Get your stockpile of foam blasters ready and prepare for the ultimate Nerf battle.
Hasbro, the toy company that owns Nerf blasters and related merchandise, announced this week that a Nerf Action Xperience park is coming to Tennessee. The 29,000-square-foot attraction featuring Nerf battle zones, obstacle courses and other challenges is slated to open in fall 2024 in Pigeon Forge.
“For over 50 years, NERF has been committed to encouraging social active play, and we can’t think of a better way to bring this to life for our fans than opening this new NERF Action Xperience location,” Matt Proulx, a Hasbro vice president, said in a statement. “With this brand-new family entertainment center, we’re proud to be executing on our promise of bringing unique, innovative experiences to our NERF players in Pigeon Forge.”
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What is Pigeon Forge?
A popular tourism hotspot in eastern Tennessee, Pigeon Forge is known for its kitschy attractions and its famous Dollywood theme park named for country music legend Dolly Parton.
Now, a massive Nerf action park will join the ranks of the city’s many themed attractions, from lumberjack parks to its Titanic museum.
When it opens next year, the Nerf Action Xperience will be the second location in the United States and the third overall after the first debuted in 2019 in Singapore.
Hasbro and Kingsmen Xperience, the Los Angeles-based headquartered for the Asian firm that builds interactive attractions, will open the first North American location by the end of the year in New Jersey, according to NorthJersey.com, a USA TODAY Network publication.
“We are very excited to open the Nerf Action Xperience in Pigeon Forge next year,” Corey Redmond, senior executive vice president of Kingsmen Xperience, said in a statement. “Having spent some time getting to know the market over the last couple of years, and as part of our strategic rollout across North America, this Pigeon Forge site will be our first … in a thriving tourist and holiday destination that is accessible to two thirds of the U.S. population within a day’s drive.”
Bright Play LLC, which owns, operates and finances family entertainment attractions across the United States, is also part of the planned attraction.
What is Nerf Action Xperience?
The expansive indoor park will offer a variety of activities for Nerf fans, whether they prefer agility-based obstacle courses, or good ol’ fashioned shootouts with their favored foam blaster.
If the planned Tennessee park is anything like its Singapore counterpart, visitors will be able to participate and battle it out in a variety of scenarios such as zombie apocalypses and the exploration of new planets. Obstacle courses will also be themed, with participants scaling volcanoes and ice mountains.
There will also be training circuits for sharpshooters to test their accuracy.
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How much does the Nerf Action Xperience cost?
It’s unclear what the ticket prices will be or whether they will be modeled on Singapore’s rates.
A standard ticket starts at $42 in Singapore, with bundles running as high as high as $428 for a group of 10 people.
Visitors also have the option to buy a $20 retail voucher if they only want to shop at the store.
Is the attraction just for kids?
The Nerf Action Xperience center isn’t just for kids, as Hasbro intends for the new attractions to be fun for adults as well.
The venue, which features a retail store, will be available for birthday parties, corporate team-building events and other gatherings.
Do you need to bring your own Nerf blasters?
Nope.
In fact, guests aren’t even permitted to bring their own Nerf blasters if they wanted to. But fear not: the facility is stockpiled with a range of blasters from big to small to meet all your Nerf-ing needs.
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email [email protected]. Twitter @dturner1208.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected].
