Hopi Hari
FACTSHEET
Location:
Sao Paulo
Size:
160,724 m2
Cost (BRL):
-
Country:
Brazil
Type:
Theme Park
Brand:
-
Year Built:
0
Capacity:
15,930
Adult price (BRL):
0
Child price (BRL):
0
Capacity / Attendance:*
15 EU/’000 pp
Attendance / Size:*
6 pp/sqm
Size / Capacity:*
10 sqm/EU
LOCATION
TAGS
Sao Paulo
Theme Park
Brazil
ATTENDANCE OVER TIME
ABOUT
Opened on November 27, 1999, Hopi Hari was designed and built by International Theme Park Services Inc., a U.S. company located in Cincinnati, Ohio which based the design of the park on Kings Island, a theme park also located in Cincinnati. Originally, the park would be called "Playcenter Great Adventure" as it belonged to the Playcenter Group. Due to the Brazilian economic crisis in the 1990s, it was forced to sell while still under construction as a consequence of the reduction in visitors at Playcenter. The company GP Investments took over operations, where the park project has undergone several changes, including a name change to "Hopi Hari."
Due to its close proximity to large urban centers like São Paulo and Campinas, the park has an important role for the economy and tourism in the state of São Paulo and Brazil. The park is part of the complex SerrAzul Full Life which also includes Wet 'n Wild water park, Shopping SerrAzul, the Premium Outlet shopping center, the Quality Resort Hotel and Itupeva SerraAzul Farm subdivision. This complex attracts more than 5 million Brazilian tourists a year (number equal to the amount of foreign tourists to Brazil received in 2008) surpassing even tourist spots known as Christ the Redeemer, one of the Seven Wonders of the modern world, and the Sugar Loaf mountain in Rio de Janeiro, which together received only 1.9 million tourists (Brazilian and foreign) in 2008, according to RioTur. The park hopes to double that amount within 10 years, since it hopes to attract more tourists in agreement with Warner Bros. In 2010, Hopi Hari had a gross revenue of R $103 million, meaning an increase of 25% compared to 2009. Hopi Hari had the biggest increase among parks reporting in previous years, with close to 500,000 additional visitors, driven by a combination of the opening of several major new rides, and very strong economic growth in Brazil.
In 2011, Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) and Hopi Hari, struck a licensing agreement to bring some of the biggest franchises in the world to the park, including characters from the Justice League, Looney Tunes and Penelope Pitstop, with the goal of bringing a more "Hollywoodian" feel to the park. Some characters used were Tweety, Sylvester, Superman, Batman, Bugs Bunny, Aquaman, Taz, and The Flash. Some areas of the park include Infantasia (Looney Tunes characters and Penelope) and Aribabiba (the Justice League characters). The characters of Sesame Street were removed despite being part of the park since its inauguration. The "lore" (story) of the fictional country of Hopi-Hari was very attached to the Sesame Street characters after the deal, will be with other Warner Bros properties. " The entry of the Looney Tunes will be based on a new design in which Bugs Bunny is a millionaire with his inventions and moves in with Daffy Duck. Hopi Hari sends an invitation for them to settle at the park. He accepts the invitation, and brings the whole crew to Infantasia; an ideal place for filming. They also bring all the ACME paraphernalia to the park.After witnessing all the happiness and joy that the park offers, the greatest villains decide to invade Hopi Hari. The goddess Hari calls the Justice League in order to establish the park to prevent the triumph of the villains within the Lore. Aribabiba is in this battle will happen at each attraction. "
Even with the strong economic potential, the park has always faced great difficulties throughout the years due to factors such as mismanagement, constant changes in administration and some accidents. In its early years, the park did not achieve project revenue thus, preventing new investments and the balance of its construction's debts and resulting in the transfer of the business to new owners in 2009. The best performance the park achieved was between 2010 and 2011, with a high audience, which allowed agreements with brands and sponsorships, such as Warner Bros, in addition to the purchase of a Multi Inversion Roller Coaster from Intamin. Despite the growth, in 2012 the park faced difficulties again after a fatal accident in its free-fall tower. As a result of the accident and sensational media, the park experienced a drop in visitation that triggered more financial issues and security problems. Close to bankruptcy in 2016 and with 700 million Reais in debt, the park again changed management, got a recovery agreement with the court and it was forced to sell the unbuilt 10 inversion roller coaster to pay off a creditor. In 2017 the new management team was able to form agreements to revitalize and repair the park's areas and rides which attracted more visitors. In 2018, the recovery agreement was refuted by one of the largest creditors and after several amendment proposals (including the attempt to buy from another group) it was accepted in 2022. Meanwhile, the park had a new change in management in 2019 that provoked protests among employees.
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