As a youngster, I was fortunate enough to go to Florida and spend three weeks exploring all the theme parks there. One that always stood out – amongst a memory bank full of standout moments – was walking round the World Showcase at Epcot, visiting all four corners of the world in one amazing day. I have not had the opportunity to return, but with the latest Planet Coaster: Console Edition World’s Fair DLC, I may not need to.
For this theme park, I wanted my very own mini Epcot. So, I straight away put a lake slap bang in the middle of the space I had been allocated and built a path around it; my theme park would branch out from this central walkway.
World’s Fair has one new roller coaster in this DLC. Well, two, if you count the fact it is a dual roller coaster. The Jixxer and Interceptor are dual motorcycle roller coasters where you can feel the adrenaline of a high-speed chase as you race against the clock. A new seat design can also let the riders lean into corners. The stock version of this dueling coaster is a little on the short side, but as with everything else in Planet Coaster, you can create it how you see fit.
There is also a new transport ride called Polarity which harnesses the power of magnets to propel cars – and guests – around the park. It is much more fun than walking.
As with Epcot though, there aren’t any new rides in the traditional sense added with the World’s Fair DLC in Planet Coaster. Instead, it is more concerned with scenery items, bringing together themes and ideas from many different countries for your guests to visit.
Mexico was my first port of call, which also had a real Day of the Dead feel to it. Skeleton bunting – that wouldn’t have been out of place in the Spooky Pack DLC – along with pinatas on trees and several burrito shops are all new in this DLC.
There are then fleeting visits to Germany and France courtesy of some Bavarian and Neoclassicism designs respectively, before stopping off for a pit stop at ‘50s-inspired America. This architecture takes the classic American diner aesthetic and applies it to everything; toilets, ATMs, staff rooms and more. The restaurant itself is called Just Ribbin’ which should tell you exactly what to expect there.
We then travel back over the Atlantic towards North Africa with some limited Moorish-inspired architecture from Morocco before then hopping even further East to sample some Asian-inspired designs. The Moorish stuff is a bit lacking in terms of scenery, but the Qin Dynasty stuff is thankfully bountiful. It is this which also introduces a chow mein restaurant but if my guests were heading clockwise through this world fair, they may already be full up by then with burritos, bratwurst and snails.
Japan is next on our whistle stop tour but again it feels a bit lacking with decorations. We then jump back into Europe heading to Italy with some Venetian-inspired architecture. There is plenty of scenery here in the form of tall, thin buildings. I kept the streets narrow to really emphasise that.
Finally though, we arrive in the UK. Crucially, there is no pub added to the facilities roster, but the Victorian architecture and olde worlde sweet shops are a decent compromise.
Like the Vintage Pack DLC, there are no new staff or mascots to choose from so I had to re-hire the mascots from the Adventure Pack, as they were the ones that were most likely to have seen many of the countries on display anyways.
The World’s Fair Pack on Xbox may be lacking rides, particularly in comparison to some of the other DLCs on offer for Planet Coaster: Console Edition, but it packs in plenty more facilities and scenery. With it, I was able to recreate my own little Epcot rip-off. To get the full experience of the two recently released DLC packs for Planet Coaster though, the bundle offers the best experience. There are plenty of rides in The Vintage Pack and they happily will go hand-in-hand with the globetrotting experience that the World’s Fair Pack offers.
