Pokepark Kanto seems kinda lame...

When I heard about Pokepark Kanto opening up, I was honestly so excited to hear that a Pokémon theme park was FINALLY being opened, after it'd been 20 years since the original Pokepark opened.



PokePark: Pokemon the Park opened in Japan in 2005, running for one single summer. The following year, the Park reappeared in Taiwan, supposedly beginning the start of a world tour, where Pokepark would travel to several countries across the world, giving Pokefans of all ages a chance to experience the World of Pokemon in real life. Except it didn't happen.



After PokePark's stint in Taiwan, the park closed it gates for good, with no explanation or update on the status of where or even if the Park was going to reappear again. Fast forward almost 20 years, and besides the few pop-up events and themed children's playgrounds, Pokemon did not exist in a theme park format; this fact seems shocking considering the grand scale and success of Pokemon as an enterprise. According to Forbes, the Pokemon Company is worth over 145 Billion Dollars. Clearly there is proven success, why wouldn't they want to capitalize on the absolute cash-grab that is a theme park?

I can't help myself from wondering if the Pokepark opened in 2005 had any influence on their reluctance towards investing in this type of venture... Why didn't they end up touring with the Park as they'd stated numerous times in the press? The park was massively successful-- I can't help but wonder if the cost to run the park simply didn't justify reopening? Or maybe the logistics of it were too difficult at the time? Yet, after two decades, and the opening of a Nintendo Theme Park, there's still no land of Pokemon threatening to rob me of all my money, why?



I couldn't believe my eyes, mind and heart when I saw the announcement of Pokepark Kanto, the very first permanent Pokemon Theme park. My mind began spinning out of control with visions of Rayquaza coasters and Pichu themed trains... Pokepark was finally, after mysteriously vanishing, making it's glorious return!



In 2005, PokePark featured 8 Rides, 2 themed experiences, an arcade corner, multiple gift shops, and a themed cafe, not to mention the themed Bus that took you to and from the attraction, a corresponding 3-D movie experience at the theater next to the park, numerous festival events, Nintendo DS game events, and exclusive TCG and merchandise. While, all of this was temporary, the park was immaculately decorated, featuring over 100 unique Pokemon statues, Pokeball themed umbrellas, lanterns strung across the walkways... for being something only temporary, they really went all out, which the Pokemon Company is honestly known to do... and they're quite good at it.



In contrast, Pokepark Kanto features two rides-- a flying pikachu ride, extremely similar to the one in the original Pokepark, and an Eevee themed carousel, which in my opinion flails in comparison to the original. They do have a cool interactive Pokemon Center, which I think would be insanely fun for kids to get to experience healing their pokemon in real life. The biggest feature of this park and arguably its coolest attraction, is the nature walking trail Pokemon Forest. This is where all of the really cool Pokemon statues are located, and I have to admit, seeing them in the forest does offer quite the element of immersion... think walking through Viridian Forest or the Safari Zone.



When looking at the main street of PokePark Kanto, I can't help but feel its devoid of character... almost liminal in way. The stalls are all very stark and white, lacking much themed decor, other than a few pokemon figures... I recognize that they have yet to open the stalls fully, and it appears that they will contain various arcade and carnival style games. Despite that, they lack any sort of creative vision and feels like its on the complete opposite end of the spectrum compared to the Park that existed in 2005.



In summary, I'm underwhelmed. I honestly expected something to the same level as Nintendo World, something that creates an entirely immersive experience, rather than some attraction that exists in a park... And maybe Pokemon plans to expand into Nintendo World, and this is why they aren't putting the same level of effort and budget into this smaller enterprise. The PokePark obsessed nerd in me screams and mourns the fact that she will never experience the original, and truly the better Pokepark...



Thanks for Reading! If you enjoyed this blog, be sure to follow me on social media so you know when I upload my PokePark deep-dive video to Youtube!



And be sure to share your opinions in the comments below!





07:20 AM

meevee

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