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A brand-new theme park is set to open later this year in North Texas, but that opening may prove problematic as a national organization has lashed out at park owners, demanding that the park cease part of its operations before those operations have even begun.
Credit: Disney Dining
Exciting Times For North Texas
For proud Texans who double as theme park fans–and love the thought of new venues to visit on the weekends–these are exciting times.
Texas is a big place, encompassing some 270,000 square miles. Within those nearly 270,000 square miles, you’ll find a myriad of things to do, experiences to have, and places to visit—not the least of which can be found on the Lone Star State’s buffet of theme parks.
Credit: Gabriel Valdez on unsplash
Six Flags Fiesta Texas is located in San Antonio, as are SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld Aquatica, and Morgan’s Wonderland. In New Braunfels, Texas, guests flock to the Schlitterbahn Water Park, and her sister park is located in Galveston, Texas, along with the Historic Galveston Island Pleasure Pier. In both Houston and Austin, guests can have a blast at Typhoon Texas.
Closer to Dallas, there are more options for theme park fun, including Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Arlington, Texas. And beginning in 2024, Texas will add even more theme parks and theme park resorts to its laundry list of options for family fun and thrills.
Three New Theme Parks Coming to Texas
Universal Parks and Experiences, which owns Universal Studios Resort Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, announced in early 2023 that a new theme park resort was in the works in the North Texas city of Frisco.
The new venue, named Universal Kids, will be geared toward kids and families and will feature a 300-room resort hotel. Plans for the new resort include an opening date sometime in 2026.
Credit: Universal
There are also plans in the works for a brand-new Texas-sized theme park called Texasland, U.S.A., which is said to be coming to the state in 2026. A native Texan is at the helm of that project, which is inspired by the history of the great state of Texas and is rumored to be the Lone Star State’s answer to Disneyland.
Related: Disney Strategist Unveils Plans For Massive New Theme Park in Texas
Credit: TexasLand, LLC
But Texans can look forward to one of the new venues opening later this year.
In an announcement in 2022, Hasbro and Merlin Entertainment shared plans for a second Peppa Pig Theme Park to be constructed in North Richland Hills, Texas, approximately 30 miles west of Dallas and only 11 miles northeast of Fort Worth, Texas. Orlando, Florida, is home to the only other Peppa Pig Theme Park in the United States.
Designed to be the ultimate theme park experience for little ones, this all-new standalone theme park located in North Richland Hills will feature multiple rides, interactive attractions, themed playscapes and shows, all based on instantly recognizable locations from the globally popular brand. Families will meet Peppa and her friends as they snort, giggle and play to build their first theme park memories together.
The new venue, inspired by the popular British children’s television series Peppa Pig boasts kid-friendly roller coasters, thrill rides, play areas, a nature trail, and even a splash pad.
Credit: Hasbro
While the new theme park will be smaller than other offerings in the state, it’s facing huge backlash before it has even welcomed a guest.
PETA Takes Aim at New Texas Theme Park
PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has taken aim at Merlin Entertainment and Hasbro in response to planned operations within the park when it opens later this year.
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According to a letter sent May 13 from PETA Senior Director Danielle Katz to Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks and Merlin Entertainments CEO Scott O’Neil, the organization is calling for the new Peppa Pig Theme Park to refrain from selling animal-based menu items.
The letter reads as follows:
Greetings from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). As PETA’s senior director of campaigns and a mom to a 5-year-old who loves Peppa Pig, thank you for showing the world that pigs aren’t sources of bacon but individuals with emotions and unique personalities. Just as you decided to leave pig flesh off the menu at your Florida theme park, we expect you’ll do the same in Texas, given that pigs are intelligent, playful, and affectionate beings—just like Peppa herself. You clearly recognize the irony of selling pig meat, so why sell products made from other exploited animals like Carol Cow or Mrs. Cow? Just like pigs, cows and other animals are friends, not food.
None of Peppa’s friends or family should be exploited or eaten, so we urge you to serve only vegan foods at your theme parks. Children have a natural empathy for animals and would be horrified to learn that Miss Rabbit’s Diner simply substitutes pepperoni made from pigs with pepperoni made from gentle cows. Surely, Miss Rabbit would never butcher her chicken friends to serve nuggets or take a mama cow’s milk—meant for her babies—to make cheese pizza.
If you leave animals off the menu, you may well find that visitor numbers skyrocket. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the vegan food industry is projected to hit $162 billion in the next decade. A vegan menu would also be better for your young patrons’ health, since eating meat, eggs, and dairy has been linked to suffering from heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes, and obesity.
We hope you’ll respect Peppa and her pals by agreeing to serve only vegan foods at your theme parks. PETA would be happy to help you create a menu that’s ethical, delicious, and aligned with the values of your new establishment. We look forward to hearing from you.
Credit: Hasbro/Merlin Entertainment
At this time, neither Hasbro nor Merlin Entertainment has responded to PETA, so it remains to be seen whether there will be changes to the menu items at Peppa’s newest theme park when it opens later this year.
This post originally appeared on Disney Dining.
