Forget Donkey Kong Country – we need Pokemon theme parks

The latest addition to the Super Nintendo World theme park is Donkey Kong Country, and while many fans are getting in the swing of things, it’s another reminder that Pokemon is trailing behind.

Donkey Kong is great. The King of Swing himself is responsible for plenty of amazing games, such as the Nintendo Switch’s fantastic platformer Tropical Freeze, and public opinion is riding high thanks to Seth Rogen’s comedic turn as the ape in the Super Mario Movie.

Thankfully for Donkey Kong fans, Nintendo and Universal have just announced the addition of the Donkey Kong Country section of Universal Orlando Resort, coming in 2025 alongside the newest branch of Super Nintendo World. This is wonderful news, and DK deserves it after years of playing second fiddle to that portly plumber.

If you’re a Pokemon fan you might be asking yourself if Pokemon has anything similar planned. With such a juggernaut franchise, surely a series of theme parks around the world are a license to print money? Well, the short answer is, to keep dreaming.

There once was a Pokemon theme park, known as the PokePark, with two sites located in Japan and Taiwan. These were both opened and closed in 2005, nearly twenty years ago. In the late 90s and early 2000s, a Pokemon theme park made so much sense, riding high on the cultural impact of Pokemon at the time, but Pokemon fever is still huge, and we need these parks to return.

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In fact, there are even plans to open a new Pokemon theme park in Japan, as The Pokemon Company recently announced the development of PokePark Kanto, a Japan-based (for now) theme park focused on everyone’s favorite forgotten generation.

The progress made with both Super Nintendo World and the recent Donkey Kong Country expansion is hopefully giving The Pokemon Company some good ideas because Nintendo of Europe may have also filed trademarks for PokePark Kalos and PokePark Paldea.

That’s right, we may be getting Pokemon theme parks located in the region they are based on… If fans eventually see PokePark Kalos open in France and Paldean open in Spain, there’s a chance that British fans could also see PokePark Galar in the future as well.

This seems ambitious, but honestly, it is absolutely the right move. We needed Pokemon theme parks yesterday, and it’s staggering that The Pokemon Company hasn’t been pushing for this sort of thing earlier.

Fans across the world can’t get enough Pokemon merch, and Japan even has several dedicated Pokemon Center stores in physical locations set up for fans like their own mini amusement parks. So, if we are ever to get a Pokemon Center in the UK, or anywhere outside of Japan, a theme park is surely the best place for it.

Not only that, but Pokemon is a world that fans want to immerse themselves in. It’s an expansive universe filled with beloved characters, and a physical space for fans to experience that would be incredible. Just think of the success of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the UK.

Some pictures of the old PokePark exist online, and it’s fascinating to see a Pikachu ride, a Rayquaza rollercoaster, and some other pretty dated and unambitious attempts at thrills. It was all of the time, but recent advancements like Donkey Kong’s mine cart ride give hope for a genuinely exciting park all about our beloved Pocket Monsters.

Every time I see fun merch like a new Sinistcha tea set, my mind goes giddy with the idea of walking around PokePark Galar, with a Pallosand popcorn bucket, and an Articuno Ice Blast, then getting ready to hop on Wailord’s log flume.

At this point, the worldwide domination of Pokemon theme parks feels like an inevitability instead of a probability, and will likely be formally announced as part of some major celebrations during Pokemon’s 30th anniversary in 2026.

But, for now, I hope we get something ambitious, and on par with Disneyland. Pokemon remains one of the biggest media franchises in the world, and every few years a new generation of Pocket Monsters arrive to sweep up a new batch of young players in the enthralling embrace.

Pokemon isn’t going anywhere, and while the Pokemon fans of the 90s are now becoming parents, there’s never been a better time to attack my disposable income with a spectacular Pokemon theme park that feels like truly exploring the wonderful world of the games.