
Earlier this yr, the Metropolis of Frisco’s Planning and Zoning Fee really useful a particular use allow for Common’s Frisco Household Park Challenge, which was then accepted by Metropolis Council in a 4-2 vote final night time. Additionally accepted was $12.7 million in financial incentives for the venture, topic to a spread of various triggers. One of many necessities of the financial incentives is for the park to be open by June 2026.
This paved the way in which for development to start, regardless of pushback from offended residents, most of whom voiced considerations about site visitors, crime, decreased property values, and aesthetics. Many appeared in individual to plead with the Frisco Metropolis Council to delay the vote so their considerations about site visitors, crime, and high quality of life points could possibly be correctly studied and addressed.
Residents additionally voiced opinions on-line by filling out a venture enter kind. The outcomes there have been overwhelmingly against Common’s deliberate park: 75 folks had been towards the venture, 3 had been in favor, 6 requested extra data, and 1 requested council to contemplate a park aimed toward a distinct demo, as a result of one aimed solely at younger youngsters can be unlikely to outlive in the long term.
The residents against the say the ultimate settlement leaves too many loopholes on hours of operation. Additionally they don’t like that metropolis leaders can be getting discounted or free entry to the park, which residents imagine creates a battle of curiosity. Residents additionally voiced frustration that Common’s Frisco Household Park can be round for the long-term, however is being rushed by way of the approval course of. (See the planning growth paperwork and research Frisco has posted about site visitors, crime, and so on.)
Throughout a remaining presentation, the town council heard financial influence arguments. Common contents that the park will generate $3 million per yr in gross sales and property taxes together with greater than $1 million yearly in resort taxes whereas using round 650 folks. A required site visitors examine revealed Common’s Frisco Household Park will draw about 7,500 weekday guests on common. On peak days, together with sure weekends and holidays, the theme park could have as much as 20,000 guests.
The developer will present cover timber, shrubbery, and berming that may display screen perimeter fencing and improve the realm with lush inexperienced panorama. Nevertheless, critics contend that 12′ timber usually are not going to correctly conceal 80′ buildings situated in Common’s Frisco Household Park. To handle residents’ security considerations, the Frisco Police Division will companion with Common previous to opening to assist decide what number of officers can be wanted and what companies can be offered by police and safety officers.
Now that the venture has been accepted by Metropolis Council, angered residents who imagine it was merely rubber-stamped have promised to proceed their struggle. The following step is getting sufficient signatures for a referendum on Common’s Frisco Household Park. That’s an uphill battle, and one which appears destined to fail.
By no means say by no means, although. Look no additional than Disney’s America for a ‘case examine’ in locals getting theme parks cancelled. That’s considered one of a number of “Disney Decade” tasks that had been met with fierce opposition within the Nineteen Nineties and now exist primarily within the pages of espresso desk books about unbuilt Imagineering plans.
Our Commentary
Within the authentic press launch, Common launched this new idea by calling it a “one-of-a-kind theme park, not like another on the planet, particularly designed to encourage enjoyable.” We deleted that line as a result of there’s nothing within the idea artwork or official particulars to counsel it’s true. (That is no knock at Common–quite a bit of inaccurate or deceptive advertising puffery will get deleted from Disney releases, too.)
It’s powerful to say what this may find yourself being as soon as it goes from idea to actuality. Proper now, it sounds quite a bit to us like LEGOLAND, however swapping out these iconic bricks for various mental properties. These are strong parks for what they’re, providing super enchantment and worth for households on a smaller scale.
In our view, it is a sensible transfer by Common. There’s a ton of unhappy demand for regional theme parks from households who both don’t need–or can’t afford–to take weeklong holidays to the flagship resorts. Vacation spot theme park complexes usually are not for everybody, and there are a number of limitations to entry for Common Orlando and Walt Disney World.
Price is clearly one, stamina is one other, and so is a need to dedicate trip time to theme parks. There are in all probability a number of different causes many households don’t think about journeys to Central Florida’s complexes. I’m hardly the one to put out the argument towards visiting Orlando, as I can’t relate!
Regional parks are simpler as a protracted weekend getaway with decrease stakes. They could not provide the identical diploma of all-ages enchantment and pleasure, however they’re additionally cheaper and simpler. Decrease reward, however decrease danger. In brief, they fill an necessary area of interest.
