Amusement Park News

It’s a beautiful day in the theme park neighborhood as Mr. Rogers - or rather Fred Rogers Productions – has moved in to six Palace Entertainment park locations.

Fred Rogers Productions produces Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood among other iconic kids’ series. The new licensing agreement between Palace Entertainment and the production company will bring properties themed to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Alma’s Way, Donkey Hodie, and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to the parks. These programs are continuing to increase in popularity on the PBS KIDS streaming service.

The company was founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 to serve as the non-profit producer of PBS’ Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.  It expanded from there, creating other programs that continued the values and gentle style of Mister Rogers Neighborhood to promote the social and emotional health and behavior of children everywhere.

Palace properties featuring these popular characters and themes include the Lancaster, Penna. park Dutch Wonderland; Adventureland Resort in Altoona, Iowa; Castle Park in Riverside, Calif.; Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut; Idlewild & Soak Zone in the Pittsburgh area; and Story Land located in Glen, New Hampshire.

These locations will offer a variety of character interactions and family-friendly themed experiences ranging from shows and special events to character meet and greets.

Palace Entertainment plans to expand its partnership with Fred Rogers productions, according to Christopher Arnold, the production company’s chief operating officer. “Our new relationship with Palace Entertainment will bring our characters and brands to families across the country,” he says.

Dutch Wonderland was the first park to introduce all five characters from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood late this summer. Daniel Tiger and his friend Katerina Kittycat held Bubble Dance parties, a story time, and performed meet and greets at the park August 16 through 25th this year.  

They returned again for the park’s family-focused holiday fun of Happy Hauntings Halloween. Starting in mid-September, Daniel Tiger and friends Katerina Kittycat, Miss Elaina, O the Owl, and Prince Wednesday, all from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, rotated appearances bi-weekly through the event’s final weekend October 26 and 27.

The characters will return during this year’s holiday events at Dutch Wonderland, which run November 16th through December 31st.  The holiday program includes a meet and greet visit with Daniel Tiger at Wonderland Woods, as well as a story time with Daniel and a mini-scavenger hunt. The new characters are joined by other new activities this year including Cookies with Santa, Silly Elves Storytime, Merlin’s Magical Forest, and a brand new Very Merry Maze at Wonderland Woods. Also new this year will be a puppet show performance of A Chris-Mouse Carol.

The Dutch Wonderland holiday event is free for purchasers of 2025 season passes, as well as priced separately for admission between $19.99 and $30 during an early-bird flash sale, and at $44.99 for any-day admission. Season passes range from $99 to $189 for platinum admission.

Daniel and friends also made briefer appearances at other Palace Entertainment parks this year. At Castle Park in California, Daniel and friends were present for a special three-day event August 31-September 2nd. At that location, the characters of Daniel and Katerina appeared on the park’s Big Top Stage for storytelling, followed by a meet and greet session and a dance party, during which young guests could rock to a selection of family-friendly songs.

In New Hampshire, at Palace Entertainment’s Story Land, which celebrated its 70th year in 2024, Daniel and Katerina were the hosts at the Fairy Tale Wake-Up! Character Breakfast held at the park’s Pixie Kitchen. The breakfast event included autographs, games, and photo ops at every table, along with stretching moves for the kids. Three times daily at the park’s Loopy Lab Theater, Daniel and Katerina were the stars in a show about sharing, trying new things, and using one’s imagination. Following each performance, the characters posed for photos and offered hugs to attendees. Characters made guest appearances at Story Land as early as 2018, performing in the stage show Daniel’s Grr-ific Day, which has made its return this year.

The characters also made their first-time appearances in Altoona’s Adventureland this summer, providing meet and greets and photo ops with guests daily at the park chapel for ten days in August. Earlier in the summer, June found Daniel and friends at Lake Compounce in the Kiddie Land Pavilion every weekend for the summer’s Kids Fest. Per the park’s general manager Doug Hemphill, “We are continuing to elevate the guest experience at Lake Compounce as we introduce a more robust event lineup…We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with Fred Rogers Productions as we welcome Daniel Tiger to the park…”

And, at Pennsylvania’s Idlewild, guests could take a trolley ride through Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, enjoying rides and slides amid a brightly colored landscape along the way.

Palace Entertainment CEO John Reilly attests that the park is always looking to increase new visitor offerings, and stresses that “Fred Rogers Productions values the same family-friendly entertainment as our organization; they are a natural fit…Fred Rogers Productions [will] help us bring beloved characters to six of our amusement parks across the country.”

Fred Rogers Productions, like Mr. Rogers himself, focuses on the learning and challenges of childhood to teach important problem-solving skills and life lessons as well as critical thinking to young viewers.

Arnold notes that “The experiences we create together [with Palace Entertainment] will foster moments of joy and connection for all families.”

Palace Entertainment operates over 20 major entertainment attractions and educational venues in 10 different states.