I'm A Huge Theme Park Fan, But One Of My Most Anticipated New Attractions Isn't Technically A Theme Park

While we often lump the two together, there’s a significant difference between amusement parks and theme parks. At a theme park, it’s not just about the rides, but about the stories being told by them. More and more, we’re seeing theme parks try to create uniquely immersive experiences to really make guests feel like they’re inside another world, and today, you don’t need to go to a theme park to find those kinds of attractions.

Themed entertainment extends beyond traditional theme parks. In Las Vegas alone, you can experience the new Universal Horror Unleashed, an offshoot of the popular Halloween Horror Nights in the parks, but you can also do the John Wick Experience, which has no theme park equivalent. I love to see themed entertainment expand into new ideas, which is why, as much as I’m looking forward to what’s coming to theme parks in the future, I’m possibly even more excited by Netflix House.

Netflix House Is An Exciting New Addition To Themed Entertainment

Netflix will be dipping its toe into the world of themed entertainment later this year with Netflix House, which will bring the streamer's popular IP to life without the need for a Netflix subscription. Two locations are set to open with unique experiences. Netflix House Philadelphia will open on November 12 with experiences based on Wednesday and the live-action One Piece adaptation. Netflix House Dallas is set to open on December 11 with experiences based on Stranger Things and Squid Game. A third location in Las Vegas is already planned for a 2027 debut. We don’t know what experiences will be found there, but given the success of Kpop Demon Hunters, there's a zero percent chance one of them won't be that, right?

There’s a lot we still don’t know about exactly what these interactive experiences are or how they’ll play out. But the details are less important to me than the basic concept, and the fact that we’re seeing a major player like Netflix get into the themed entertainment game.

It’s not uncommon to see themed experiences for different IPs appear as temporary “pop-up” experiences, but Netflix House will be permanent locations that include Netflix Bites restaurants (one of those already exists in Las Vegas, and the food is pretty good) and merchandise locations alongside the experiences to make them full-fledged destinations. Netflix is investing in themed entertainment, and that’s wonderful to see.

I Hope We See More Netflix House Locations, And More Places Like It, Too

While the particular franchises being spotlighted at Netflix House are sure to appeal to a lot of people, as they represent some of Netflix's most popular shows, I’ll be honest that, as an IP, only Wednesday really excites me personally. But that doesn’t dampen my excitement for Netflix House as a concept, and as a fan of themed entertainment, I’m hoping it turns out great and is successful.

Success certainly means more Netflix House locations, but it could also mean more companies getting in on the action. Imagine Apple TV+ building Severance’s Lumon as an “office” you could truly enter and explore. Even theme park powerhouses like Universal and Disney could build smaller locations in more places to bring specific experiences to fans.

One of the reasons I was most excited about Disney World building the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was that it was a repeatable experience that could expand beyond the theme parks. While that sort of premium themed entertainment experience clearly wasn’t the right call, perhaps a smaller experience like this is the way to go.

Themed entertainment is wonderful, but theme parks are few and far between. It takes a massive investment to build one, just ask Universal. They built Epic Universe, which is incredible, but it wasn't cheap. The more places high-quality themed entertainment is built, the more people can experience how great it is.