IMG World of Adventure

Woah. I rode predator almost 6 years to the day since I rode rage!

 

 

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Thanks for the photos. I'm really impressed with how well themed the park is and I hope the park does well so we can see it expand in the future.

For those that have been, is there seemingly enough room to add more rides on the inside or enough voids to have a load station inside for a mostly outside ride? Just trying to get a sense of whether this park can grow.

There is a lot more space inside where they could expand in the future.

 

 

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Those Blue Fire clones look nice. the lights on the trains make it look futuristic, and that's a good thing!

There is a lot more space inside where they could expand in the future.

 

 

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Absolutely true!

 

For example, they have three HUGE spaces inside the building that are available for expansion. Each one large enough for an entirely indoors major new attraction.

I created page in the Park Index for this park.

 

Is the Big Ben looking structure a ride or themeing that conceals a building support?

Edited September 4, 2016 by larrygator

I created page in the Park Index for this park.

 

Is the Big Ben looking structure a ride or themeing that conceals a building support?

 

Hey Larry - the clocktower you see in the photos is, as you said, theming to conceal one of the building supports.

 

To be honest, the design team for IMG did an exceptional job using themed structures around the park to make sure that most of the building supports "disappear" from guest view

I am going back on Wednesday as a guest so will get some more pics and take in the guest experience more

 

 

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No trip report(s)?

 

It seems like this park opened and then disappeared off the radar. Is it getting any business?

I haven't done a trip report yet because I have been twice but was working so have only ridden the coasters and not had the full park experience yet.

 

 

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I made some Facebook live posts from img yesterday. The filming isn't brilliant but it gives a good idea of the place.

 

All the vids are here. https://www.facebook.com/methemeparks

 

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I am attending the zombie apocalypse night tonight and will be doing some live Facebook videos. Check https://m.facebook.com/methemeparks/ from around 10pm UAE time.

 

 

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So I have been to IMG this October and really liked the park. If you compare it to Ferrari, the park is in my opinion much better because it has a lot of rides and attractions and something that Ferrari almost doesnt have: Theming.

IMG has some really nice themed sections with a good soundtrack and a great rider experience. The only thing that decides Ferrari is the price: About 50$ for Ferrari and 80$ (70$ with online purchase 24 before visit).

What I can say is:

 

If you want Thrill: Go to Ferrari

If you want Theming: Go to IMG

 

Down below a POV of "The Velociraptor" a Mack BlueFire Clone which has a nice theming and layout. As a season pass owner for Europa-Park I know the Layout of BlueFire by heart and riding the same layout in a completely different environment is just a weird but amazing feeling:

 

editLinks Removed---need at least 50 posts to promote a site--Joey

Edited November 17, 2016 by Jew

I have serious doubts about the economics of these parks in the Emirates. Developers are trying to build Dubai into a family vacation destination like Orlando, but I don't think its a city with that kind of reputation, and its going to have a very difficult time getting it. The things that drive attendance to Dubai are unique to Dubai: people want to see the Burj, the fountains, the mall, and have the novelty being in the middle east without the danger. When it comes to theme parks Orlando dominates the European tourists hearts and minds and I think Dubai's parks will be viewed as second rate and will not drive enough attendance to be profitable. Can someone who's been there chime in and say where these tourists are coming from? My assumption is that it must be Europe and the South East or something...I can't see many people coming from Saudi Arabia to go to an amusement park? From pictures and videos these parks always look empty.

 

I think parks are building there just because they are getting sweetheart deals from the developers. Disney was smart to say no and focus on China (and Universal was smart to back out).

I have serious doubts about the economics of these parks in the Emirates. Developers are trying to build Dubai into a family vacation destination like Orlando, but I don't think its a city with that kind of reputation, and its going to have a very difficult time getting it. The things that drive attendance to Dubai are unique to Dubai: people want to see the Burj, the fountains, the mall, and have the novelty being in the middle east without the danger. When it comes to theme parks Orlando dominates the European tourists hearts and minds and I think Dubai's parks will be viewed as second rate and will not drive enough attendance to be profitable. Can someone who's been there chime in and say where these tourists are coming from? My assumption is that it must be Europe and the South East or something...I can't see many people coming from Saudi Arabia to go to an amusement park? From pictures and videos these parks always look empty.

 

I think parks are building there just because they are getting sweetheart deals from the developers. Disney was smart to say no and focus on China (and Universal was smart to back out).

