1.5m-square-metre indoor theme park in Dubai due to open early next year

Tickets for giant adventure facility will ‘not be overpriced’

DUBAI // Thrill-seekers should mark the beginning of next year in their diaries – a giant new indoor theme park is due to open.

The project’s planned opening date was revealed by Adam Alexander Page, the vice president for marketing at the developer IMG Group. He said IMG Worlds of Adventure would open in “early 2014”, which is later than previous announcements had indicated.

But he told the trade website HotelierMiddleEast.com that construction of the sprawling facility in Dubailand was on track.

The first phase alone will cover more than 1.5 million square metres, making it what IMG describes as the “largest temperature-controlled indoor entertainment destination in the world”.

The park is designed to attract more than 20,000 visitors a day.

There will be four zones, including one featuring rides and attractions inspired by Marvel comic-book heroes such as Iron Man and Spider-Man.

There will also be a Cartoon Network zone, a Lost Valley dinosaur attraction and an entertainment zone, plus a 12-screen cinema and eating and shopping areas.

Mr Page said tickets would be competitively priced.

“We haven’t finalised [the pricing structure] yet but we know what other attractions are charging,” he said.

“Our capacity is much higher, much larger, so we are not going to be overpriced whatsoever. We want people to come and enjoy the theme park.

“In terms of the scale and size of it, it is very likely that you will need a full day if not much more to be able to try all the rides or the attractions, so there will be day passes where people can come back within the same week.”

There will also be annual memberships and VIP entries.

Building work at the site, next to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, formerly Emirates Road, was moving forward significantly, and rides and attractions were being manufactured at plants around the world ready for shipment later in the year.

The park will be in the City of Arabia section of Dubailand.

The brothers Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari, who own IMG Group, announced details at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai earlier this month.

Dubailand was launched as a leisure, entertainment and sport destination to drive Dubai’s tourism industry.

Earlier this month the state news agency Wam reported that the emirate was aiming to double the number of visitors to 20 million by 2020.

IMG Group said in a statement: “Entertainment destinations such as IMG Worlds of Adventure will add to the attractions in the UAE, making it potentially the most sought after global central entertainment hub in the future.”