/ A space-themed hotel is the first step of Futuroscope’s “resortisation” /

The year is 2190, and thanks to impressive technological advances a new era of space exploration has begun. Epitome of this endeavor is Station Cosmos, the very first space exploration base, built on the Kepler 442-b exoplanet, in the Lyra constellation. Its mission is especially focused on exobiology, looking for new vegetable species, and the big breakthrough is the discovery of the Big Blue, a luminescent plant that can generate endlessly renewable energy. Sounds interesting? Now you can visit, too: Station Cosmos is the new themed hotel opened since May at the Futuroscope park in France.

Inspired by real-life projects for human colonies on Mars, Station Cosmos is an experiential hotel that invites guests to live the life of a space crew in deep space. Its 76 rooms are designed like the cabins of a spaceship, with details and patterns that are clearly issued from a science-fiction aesthetics, while at the same time they don’t skimp on comforts. The hotel also includes a lounge bar called the Bar des Pilotes, with a rooftop terrace offering a view on the park, and the same development also included the opening of an independent restaurant at the entrance of the park, called Space Loop, which is open to hotel guests and park visitors, but also to everyone else.

Like the hotel, Space Loop is also an experiential venue: under a dome that is supposed to be the observatory of Station Cosmos, the restaurant is futuristic not only in its design, but also in its operation, because guests order autonomously from a tablet, and dishes are delivered automatically over a system of rails.

In their futuristic theming, both the new hotel and restaurant are in keeping with Futuroscope’s overall theme of technology and the future, but they are also the first step of its future strategy and development, with the goal of growing the park into a full-fledged resort in order to position itself as a European leisure destination. This is a trend that seems to be catching on throughout Europe, with a growing number of parks that have begun to add hotels and other attractions in order to retain guests for more than a day trip.

“The opening of Station Cosmos marks the first step of the ‘resortisation’ of Futuroscope, which will include the creation of a second themed hotel in 2023 and of a waterpark in 2024,” confirmed Rodolphe Bouin, President of the Board of Futuroscope. The whole plan, for an investment of 304 million euros over 10 years, also includes a sizable contribution to the theme park itself, with the renovation of existing rides, the creation of “interstitial experiences” (like artistic installations in queue lines, park lanes and other passageways), and most importantly the addition of a new 20-million-euro major attraction every 2 years.

The first major attraction addition was already unveiled for this season and is operating since July 2nd: called Chasseurs de Tornades (Tornado Chasers), it is the world’s first installation of the Dynamic Motion Theater from Dynamic Attractions, which was awarded as Best New Product Concept at IAAPA Expo 2016 in Orlando, Florida. The theater seats are on a platform that spins, goes up, down and tilts, installed in the middle of a 470sqm circular screen, and the experience is enhanced by live action, LED projections, and special in-theater effects. In Futuroscope’s installation, guests feel as if they are being whisked away in a mind-blowing storm. “Chasseurs de Tornades is an…

Continue reading Games & Parks Industry September 2022, page 44

Photos Courtesy: TOGO Med

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