 

Take a look at the below link. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) continues to be the largest source of tourists to Dubai - and, for those tourists, Dubai is very much a family destination.

 

http://www.visitdubai.com/en/tourism-performance-report

 

The report also breaks down the massive tourist numbers coming in from India, Oman, and the growth of visitors coming of China.

I have serious doubts about the economics of these parks in the Emirates. Developers are trying to build Dubai into a family vacation destination like Orlando, but I don't think its a city with that kind of reputation, and its going to have a very difficult time getting it. The things that drive attendance to Dubai are unique to Dubai: people want to see the Burj, the fountains, the mall, and have the novelty being in the middle east without the danger. When it comes to theme parks Orlando dominates the European tourists hearts and minds and I think Dubai's parks will be viewed as second rate and will not drive enough attendance to be profitable. Can someone who's been there chime in and say where these tourists are coming from? My assumption is that it must be Europe and the South East or something...I can't see many people coming from Saudi Arabia to go to an amusement park? From pictures and videos these parks always look empty.

 

I think parks are building there just because they are getting sweetheart deals from the developers. Disney was smart to say no and focus on China (and Universal was smart to back out).

 

Quick background: the UAE exists as it does because it exports most of its oil to India and has since it was discovered. It is a resort area for India, but has to compete with the existing places within that country as well as Thailand and Malaysia (in addition to India's middle class being a small margin). Saudi Arabia is an obvious place from which to draw visitors because they are free to enter the UAE and have such deeply restrictive policies that the UAE acts as a comparatively open and free society. However, it has a smaller population than California over 5x the space. 1/3 of that population consists of foreign nationals who are generally paid next to nothing and live in work camps. It's largest population centers are large distances away, requiring air travel.

 

The water parks get better attendance (surprise), but crowds are easily dealt with on any day that isn't Friday. Friday is basically the Middle East's Sunday, and people come into the UAE in droves to have fun, get drunk, etc. Are the parks generally empty? Yeah. Are they gonna hit lofty 5-6 million attendance figures any time soon? There's only 11 million or so people entering the UAE for any reason, so no, absolutely not. Are parks being build there because they get sweetheart licensing deals? Yeah. But that's nothing new. Disney doesn't own the majority of any of its Asian parks. Neither does Universal of the Singapore park.

I have serious doubts about the economics of these parks in the Emirates. Developers are trying to build Dubai into a family vacation destination like Orlando, but I don't think its a city with that kind of reputation, and its going to have a very difficult time getting it. The things that drive attendance to Dubai are unique to Dubai: people want to see the Burj, the fountains, the mall, and have the novelty being in the middle east without the danger. When it comes to theme parks Orlando dominates the European tourists hearts and minds and I think Dubai's parks will be viewed as second rate and will not drive enough attendance to be profitable. Can someone who's been there chime in and say where these tourists are coming from? My assumption is that it must be Europe and the South East or something...I can't see many people coming from Saudi Arabia to go to an amusement park? From pictures and videos these parks always look empty.

 

I think parks are building there just because they are getting sweetheart deals from the developers. Disney was smart to say no and focus on China (and Universal was smart to back out).

 

Quick background: the UAE exists as it does because it exports most of its oil to India and has since it was discovered. It is a resort area for India, but has to compete with the existing places within that country as well as Thailand and Malaysia (in addition to India's middle class being a small margin). Saudi Arabia is an obvious place from which to draw visitors because they are free to enter the UAE and have such deeply restrictive policies that the UAE acts as a comparatively open and free society. However, it has a smaller population than California over 5x the space. 1/3 of that population consists of foreign nationals who are generally paid next to nothing and live in work camps. It's largest population centers are large distances away, requiring air travel.

 

The water parks get better attendance (surprise), but crowds are easily dealt with on any day that isn't Friday. Friday is basically the Middle East's Sunday, and people come into the UAE in droves to have fun, get drunk, etc. Are the parks generally empty? Yeah. Are they gonna hit lofty 5-6 million attendance figures any time soon? There's only 11 million or so people entering the UAE for any reason, so no, absolutely not. Are parks being build there because they get sweetheart licensing deals? Yeah. But that's nothing new. Disney doesn't own the majority of any of its Asian parks. Neither does Universal of the Singapore park.

