Spanning more than 1.65 million square metres and costing $1 billion (Dh3.7 billion) to build, the newly-opened Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi is the biggest indoor theme park in the world. It’s also the first branded indoor theme park.
“What makes it special is its immersive nature. Usually in theme parks you will go to the ride area which are very highly themed and interactive, but when you’re done from that area and step back into the park again you’re out of that world,” said Mark Gsellman, general manager of Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi.
“When you walk out of Gotham City you walk into Metropolis, so there is no break, you’re constantly being immersed and surrounded with things constantly happening around you,” he added, explaining how the theme park’s six areas keep visitors immersed into the world of their favourite characters.
Mohammad Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, and chairman of Miral, said the theme park would appeal to visitors of all ages.
“The great thing about this theme park is that it’s a park for everybody. There are other theme parks where half the kids can’t go on the rides and the other half are bored, and so this is something for everybody,” Al Mubarak said.
“A four-year-old can enjoy the majority of the rides and a 20-year old can also enjoy the majority of the rides. Then, of course, there are the characters that are going to be walking around the theme park, which will give visitors a sense of nostalgia and remind them of their past, and this, of course, gets a strong interaction for the parents who are there with their children. That’s what makes this park special,” he added.
Here are 10 things to know about the UAE’s latest attraction:
1) Take a stroll around the Warner Bros Plaza
The Warner Bros Plaza is the first of six immersive lands visitors will see as soon as they enter the theme park. It is at the centre of everything connecting with the rest of park. The plaza area itself is themed around celebrating the golden age of Hollywood, with its streets lined with restaurants and cafes. The area also has special lighting effects that transform the area into day and night time. While it might be sunny outside, you can step into the plaza which gives a sense of it being late in the evening thanks to its lighting.
2) Gotham City
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to step into the dark and gritty world of Batman? Well now you can and should. Gotham City is another one of the six lands set up in the park, and just like the comic books, animation series, and films, the area truly replicates the fictional and gritty Gotham scene. The area contains some of Batman’s most famous villains such as the Joker, Catwoman, the Riddler and Mr Penguin.
3) The Riddler Revolution
Visitors will have 18 rides to choose from, and one they certainly need to try out is the Riddler Revolution ride in Gotham City. Set in a creepy, dark warehouse, the roundabout rollercoaster will send visitors into a dizzying spin.
4) The Joker’s Funhouse
Step into the world of Batman’s main villain through the Joker Funhouse, which contains a hall of mirrors, a shrinking corridor, moving carpets and a hallucination hallway.
5) Cartoon Junction
Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry — all of your favourite childhood cartoon characters — are to be found in Cartoon Junction. In contrast to the dark nature of Gotham City, Cartoon Junction is bright and colourful all year round and much more cheerful. It’s a place where the cartoon characters you loved and grew up with truly come alive.
6) Acme Factory
Also located in Cartoon Junction, the Acme Factory features three kid-friendly rides — the Daffy Jet Propelled Pogo Stick, Ricochet Racin’ With Taz, and Tweety Wild Wockets. This is a section that’s sure to keep the little ones entertained and happy.
7) Justice League: Warworld Attacks
This is your chance to be a member of the famous Justice League super team. Located in the Metropolis section of the theme park, the ride is an immersive theatre experience featuring special effects as the Justice League, along with your help, fights to save our planet. You’ve watched them on the big screen and now you can become one of them.
8) Big Belly Burger
Having so much fun will create an appetite, and with 17 restaurants available at the theme park visitors will be spoiled for choice. Every restaurant should be visited, but if we we’re going to name one that makes the list it has to be the Big Belly Burger; how can you not visit a restaurant that calls itself that? Located in Metropolis, the burger joint comes straight out of DC Comics and is meticulously designed as a proper diner. Along with the good burgers, fries, and milk shakes, the diner will also feature framed headlines from the famous Daily Planet, and so you will literally feel like you’re eating in Superman’s very own city reading his newspaper stories.
9) Bedrock
Another one of Warner Bros World six lands, Bedrock is the home of the Flintstones. Like the other areas of the park, the section immerses you into the life of the famous cartoon you watched as a child, taking you right into the world of the Flintstones. It’s cartoon meeting real life.
10) Fast and Furry-ous
We’ve all watched Wile E. Coyote try to catch the Road Runner, and now you can be a part of that chase as well with the Fast and Furry-ous ride. In this ride, you sit inside Wile E. Coyote’s latest invention — the ACME Road Rocket 9000 — which will take you on an adventurous and fast chase through the desert in yet another attempt in catching the Road Runner.
The details
Tickets to Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi start at Dh230 for children (under 1.1m height) and Dh295 for adults. Children under three enter free.
