Abu Dhabi, UAE (AP) — Abu Dhabi will open a $1 billion indoor Warner Bros. amusement park this July, the latest offering in a crowded market in the United Arab Emirates where one marquee park already faces serious financial problems.
The Warner Bros. World park, built by the Abu Dhabi government-owned Miral Asset Management, encompasses 153,290 square meters on Yas Island, a leisure destination for the Emirati capital.
Officials say the draw of the Warner Bros. brand, encompassing cartoons and comic books, will help them overcome the challenges faced by other theme parks in the Emirates, including a Dubai park that lost $300 million last year.
“This is history, a hundred year’s history, when we talk about Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman,” said Mohamed Khalifa al-Mubarak, the chairman of both Miral and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism. “It’s something we grew up with, our parents grew up with and our children will grow up with. In this theme park, you will be part of their world.”
The large park looks like a big-box department store from the outside, though its bright yellow paint and massive stencils of Tweety bird and other characters give it away. Inside, the park is separated into Bedrock of “The Flintstones’” fame, Superman’s Metropolis, Batman’s Gotham City, Cartoon Junction and Yosemite Sam’s Dynamite Gulch. Only two of the park’s 29 rides have height restrictions.
The park, opening July 25, will sell tickets from 290 dirhams ($79) for adults and 230 dirhams ($63) for children.
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