Mattel Is Building an Amusement Park With a Barbie Beach House and Hot Wheels Roller Coasters
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Famed toy company Mattel is opening an indoor/outdoor amusement park called Mattel Adventure Park.
Mattel Adventure Park will be located in Glendale, Arizona at the VAI Resort.
It's schedule to open in 2024.
Barbie has been on a hot streak lately, but there's even more reason for Barbie fans — and Hot Wheels and Thomas the Tank Engine fans — to get excited this year. That's because Mattel has announced that it's building the Mattel Adventure Park, an indoor/outdoor theme park that will feature some of the brand's most iconic toy lines at the forefront.
The small, nine-acre park is being built in Glendale, Arizona, on the grounds of the already-built VAI Resort. According to a press release put out by Mattel, this is a hop and skip away from the State Farm Stadium, home to the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. And while Arizona may conjure up images of hot summer days — and therefore waiting in line for the rides in the hot, hot heat — the interesting thing about Mattel's Adventure Park is that the bulk of the attractions are indoors. Which means air conditioning, and it's also enclosed so it can be visited year-round in almost any weather. But what else will the park have?
Mattel Adventure Park's opening date is not exact, but it's set to open in 2024.
We don't have a firm Grand Opening yet, but it's a good guess that it'll be in the second half of the year. Right now, the only event that is firmly scheduled is a sneak preview of one of the park's major roller coasters, and that isn't until August 19 and 20. (For those interested, it'll be part of the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Party event at the Desert Diamond Arena. Tickets are not yet available.)
Until then, fans can keep up with the park's progress with the live construction camera on matteladventurepark.com. So far, it looks like... a lot of dirt, plus a couple of structures. One of the coaster hills peeks out from the back. It will be amazing to see how the park takes shape. Additional news and announcements will be available on the park's Instagram feed.
Mattel Adventure Park's thrill rides will be based on Hot Wheels.
If there are Hot Wheels collectors out there who've always dreamed of being in one of the vehicles as they zoom down the tracks and through the loops, they'll soon have the chance to try it out in real life. Mattel Adventure Park will have two Hot Wheels roller coasters: Hot Wheels Bone Shaker: The Ultimate Ride and the Hot Wheels Twin Mill Racer.
Of the two, Hot Wheels Twin Mill Racer is the more intense. That one will have a double loop plus two corkscrews, so it's not for those who don't like being flipped upside-down. The Hot Wheels Bone Shaker: The Ultimate Ride is still fast and high, climbing 84 feet into the air, but it's more family-friendly. Riders get to sit in cars with the cool, hot-rod design and flame details the Bone Shaker is known for.
Barbie fans will get to have the ultimate Barbie Beach House visit.
The Barbie movie no longer has to inspire Barbie Dream House jealousy. Visitors can head to a life-size Barbie Beach House and feel like they've been transported to Barbie Land.
The centerpiece of the Beach House will be the Barbie Dream Closet Experience. According to Mattel, it "uses hologram technology to bring Barbie to life before guests’ eyes." But getting to take a look into Barbie's closet isn't the only draw. Visitors should arrive to the Beach House hungry, since there will be a rooftop bar that looks out onto the rest of the park. Anyone who didn't get to go to the Malibu Barbie Pop-Up Café will get another chance to dine awash in pink.
Other Mattel brands will also have themed areas.
Thomas the Tank Engine chief among them, since a little-kid area will be devoted to the famed blue train. Thomas & Friends: World of Sodor will be a collection of seven kid-friendly rides and attractions.
In addition, Master of the Universe will be the inspiration for a huge laser-tag arena — we're talking 4,500 square feet. Of course, the whole thing is modeled to look like Castle Grayskull. How many players will be defeated because they paused to point their weapon into the air and shout, "By the power of Grayskull!?"
And finally, there will be mini golf and climbing areas devoted to Mattel's iconic games. Think a climbing structure made out of UNO cards, or mini-golf holes with Magic 8-Ball and Pictionary elements.
This is a good time to be a fan of amusements and attractions — Mattel Adventure Park is part of a trend of new theme parks being built across the country. In addition to adding the Epic Universe park to its Orlando campus, Universal has announced a year-round, horror-themed world in Las Vegas and a family-friendly amusement park in Texas. Also in Texas, a Peppa Pig theme park has been announced, similar to the one that opened recently in Winter Park, Florida. And the $2 billion, 1,000-acre American Heartland Theme Park and Resort is underway in Oklahoma, scheduled to be open in 2026. That's just a few of some of the new parks that have been announced, and the addition of the Mattel Adventure Park means there's another destination for theme-park fans in the future.
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