To expound the UAE is about 5th the size of California with a population of about 4th its size. Eighty(80) percent are expats with the majority of them coming from India, Pakistan and Philippines. Those groups of people represent the majority of laborers, taxi drivers and service workers. Their salaries range from 250 to 1200 dollars a month. They either live in labor camps or their housing is subsidized or paid for by the employer. Teachers and other professions make considerable much more money and their housing is either subsidized or paid for by employers but the living conditions are equivalent to upper middle class living in the US. For the parks to hit the 5 - 6 millions attendance mark they need to drastically discount tickets for locals. They have something called Global Village that draws more than 5 million visitors annually but the tickets are about 4 dollars for entry. The Dubai Mall is the most visited building in the world annually and last year it drew over 90 million visitors. Ferrari World which is located in Abu Dhabi has broken the one million mark the last couple of years. The UAE is on a mission to create a major tourist destination and by 2020 they plan to have many things in place because of the World Expo. The country as a whole is sitting on about 800 billion dollars in their wealth fund so they can throw money at projects as well as subsidize them as they grow in attendance. However, the summers are a major problem. I don't know if they can solve the riddle of how do one enjoy the outside in 115 degree temperatures with 90 percent humidity.

To expound the UAE is about 5th the size of California with a population of about 4th its size. Eighty(80) percent are expats with the majority of them coming from India, Pakistan and Philippines. Those groups of people represent the majority of laborers, taxi drivers and service workers. Their salaries range from 250 to 1200 dollars a month. They either live in labor camps or their housing is subsidized or paid for by the employer. Teachers and other professions make considerable much more money and their housing is either subsidized or paid for by employers but the living conditions are equivalent to upper middle class living in the US. For the parks to hit the 5 - 6 millions attendance mark they need to drastically discount tickets for locals. They have something called Global Village that draws more than 5 million visitors annually but the tickets are about 4 dollars for entry. The Dubai Mall is the most visited building in the world annually and last year it drew over 90 million visitors. Ferrari World which is located in Abu Dhabi has broken the one million mark the last couple of years. The UAE is on a mission to create a major tourist destination and by 2020 they plan to have many things in place because of the World Expo. The country as a whole is sitting on about 800 billion dollars in their wealth fund so they can throw money at projects as well as subsidize them as they grow in attendance. However, the summers are a major problem. I don't know if they can solve the riddle of how do one enjoy the outside in 115 degree temperatures with 90 percent humidity.

 

Summers are a significant issue, especially since they are expected to only get hotter. However, other issues which one might find pressing:

 

-Limited availability of alcohol. Booze is expensive out there and must be found in "hotels". Anyone who has been knows that there are several places with small numbers of rooms which exist for little reason other than to sell beer/wine/liquor.

 

-Ramadan. Expats leave en masse during it, as eating food in public is illegal most waking hours and temps rise to 120F+.

 

-It's still a socially restrictive society towards members of the LGBT community with prison terms being possible

 

They simply can't be all the things Orlando is without significant change to their society.

To expound the UAE is about 5th the size of California with a population of about 4th its size. Eighty(80) percent are expats with the majority of them coming from India, Pakistan and Philippines. Those groups of people represent the majority of laborers, taxi drivers and service workers. Their salaries range from 250 to 1200 dollars a month. They either live in labor camps or their housing is subsidized or paid for by the employer. Teachers and other professions make considerable much more money and their housing is either subsidized or paid for by employers but the living conditions are equivalent to upper middle class living in the US. For the parks to hit the 5 - 6 millions attendance mark they need to drastically discount tickets for locals. They have something called Global Village that draws more than 5 million visitors annually but the tickets are about 4 dollars for entry. The Dubai Mall is the most visited building in the world annually and last year it drew over 90 million visitors. Ferrari World which is located in Abu Dhabi has broken the one million mark the last couple of years. The UAE is on a mission to create a major tourist destination and by 2020 they plan to have many things in place because of the World Expo. The country as a whole is sitting on about 800 billion dollars in their wealth fund so they can throw money at projects as well as subsidize them as they grow in attendance. However, the summers are a major problem. I don't know if they can solve the riddle of how do one enjoy the outside in 115 degree temperatures with 90 percent humidity.

 

Summers are a significant issue, especially since they are expected to only get hotter. However, other issues which one might find pressing:

 

-Limited availability of alcohol. Booze is expensive out there and must be found in "hotels". Anyone who has been knows that there are several places with small numbers of rooms which exist for little reason other than to sell beer/wine/liquor.

 

-Ramadan. Expats leave en masse during it, as eating food in public is illegal most waking hours and temps rise to 120F+.

 

-It's still a socially restrictive society towards members of the LGBT community with prison terms being possible

 

They simply can't be all the things Orlando is without significant change to their society.

