Dubai theme park IMG Worlds of Adventure reveals ride line-up, expansion plans

Dubai’s first theme park destination IMG Worlds of Adventure has revealed its opening ride line-up, ready for launch on August 15.

Tickets for the indoor attraction, which is the size of 28 football pitches, went on sale yesterday.

It will include four zones themed around Marvel, Cartoon Network, Lost Valley Dinosaur Adventure and IMG Boulevard.

The Marvel zone is themed around New York City and will feature five signature rides, eight food and beverage outlets and six retail stores. Rides include the Avengers Battle of Ultron motion-based experience, the 100-seater Hulk Epsilon Base 3D ride, the 400m Spiderman Doc Ock’s Revenge rollercoaster, the floorless Thor Thunder Spin with fog and water effects and the Last Flight of the Quinjet motion-based shooter experience.

The Cartoon Network zone will feature 10 rides and attractions. These will include the Ben 10: 5D Hero Time cinema experience, the Ride of Ooo with Finn and Jake, Lazy Town Miniland, The Powerpuff Girls Air Race and a live stage show.

Lost Valley Dinosaur Adventure will feature five rides, five F&B outlets and three retail stores. A key attraction will be the 1.1km velociraptor rollercoaster that will go from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in 2.5 seconds and reach top speeds of 140kph. The zone also includes a jeep experience with 70 animatronic dinosaurs, crafted in partnership with London’s Nautral History Museum, and The Predator, a 400m rollercoaster with a sheer drop. There will also be a dino carousel with 46 handcrafted cars for younger visitors and the 25m Adventure Fortress play area.

Finally, IMG Boulevard will feature five live entertainment venues, seven F&B locations and five retail stores.

On the F&B front, the park will feature 13 different types of cuisine and have the capacity to seat 2,000 people. Outlets will be split between fine dining, casual, counter, window service and food carts with a mixture of international cuisine. One of the most iconic dining venues will be a luxury steak and seafood restaurant in the 40m Tony Stark Tower within the Marvel zone. The average meal price is expected to be Dhs 50 per person

Outside of its attractions, the park also announced it would open three more entrances in six months time from its opening one on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed road. It will also offer free bus transportation from various points in Dubai.

The park’s retail stores will stock 5,000 product lines, 63 per cent of which will be bespoke.

IMG Worlds of Adventures chief executive Leonard Otto said he was not worried by a recent dip in economic sentiment in the region and aimed to cater to 50 per cent tourists and 50 per cent residents.

He also revealed the company was considering taking the concept to other markets and was actively in discussion with various partners.

“We are an active company, exploring several other opportunities,” he said, adding that the concept could be grown “outside the GCC, across the MENA region and in certain parts of Europe”.

In Dubai, the company also plans to expand on its 4 million square foot plot with new rides.

“We will have a fresh offering at least once a year,” Otto said.