Location! Location! Location! Toy and Game Brands Connect with Families Through Location-Based Entertainment

For decades, toy and game manufacturers have expanded their brands and IP into various entertainment realms. These extensions often include books, comics, movies, TV series, and video games, captivating fans and boosting sales in the toy department.

In recent years, a notable trend has gained momentum, making waves at Licensing Expo in 2022 and Brand Licensing Europe in 2023: Location-based entertainment (LBE). This innovative approach offers authentic experiences that heighten brand visibility, optimize crucial touchpoints, and foster deeper connections with families, all of which can translate into increased toy sales.

“We see LBE as an extension of our brand efforts, including complementing our toy business,” says Matt Proulx, Senior Vice President of Global Experiences, Partnerships and Music, Hasbro. “Ultimately, our mission is to entertain and connect generations of fans through the wonder of storytelling and exhilaration of play. We go about this by delivering engaging brand experiences for global audiences through several verticals, including our toy business and LBE division. In fact, the two work synergistically in many cases.”

An early adopter of the LBE movement, Crayola opened The Crayola Factory in Pennsylvania in 1996. After recognizing the desire from visitors for family-driven experiences that were fun, educational, and repeatable, the location was re-imagined as the Crayola Experience in 2013. The company now operates five Crayola Experiences in the U.S., ranging from 20,000 to 60,000 square feet and engaging more than 1.5 million kids and adults annually.

The newest Crayola Experience opens in Tennessee this year. The licensed location in partnership with BrightColors will be the first next-generation Crayola Experience, featuring new and enhanced attractions, rides, and more. The locations also give visitors a chance to interact and engage with product. Whether it’s crafting with markers and crayons or an attraction designed around a toy line like Scribble Scrubbies, the two are complementary.

“Here at Crayola we are product at heart, but we view LBE as the physical manifestation of our brand and our brand mission — to help parents and teachers raise creatively alive children,” says Andy Pence, Vice President of Location Based Entertainment & Retail, Crayola. “Our Crayola Experience locations are where Crayola and creativity come to life, and where families come together to create, play, and make memories that last a lifetime. The belief is that when our guests have a meaningful experience with Crayola products at the Experience, they will want to engage even more with those products at retail as well.”

Research and Markets reports the global location-based entertainment market size is projected to reach $24.76 billion in 2030 and expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.8% from 2023 to 2030, noting rising disposable incomes and changing lifestyle patterns as some of the major factors driving the demand.

“After the shelter-in-place orders were lifted [following the COVID-19 pandemic], many of us were starved of social interaction and the outside world,” Proulx explains. “Although we were able to survive through digital communications … it was apparent that people lacked the in-person, human interactions that are key to our mental health … With that desire to connect socially withheld for so long, people sprinted to enjoy the things they’ve been deprived of.”

Hasbro hosts more than 500 annual events globally and has more than 100 fixed location-based experiences open worldwide with more on the horizon: Merlin Entertainments is opening Peppa Pig theme parks in Texas and Germany; two more NERF Action Xperience (AX) centers are arriving in the U.S.; NERF AX is making its way to China in 2027; Planet Playskool, a family entertainment center (FEC) featuring Play-Doh, Transformers, PJ Masks, Mouse Trap, Spirograph, and Tinker Toy, is coming to Paramus, New Jersey; and The Game Room Powered by Hasbro will arrive at the American Dream mall in New Jersey this year.

Mattel has also seen success in this space, capitalizing on the hype surrounding Barbie: The Movie in addition to Day Out with Thomas, Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live, and other branded events, such as the long-running Hot Wheels Legends Tour, which returns for its seventh run this year.

“LBE poses an opportunity to expand the reach and storytelling of our widely beloved toys through tangible, in-person experiences for fans,” says Julie Freeland, Vice President of Global Live Events, Mattel. “Ensuring that our portfolio ‘fires on all cylinders’ across toys, content, digital gaming, LBE, and everything between creates a thriving franchise flywheel that supports interest in and sales of our toys. Ultimately, our underlying goal is always to show up where our fans are.”

Mattel will open Mattel Adventure Park locations in Arizona this year and Kansas in 2026 with Epic Resort Destinations. The parks will feature Hot Wheels roller coasters, a Barbie Beach House, Masters of the Universe laser tag, and more. The company will also launch Barbie Bahamas Beach Vacation: Where Atlantis Dreams Come True this summer, where guests at the Bahamas’ Atlantis Resort will experience Barbie-themed immersions, tailor-made Barbie guest rooms, and more.

“Whenever we can develop an execution that perfectly captures what the brand is about while giving fans a one-of-a-kind experience — that’s when we know we’ve accomplished something special,” explained Josh Silverman, Mattel’s Executive Vice President and Chief Franchise Officer, when speaking with The Toy Book about LBE expansion last fall.

Paramount’s Nickelodeon Universe opened at Mall of America in 2008 and American Dream in 2019, in addition to international Nickelodeon Hotels and Resorts, with more theme parks, hotels and resorts, water parks, and stand-alone attractions currently in development. Both Nickelodeon Universes are multi-generational experiences featuring SpongeBob (celebrating its 25th anniversary), Dora the Explorer (returning as Dora on Paramount+), Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, PAW Patrol, and other classic Nick IP that connect with parents who share their favorite shows with their kids.

These kinds of experiences allow adult fans to tap into nostalgia while creating new, cherished memories with loved ones. “The immersion is the key. You’re not just watching — you’re participating,” says Marie Marks, Senior Vice President, Themed Entertainment, Paramount. “LBE allows our guests to be part of the story, to join the characters that they love, in their unique character worlds. It brings people, particularly families, together and provides an environment where they can spend valued time with one another.”

LBE experiences are truly unique, and when fans can fully immerse themselves in their favorite fantasy worlds, they forge deeper connections with brands and characters they already know and love. Another pioneer in the LBE space, Sesame Workshop launched Sesame Place in Philadelphia in 1980. The upcoming Sesame Street Learn & Play at American Dream will show families the way to Sesame Street where they can take a stroll with Elmo, chat with Big Bird on the iconic 123 stoop, shop at Hooper’s store, and more.

“There’s nothing like seeing a 4-year-old, or a 40-year-old, meeting Elmo, Abby Cadabby, or Cookie Monster for the first time,” says Jennifer Ahearn, Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Themed Entertainment, Sesame Workshop. “And we can extend that immersive fan experience by imagining and creating a world of possibilities.”

Additional toy-adjacent brands are also getting into LBE, including CEC Entertainment’s Chuck E. Cheese, which entered into a partnership deal for branded rides and attractions at the new California Dreamin’ Water Park in Sacramento. Similarly, Iplayco partnered with Rovio Entertainment to design a new line of interactive and gamified Angry Birds attractions for family-friendly destinations. This year, Gel Blaster is expanding upon Nexus, its “Spatial Gaming Console” developed exclusively for FECs that marries elements of paintball, laser tag, and video games for team-based physical blaster play.

Looking ahead, numerous toy and game companies are continuing to expand and invest in LBE with bigger and better projects in the works. So what exactly does the future of LBE hold for the industry? Proulx says that’s up to the fans. “We use the consumer as our North Star when guiding all our licensing and LBE programs. We ground all our decisions in what fans and families around the world tell us they want, need, and feel. We are committed to investing in this space for as long as our fans and consumers tell us they want to be able to enjoy it — and there have been no signs of that demand waning anytime soon.”

A version of this feature was originally published in The Toy Book’s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!