That is one of the problems in the world. Instead of being who they are they often try to emulate something they are not and fail. Actually, in regards to booze one can have their own liquor license but is required to consume it at their home....Ramadan moves yearly and it will eventually span the whole twelve months but it is true during that time many people including the local Emiratis leave the area. Last year Ferrari World was creative. During the weekends they had free admission at stayed opened until midnight. Many laws are on the books because it is a Muslim country but they are not enforced. I've seem some of the prettiest prostitutes and call girls in the world and it is obvious that is what they do. Also, I've seen many couples of the LGBT community and all facets being represented to the fullest. Regardless of sexual preference slobbing someone down in public is frowned upon, but the act of hugging and kissing I've done and seen countless times. What I've found over here for the past three years if one minds their own business no one really cares.

The next several years will be the telling story of where they are headed in regards to tourist. They will be pouring billions of dollars into marketing this area. If they can't lure people over here in masses by 2021 the private theme parks will be in financial trouble and will require government subsidies to bail them out. They are in the 1st faze of building a hyperloop created by Elon Musk. This will get passengers from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and vice versa in less than 15 minutes. This will help in regards to having access to theme parks in both cities....Technology over here is insane....

Second gate announced as IMG Worlds of Legends, pretty big expansion by the looks of it:

Dubai-based theme park operator and owner Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group has unveiled a new attraction opposite the existing IMG Worlds of Adventure.

 

IMG Worlds of Legends will feature nine zones spread across more than 2 million square feet with global brand licensing from Ubisoft, Mattel, Nickelodeon, Saban Brands, Pokémon, Cartoon Network, Toei Animation and TV TOKYO.

 

It will include interactive roller coasters, rides, water-based attractions and live entertainment in a temperature-controlled environment with a retractable roof.

 

“We are fast becoming the family entertainment capital of the Middle East with high growth prospects that permit us to plan for the long term. We look forward to welcoming residents as well as visitors from the region and abroad to enjoy a unique theme park adventure like no other,” said Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari, owners of the Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group.

 

The park will include 104,000 square feet of food and beverage space and 102,000 square feet of retail space and will be open 365 days a year.

 

IMG Worlds of Legends connected to IMG World of Adventure via a sky bridge and a pedestrian walkway with a multiple park pass available.

 

Attractions will include characters from:

 

Nickelodeon

– Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

– Dora the Explorer

– SpongeBob SquarePants

Ubisoft

– Assassin’s Creed®

– Raving Rabbids®

– Just Dance®

Saban Brands

– Saban’s Power Rangers

Pokémon

Mattel

– Barbie® doll

– Hot Wheels®

– Bob the Builder™

– Thomas & Friends™

– Mega Bloks®

The Animé Zone

– Toei Animation: Dragon Ball Z and One Piece

– TV TOKYO: Naruto

Cartoon Network (a partner in IMG Worlds of Adventure)

– We Bare Bears

– Other hit and classic brands to be revealed

IMG Worlds’ proprietary brands

– Legends of Arabia

– Lost Valley – Dinosaur Adventure

 

The opening date and construction timeline was not disclosed.

Source: gulfbusiness.com/dubais-img-unveils-plans-second-theme-park/

 

Concept art

Based on this it looks like the new park will be three times as large as what's there presently, and include a hotel.

Before everyone gets all "but Universal has the Nintendo license" in our faces, The Pokemon Company is about as close to an independent company as they can get, and they are the ones that control the Pokemon license. Nintendo doesn't even own a third of the Pokemon Company.

 

That being said, the IMG expansion is pretty bold. I suppose they've gotten enough people through the doors to justify it but didn't it just open a little while ago?

Pretty sure that Pokemon area is going to be quite successful.

Before everyone gets all "but Universal has the Nintendo license" in our faces, The Pokemon Company is about as close to an independent company as they can get, and they are the ones that control the Pokemon license. Nintendo doesn't even own a third of the Pokemon Company.

This is inaccurate. The Pokémon Company is owned by three partners: Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures Inc, and the company can operate without heavy Nintendo supervision, but Nintendo is the sole owner of the Pokémon trademark. IMG wouldn't be able to use the brand without Nintendo's approval.

That being said, the IMG expansion is pretty bold. I suppose they've gotten enough people through the doors to justify it but didn't it just open a little while ago?

 

It's not been open long. I think they have the same "build it and worry about attendance later" mentality that goes with a lot of these UAE developments.