With this announcement by Common, the massive query for a lot of theme park followers is whether or not Walt Disney World will “reply.” That is completely comprehensible, particularly when you think about the truth that Dallas or Houston are roughly proper between Orlando and Anaheim.
Actually, every time the subject of a brand new theme park comes up, Texans inevitably level out that they’re state can be the excellent location. (Simply have a look at the feedback to Disney Parks in New Nations “Inevitable” or Will Walt Disney World Construct a Fifth Gate?).
Whereas we agree with the sentiment that Texas can be an awesome location, we disagree with the conclusion that Disney will–or ought to–construct extra theme parks at new websites in the USA. In a nutshell, we extremely doubt Walt Disney World will “reply” or comply with Common down this path, even when it finally ends up being profitable.
For one factor, Disney has dabbled with regional leisure ideas up to now and it has not gone effectively. Granted, it’s been some time they usually’ve by no means tried something like what Common is planning to construct in Texas. Nonetheless, it’s tough to see the Walt Disney Firm happening this path for a few causes. One is their previous failures on this entrance and deserted ideas alongside the way in which.
One other is that they largely seeming to be aiming upstream, establishing Disney as a premium product. I don’t suppose that positioning is in line with this strategy, not less than, not at current. But another excuse is that the timing merely isn’t proper.
Disney nonetheless has a ton of debt as a result of twentieth Century Fox acquisition, and continues to hemorrhage billions of {dollars} every quarter on streaming because it makes an attempt to develop Disney+ and different companies. Comcast is in an awesome place to develop its theme park footprint proper now, however the identical isn’t true for Disney. If something, they should shed some belongings and higher handle what they’ve.
Even setting all of that apart, I’m unsure whether or not constructing regional parks can be a savvy enterprise transfer for Disney or not. Till sitting down to jot down this text, it was by no means one thing I even thought of.
The upside can be that it might be one other addition to Disney’s flywheel, and a option to seize audiences that aren’t at present served by Walt Disney World or Disneyland. That’s good for model consciousness and affinity, and would reinforce synergies with Disney+ and the corporate’s many merchandising initiatives.
The potential draw back is that it might cannibalize enterprise at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Proper now, households with young children in Texas and neighboring states doubtless take costly week-long rite-of-passage journeys to Florida, spending hundreds of {dollars} within the course of.
If a lot of these might “verify the field” (so to talk) by visiting a considerably cheaper kiddie park for a weekend, they in all probability would go for that as a substitute. (One of many issues it’s necessary to do when analyzing selections like that is placing your self within the sneakers of the common American–not a diehard Disney fan.)
Finally, it’ll be attention-grabbing to see how this works out for Common Parks & Resorts. The calculus for Comcast is sort of actually completely different than it might be for Disney, largely as a result of Common Orlando usually courts a distinct demographic. Its visitors skew older, and are often not rite-of-passage households as is the case with Disney.
That’s not the one manner the 2 park operators differ; the businesses even have entry to very completely different libraries of mental property (my guess is this may find yourself being all issues DreamWorks). If Disney opened regional parks, it would cannibalize enterprise from Walt Disney World and Disneyland–however that’s extremely unlikely to occur for Common. (If something, this Texas park is extra more likely to damage Disney’s current parks than Common’s, however even that appears pretty far-fetched.)
I really hope it is a large success for Common Parks & Resorts. Actually, I hope every part Common is at present doing–together with each different amusement and theme park operator–is a large success. Cheering for the failure of Disney’s opponents isn’t one of the best ways to “show” to the corporate that you simply’re a loyal, diehard fan.
Reasonably, it’s an actual doofus transfer that demonstrates you take pleasure in paying extra, enduring bigger crowds, and settling for much less. The last word beneficiary of competitors is customers; all of us win when theme parks elevate the stakes and attempt to outdo each other to courtroom prospects. Right here’s hoping this initiative is a large success for Common, and these regional parks pop up everywhere in the United States!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider Common’s plan to construct a regional park aimed toward households with young children in Texas? Suppose this can be successful–much like LEGOLAND? Would you wish to see Disney construct comparable parks in Texas or different areas exterior the California and Florida markets? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Will you be making an attempt to go to Common Orlando or Hollywood anytime quickly? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
