The streaming service now has its own version of Disneyland: the so-called “Netflix Houses”. The attractions aren’t particularly original, but there is a big difference to Disney.
November 12, 2025, 03:56November 12, 2025, 03:56
Thomas Studer / ch media
For many, Netflix is synonymous with staying at home, but now the streaming service has its own home. The first so-called “Netflix House” will open in Philadelphia tomorrow, Wednesday. An entertainment complex with tours, cinema and restaurant, built into the previously empty space of a shopping center.
Who needs the screen anymore? Model of the Netflix House in Philadelphia, released last summer.Image: Netflix
It is the consistent continuation of what the company started a few years ago. Since 2020, Netflix has been supplementing the products that do well on screen with pop-up events that take place in real locations. These temporary “experiences” offer fans the opportunity to walk through recreated locations or to “immerse themselves” in their favorite series via interactive elements.
This is well received. Netflix has hosted 40 different “Experiences” in over 300 cities worldwide – reaching over 10 million people according to its own information. Now comes the next step with the permanent location.
Philadelphia is just the beginning. A second Netflix house opened in Dallas in December, and a third in Las Vegas is planned for 2027. We would like to have a Netflix House like this in every major US city, said marketing boss Marian Lee to the industry magazine “Variety”on the occasion of the opening in Philadelphia.
In the slipstream of Walt Disney
The idea of making your own fictional characters and stories come alive beyond the screen is of course not new. Walt Disney opened the first theme park in California in 1955. Other “Disneylands” followed, including in Paris and Tokyo.
In contrast to Disney’s hectare-sized sites, Netflix relies on comparatively small facilities. The Netflix Houses in Philadelphia and Dallas each have around 10,000 square meters of space. The not yet known Las Vegas location is also unlikely to spread as far as it would like.
The streaming service expects this to provide greater flexibility. Depending on which series or film is currently trending, individual elements of the houses should be able to be replaced relatively quickly.
Netflix probably doesn’t want to win any new fans
For now, here’s what the Netflix House in Philadelphia offers: A miniature golf course, with each hole’s design inspired by a different series. A kind of escape room for the series “One Piece”, a parkour for the series “Wednesday” and virtual reality games for “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things”. There is also the cinema with Netflix productions, the restaurant with dishes inspired by Netflix series and the obligatory merchandise shop.
Conspicuous conventional attractions, then. Especially given how much Netflix has shaken up the entertainment sector with its streaming platform. But Netflix obviously doesn’t want to win new fans with its properties, but rather just give existing ones the opportunity to engage with beloved content via analogue consumption (the attractions are subject to a fee). (aargauerzeitung.ch)