Peppa brings home the bacon
Parks featuring popular porcine personality proliferate
The first Peppa Pig Theme Park opened at the Legoland Florida Resort in 2022 and was an immediate hit. Geared to the preschool crowd that adores the veddy British animated television series, the park features attractions all themed to Peppa and her anthropomorphic pals. Merlin Entertainments, which operates the Legoland Parks, is going all in on the porker phenom. It recently opened a second Peppa Pig park in Germany adjacent to Legoland Deutschland Resort and will be debuting a third installment near Dallas, Texas later this year.
Part of a trend in the industry, the parks are much smaller than most theme parks. Known as micro parks, they are designed to be experienced in a couple of hours instead of a full day. The Florida Peppa Pig park is a mere 4.5 acres; EPCOT, in contrast, spans over 300 acres. The tiny footprint makes sense given the young audience for which they are intended.
All of the parks share similar rides and attractions (albeit much fewer than typical parks), including Daddy Pig's Roller Coaster and the drop tower ride, Mr. Bull's High Striker, both of which are greatly toned-down versions of their thrill ride counterparts. There are also many opportunities for kids to run around and engage in free play, including a climbing structure, a sand play area, and the Muddy Puddles Splash Pad. When families want to get out of the heat and chill with Peppa and the gang, they can head to the parks’ cinemas and catch episodes of the show.
There are some distinctions among the locations. The Texas Peppa Pig property, for example, will be a standalone park and not be part of a Legoland resort. At less than four acres, the German outpost is even smaller and offers fewer rides and attractions than its sister parks. It does, however, feature a building area where kids can fashion Peppa Pig scenes using Lego Duplo blocks. Unlike the other parks, the one in Germany does not present live stage shows.
When folks get hungry, they can head to the parks’ diners. There are kid-friendly favorites such as grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, and mac-n-cheese. The Florida park also accommodates more adventurous palates with dishes such as a smoked brisket sandwich and a grain bowl entree. Signature Muddy Puddle milkshakes, which come in chocolate and strawberry and are topped with a cookie, look scrumptious.
The killjoys at PETA have once again weighed in on theme parks with a PR campaign that beckons the Texas property to consider serving only vegan food at its restaurant. The organization bases its rationale, in part, because children would be “horrified” to learn that stolen “mama cow’s milk” was used to make cheese pizza at the animal-themed park. Oh brother. As I indicated in an earlier article, I support the ethical treatment of animals, but stunts like this are ridiculous overreach. It would seem to me that PETA should be turning its attention to much more urgent animal welfare matters.
Merlin Entertianments has incorporated the popular pig at other attractions in its portfolio, including Peppa Pig-themed rooms in a hotel at Germany’s Heide Park Resort and indoor Peppa Pig World of Play family entertainment centers in Chicago, Leidschendam in the Netherlands and other locations.
A Peppa Pig Theme Park is on tap for Shanghai with a planned 2027 opening. Details are scarce, although it appears that it will not follow the template of the other properties. With an announced size of 48 acres, it would be about ten times the size of the micro Peppa Pig parks. Presumably, the Chinese park, which would be the first to feature the animated characters in Asia, would include many more attractions and features than its counterparts.
Have you been to Peppa Pig Theme Park in Florida? Are your kids fans of the show? Would you like to see a Peppa Pig Theme Park open near you?