Cartoon Network is going into the hotel business, allowing animation fans and families to stay with We Bare Bears and The Powerpuff Girls in a 165 room property in Lancaster County, Pa., starting next summer.
Through a deal with Palace Entertainment, The Cartoon Network Hotel will offer 165 rooms that can be customized around the (big and small) kids favorite characters.
The move comes at a time when media companies are trying to capture the attention of kids who are watching less traditional TV. One way they are emphasizing is with live experiences. Kids have long gone to the Walt Disney Co. and Universal theme parks. An Orlando hotel gave up its Nickelodeon branding earlier this year, but a new Nick resort is expected to open in Mexico next year.
The Cartoon Network Hotel will have an interactive lobby, a resort-style pool, a water play zone and outdoor amphitheater with an over sized movies screen, lawn games and fire pits.
“With just the right mix of technology, design and animation, we’re aiming to bring our characters to life in a way that we haven’t seen done before,” said Christina Miller, president of Turner’s Cartoon Network-Adult Swim-Boomerang unit. “We can’t wait to be part of many family vacations with the ultimate Cartoon Network experience.”
Turner is part of AT&T’s WarnerMedia division.
The resort is currently under construction. The site is located along the Route 30 commercial stretch in Lancaster County and close to the Dutch Wonderland Family Amusement Park.
Palace Entertainment currently owns and operates more than 20 amusement parks, water parks, and family entertainment centers across the United States and Australia.
“This is going to be a game changer,” said Rolf Paegert, COO of Palace Entertainment. “With sleek contemporary designs that parents will appreciate and Easter egg type surprises for kids throughout the resort, the entire family will love this place.”
