Park Profile
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Splash Ahoy!
‘A solid park’
Stefan Zwanzger, the self- proclaimed Theme Park Guy (pictured right) offers his observations on Adlabs Imagica
Bandits of Robin Hood
India. One seventh of the world’s population lives here, on a land area just above the size of Argentina. Writing from
the perspective of a guy born in pampered Germany, the visible poverty is shocking, as is the ratio of men to women (4:1) walking down the streets. Infrastructure provides a daunting challenge, too, and I understand why neither Disney nor Universal have set up here so far.
Mambo Chai Chama
Tubby Takes Off
So congratulations to Manmohan Shetty and family, and the lending banks, for setting up this $290 million theme park in uncharted territory, both in terms of location and the relationship between GDP and ticket price. Average monthly income in India as of 2012 is just over US$100 per month, the park’s ticket price stands at $22 (INR 1,200). That’s as if a single day ticket to Disneyland would cost Americans $1,000. Imagica is not for everyone, but India's middle class is growing and can turn this into a success, and I believe it will work. It’s a solid park and I expected less. Even though it is NOT a Disneyland rip-off, like so many others, it’s visible that the creators had a good time at Universal Studios. Upon opening on 18 April, Adlabs Imagica was still very much under construction. The theming is a bit of a patchwork, but once the trees are grown they may provide natural barriers between the different zones. The park's size, attention to detail and theming can be roughly compared with Spain’s Terra Mitica. Now to the rides! Rajasaurus River Adventure: a clone of Universal's Jurassic Park Ride, complete with (badly timed) T-Rex finale before the big splash. The Mr India ride is the equivalent of Universal's Back to the Future/Simpsons Ride. Mr India looks charming (imagine Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones), the animation is impressive, but the seat’s movements were slightly too erratic. Gold Rush Express: Thrilling, smooth and a great runaway train coaster. This is a hit. I for India, India’s Soarin’, I found to be the worst of all the attractions. There is an issue with the seat's angle, since you see one-third the legs and feet of the riders seated above you, one- third the motionless base with the staff looking at you from below, and only one-third the movie screen you are supposed to be ‘surrounded’ by. Cinema 360 is great. Wrath of the Gods is the equivalent to Universal's Poseidon's Fury. Not bad either, with quite elaborate theming and motivated, charming actors that do a great job! Alibaba is a shooting gallery dark ride in the tradition of Disney’s Buzz Lightyear/Toy Story rides. Despite the obvious Universal copies, I was positively surprised with what I saw. Adlabs Imagica is not the perfect park, but I really believe in its success and can picture new franchises popping up across India. This Shetty guy knows what he's doing.
This is an edited version of a review originally published at
themeparkguy.com. These are the personal views of Stefan Zwanzger and do not neccesarily reflect the views of Park World.
28
MAY 2013
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