Immersive 'playground for adults' is open at the Luxor in Las Vegas

Hertz is selling off a third of its EVs; Yellowstone in winter; a direct train from Paris to Berlin returns.

By Las Vegas Review-Journal

January 18, 2024 at 1:34PM
A rendering of Play Playground, a colorful, interactive, non-gaming venue coming to Luxor early next year. Company officials say it will cater to families during the day, but be for adults only at night. (Courtesy Play Playground/TNS) ORG XMIT: 100627166W
Play Playground at the Luxor in Las Vegas. (Play Playground/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Vegas playground

Adults will be able to play like a kid again with Play Playground, an immersive attraction debuting at the Luxor in Las Vegas. In order to enter, guests will head down a slide, just as kids do on a playground. "Our guests enter on a slide, and you feel like you've been dropped into a Wes Anderson-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland TV show," said Jennifer Worthington, co-founder of Play Social, which operates Play Playground. Developers said the 15,000-square-foot interactive attraction features "more than 20 larger-than-life nostalgic games that require zero skill but a whole lot of soul, two bars, VIP mezzanines and private event spaces." Play Playground will be open daily for all ages, including children. But nighttime is reserved for the over-21 crowd (playplayground.com).

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Hertz sells off EVs

Hertz will sell about one-third of the EVs in its fleet after they lost value more quickly than expected, a blow to the company's efforts to replace gasoline vehicles with cars that do not produce tailpipe emissions. The electric vehicles the company owned were also more likely to be involved in collisions, Hertz said, and they proved costly to repair. Hertz is not abandoning its plans to electrify its fleet or buy more Teslas, said Stephen Scherr, Hertz's chief executive. But, he said, the market needs to develop further. "Tesla is among the bestselling cars in America," he said, "but it's not yet the best rental car." Scherr added: "Those two have not converged as quickly as many people, including ourselves, thought. But they will."

New York Times

Yellowstone in winter

Discover the magic of our first national park cloaked in her winter finery. New snowfall serves as the perfect backdrop for a Nordic adventure to a steaming backcountry geyser, a snowshoe around Old Faithful or wildlife viewing in the Lamar Valley. Venture to and from your overnight at the Snow Lodge via snow coach, stopping enroute to observe animals on the move, icy waterfall formations and the evening alpenglow on the mountains. Guided adventure and snowmobile tours are available (yellowstonenationalparklodges.com; visitmt.com).

Berlin to Paris train

Europe's expansive rail network is constantly evolving, and each year sees new connections and services appear on schedules for the calendar year ahead. These new train journeys often reflect travel trends or technological advances, offering travelers more direct or frequent connections between European destinations. For example, after a 10-year hiatus, there is once again a night train connecting Berlin and Paris, and it's the only direct rail connection between the German and French capitals, period. Launched by OBB (Austrian Railways) under their Nightjet range, this overnight service will initially run three times a week in both directions, with the expectation of graduating to a nightly service by the end of 2024.

TravelPulse

The falling cost of EVs is a boon for prospective buyers who want to get hold of an affordable ride. They're a disaster, however, for financially-attuned fleet owners such as Hertz, who will see depreciation accelerate and the value of their assets decline. (David Tonelson/Dreamstime/TNS) ORG XMIT: 100732706W
Tesla vehicles at a Supercharger. (David Tonelson/Dreamstime/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
A view of Yellowstone National Park near the Madison River in Wyoming. (Jocrebbin/Dreamstime/TNS) ORG XMIT: 100627130W
Yellowstone National Park near the Madison River in Wyoming (Jocrebbin/Dreamstime/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Austria's Semmering railway is Europe's oldest mountain railway. (Fritz Hiersche/Dreamstime/TNS) ORG XMIT: 100626993W
Austria’s Semmering railway (Fritz Hiersche/Dreamstime/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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