First Stone Laid For Paramount Park In Spain – New Images & Videos Of Star Trek Attractions

Last year we reported that there was a plan to build a new Paramount theme park in Murcia, Spain which would include attractions based on Star Trek. This week ground was broken for the project in a special ceremony. There are also more details and images and promo videos from the planned Park and Star Trek attractions. Check it all out below.

 

First Stone Laid For Paramount Theme Park in Murcia, Spain

In a formal ceremony on Thursday in Alhama de Murcia, Spain, ground was broken for the planned Paramount Theme Park and Lifestyle Center. On hand were executives from PREMURSA (the consortium behind the project) along with local dignitaries and executives from Paramount Pictures.

Paramount Park Murcia is a different model than the Paramount Parks (including the now closed Las Vegas Star Trek: The Experience) that operated from 1994 until sold off to Cedar Fair in 2006. While Paramount is closely involved in the design of the new park and the attractions, they are actually functioning as a licensee, with the park being built and managed by PREMURSA. The goal of the consortium is to both make money off the park, but also attract tourism and investment into the area. They are hoping the park will attract 3 million visitors a year, with a planned opening in 2015.

While PREMURSA and the locals remain optimistic about the future of the project, describing this weeks event as a "major milestone," financing to complete the project is still being sought. This may prove a challenge with the current economic crisis in Spain and Europe in general. So this week’s ceremony is seen as a symbolic event, with major construction on the park awaiting financing.


First stone laid for Paramount Park Murcia on May 31, 2012

Paramount Park Murcia is envisioned as a competitor to other European theme parks with tie-ins to famous properties and characters including Warner Park in Spain, Disneyland Paris in France, and Movie Park in Germany. Spain is the fourth most visited country in the world, and the most popular destination for European tourists. While Murcia has a number of popular beach resorts, itself is not currently known as a major tourist destination (although it is a popular home for European retirees). Murcia does provide excellent weather for a theme park with 300 sunny days a year and an average temperature of 70 degrees (21C).

The plan for the Paramount theme park is to have five sections, each of which contains attractions linked to various Paramount films from their 100 year history, including Mission: Impossible, Titanic, Grease, Sleepy Hollow, Rango, and The Spiderwick Chronicles. Of specific interest to Trek fans is the "Plaza Futura" section.


Planned map for Paramount Park Murcia

According to plans, the Plaza Futura section will have three elements related to Star Trek. There is the Starfleet Recruiting Center motion simulator ride, the Warp Speed roller coaster and a Starfleet Commissary restaurant. All will be themed around the look of the new JJ Abrams Star Trek movie universe.

ARTIST PICTURES OF PLAZA FUTURA/STAR TREK ATTRACTIONS




Artist renditions of Plaza Futura from Paramount Park Murcia




Artist renditions of Starfleet Recruiting Center attraction



Artist renditions of Warp Speed Coaster attraction

VIDEOS

Promotional video from 2011 (in English)

New promotional video (in Spanish)

TrekMovie.com will continue to monitor development on this project, as well as the Red Sea Resort in Jordan (which will also include a Star Trek attraction).

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beautiful, lovely!

SPAIN??!!!

Spain is bankrupt. I don’t know how this is economically feasible. But it’s still cool, and I hope it brings in lots of visitors.

Why oh why, could we NOT do this here?

Be sure to remind them at the gate there’s no money in the 23rd century. Trekkies get in for free. ;)

I wish if we have something like that here in Calgary, that would be amazing.

Kind of like the former Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas, but on steroids!

Yes that’s right Spain people. Get used to it. :D

#5.

More like “be sure to remind Trekkies to bring a lot of money, as there is no such thing as a free ride in the twenty-first century”. :-D

Star Trek es a mejor chose en todo el universo! Espero que vemos a ver mas parques como eso en el futur

I hope it fairs well..considering the economic crisis!

WTF? Why isn’t there a Paramount Park in the USA then??

Kind of like Star Trek the Experience, but with less immersion and a crappier universe in a country about to go bankrupt?

Better bring a star trek park here…(Greece). We re bankrupt too :):)

I wonder if the staff will walk around in Trek uniforms…

Can’t see what would be so terrible about building this in Spain. Yeah, their national economic situation is pretty darn troubling, but it’s not like suddenly every single Spaniard has become poor. Furthermore, Spain remains a popular tourist location from all over Europe.
In fact, this could potentially be great for Spain. In the short time, lots of construction workers and technicians will get more work. In the longer term, if successful, the park will employ lots of long-term employees, encourage spending among those who can afford it, and drive up tourism revenue (Germany – one of the most lucrative Trekkie markets – is just around the corner).
For these reasons, I’m guessing the local powers that be are willing to give Paramount some favorable developing conditions. Furthermore, Spain’s biggest economic issue – as far as I’m aware – is unemployment (particularly among young people), so there should be an ample supply of willing and able workers.

As for why it’s being built in Spain and not in the U.S….
Because it’s being built in Spain and not in the U.S.; simple as that. It’s not like every project plan has a flowchart with the question “Can you build it in the U.S.?” on it.

As I said on the YT page….WHERE THE HELL IS OUR PARAMOUNT ST THEMED PARK?! It’s been almost 4 years since the ST Experience closed (Really ticked me off too, since it closed 28 days before my 21st birthday, which I was planning to go TO the Experience that day or sometime after)

looks fun- will they use a brewry for enginering?

2015? R they serious? Maybe 2018.

The second artist’s rendering features what appears to be either the Millennium Gate or Farpoint Station.

WHY SPAIN?

Wow! Your such a bunch of cry babies! ‘ohh where’s our paramount park, why’s it not in USA, ohh way to go build it in a country that’s about to go bust!”
Call yourself Trekkies? Well you ain’t showing a very positive attitude to things.

I for one wish them all the best and hope it does well for them in term of boosting their economy!

Well said #16

uh, brings back memories to the long dead Space Park that was built in Bremen, Germany: opened February 2004, closed September 2004 … they didn’t even attract the needed 1.3 million visitors per year.

JJverse Planet Vulcan Ride:

“It’s a small world afterall, it’s a small world afterall, it’s a small world afterall… It’s a small, small world…”

Has anyone noticed that almost all of the music in the over 7 minute English version promotional video is from Star Trek films no matter what is being presented in the visuals?

It being in Spain will make it easier for people who arent from the USA to get to, and seeming that the States has Disney World and Universal and there have been numerous Trek themed attractions in the States but nowhere else I say why not.

Maybe its time to consider a holiday to Spain…in 3 or 4 years =]

I suspect Paramount is doing something to elevate star trek’s box office overseas. If i am correct, that’s great..

If they make and a TV series double great!

I like the new movie and cast and everything; however, I a surprised that the park is based on that universe, which is considerably less fleshed out and rich at this point. (I am guessing this is a function of CBS owning TV trek) I will totally go though if I find myself in Spain, looks neat.

Based on JJTrek?
Pass.

Looks cool.

I do wish it was the prime universe though.

There is a lot more in the prime universe, we have 3 centuries to draw on and the LCARS display screens are stil cooler looking in my opinion.

@29,

Hopefully, the younger generations will seat and enjoy the prime universe.
I believe, many of us (old fans) feel (a bit) isolated, but ultimately the universe has a ton to offer!

After all, star trek is about examining other possibilities too!

Pardon me, i meant the JJ universe has a lot to offer :)

33.

Agreed, they *will* have two movies worth of information by then, and a third movie in the works, most likely. I think in the limited fashion that the park actually has to rely on “mythos” it should be fine (roller coasters and food courts). They are just kind of “skinning” traditional park attractions with Star Trek branding it seems. (No slight intended, if that sounds judgmental to anyone.)

If they were doing a star trek: experience type of thing, I don’t think the alternate universe would be able to populate enough attractions to make it a worthwhile, immersive experience. I would hope they would do a combined experience (prime + new) if such a thing were to be attempted again.

12. Um there were Paramount Parks here in the States until a few years ago when they sold off that business. Probably saved themselves a bunch of money selling off before the 08 econimic crisis.

Well, to be fair, the JJverse is in the mainstream now, so it’s not a bad idea to captialise on that right now. Further, since the lamented demise of the Las Vegas Star Trek Experience and the difficulty in getting it going again (if at all) it’s only reasonable that Paramount is looking further afield to set up this place.

Star Trek in Paramount park. Will there be a Guardian of Forever section where you can go an get answers and visit other places?

Good job we’re going to Florida next year, cause when this opens we won’t need to bother! Awesome!!

Doesn’t matter about the financial/economic situation in Spain, as the Spanish people are not the target market. Spain happens to be the main summer playground of the Brits and the Germans, both of whom possess large numbers of Trekkers (and still have more money to spend in comparison to other nationalities in Europe). They are the target audience for this: it’ll make more money in Spain than in the (sometimes, not always by any means) rather more inclement climes of the UK and Germany.

Oh and to all you yanks who are saying “why Spain?”. Spain is the main holiday destination for the UK, Germany, Ireland, Holland, France etc. we go every year and now I only see that increasing!

Sorry, but Spain? Is Europe where Star Trek’s largest fan base is? ST.09 made HALF as much money in the rest of the world as it did domestically.

Maybe Paramount is planning on doing a half-assed job with it and they don’t want any bad publicity fallout from building it in America.

I really don’t have a good feeling about this. From what I can determine, Murcia is not on the coast of Spain, so there are no beach attractions. It has become a haven for “residential tourists” but there isn’t really a lot to do there, except retire. So why should anyone go there?
Look, our city fathers in New York have just scrapped a plan to build a new convention center at the site of the old Aqueduct Raceway because “it’s a long subway ride from Manhattan.” A long subway ride? How long a ride is it to get to Murcia?
This notion that if you build it, they will come, has flown out the window with the skyrocketing price of oil.
I was actually planning to go to Spain in a few years, but to Madrid and Valencia. Not Mucia. Murcia is not anywhere near those cities. Now I really love Star Trek but I’m not going to shlep down to southeast Spain to take a ride on a roller coaster, sit in a motion simulator and eat at a “futuristic” food court.
Also I’m not thrilled with the idea of pegging these attractions to the look of the new JJ Abrams style of Star Trek. This may become as dated in a few years as Mr. Spock’s circular slide rule.

No offense to the Spaniards, but did they suddenly become the New Las Vegas?

And speaking of Las Vegas…what? Are we chopped liver over here? We’ve been waiting for *something* to happen for four years now!!

It does seem strange that there are “Star Trek” theme park attractions in active development in Spain and Jordan, but not in the U.S.

Does anybody know if the plans to reboot the “Star Trek Experience” in Las Vegas are completely vaporized? The announced attraction in 2009 seems to have completely imploded.

This makes me miss Star Trek The Experience in Las Vegas even more.

@43 easy travelling distance from Alicante and Benidorm, two major tourist destinations? I’d argue it’s smack bang in the middle of the main tourist area of continental Spain. I doubt it’d be feasible on islands such as Ibiza, Majorca or Lanzarote.

So I guess the JJ Verse is here to stay? Seems like 43 years of Trek History is ignored for a single 2009 film!

The “Star Trek Experience” won’t be coming back. It’s done forever. The new economic world order has made sure of that.

Anyway, this does look really cool. Do you think we could get lucky and have something like this in the US again?