IMG team puts final touches in theme park ahead of opening

The feat of opening IMG Worlds of Adventure required shipping life-size dinosaurs by sea from Japan and lifting a 12-tonne gondola by crane through the park's roof.

The park team is now working around the clock on rotation, finishing the final stages of ride testing and park cleaning. Antonie Robertson / The National

DUBAI // Performers from France and Ukraine, robotics experts from Tokyo, engineers from the UAE and Germany, and construction staff from Asia were among those who came together to open IMG Worlds of Adventure.

The feat required shipping life-size dinosaurs by sea from Japan, lifting a 12-tonne gondola by crane through the roof of the park, and directing dancers in six-month-long rehearsals.

The park team is now working around the clock on rotation, finishing the final stages of ride testing and park cleaning as curious visitors start driving by the location off Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.

Hundreds of staff in hard hats and fluorescent jackets over T-shirts labelled “Opening Team” can be seen at the site, where a constant hum of machinery emerges.

“One of the main challenges has been the size and scale of the project,” said Lennard Otto, chief executive of IMG Worlds of Adventure.

“This is the largest indoor theme park in the world. We are venturing into unchartered territory as a world’s first.”

While obtaining permissions from Dubai Municipality, the IMG team took UAE officials to China to view examples of frame and infrastructure, as the type of structure has never been created in this region, Mr Otto said.

“Ultimately we wanted to give our guests the impression of being outside within an open space,” Mr Otto said. “Therefore, we have created a mostly column-free park.”

The long-necked, long-tailed dinosaurs in the Lost Valley adventure zone were shipped from Tokyo, so large that all 69 had to be sent in individual containers. But while the Barosaurus was 15.5 metres tall, it was still not the largest shipment.

That distinction went to a gondola resembling the hammer wielded by the mythical norse god Thor.

“The gondola of the Thor Thunder Spin ride came in one piece, weighing a staggering 12 tonnes,” said Markus Mack-Even, the chief project officer.

It was created and assembled by a German manufacturer, then transported from Europe. The gondola has 38 seats and spins its riders around 360 degrees.

The power supply and outer structure had to be set up before equipment was transported because of weather conditions.

“To overcome the heat and humidity, we built the park’s infrastructure first, ensuring that the entire area was air-conditioned, as our rides were all manufactured off-site across the globe and later assembled in our temperature-controlled environment,” Mr Mack-Even said.

“For some of the rides we used a crane to lift and place them into the park through the roof, whereas other individual parts had to be assembled off-site and shipped to Dubai.”

Performers were sourced from across Europe, with teams sent out to scour live performances in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Ukraine, he said.

“The artists arrived in the UAE in February and have since been in intensive choreography sessions. They have also performed sneak peeks with audiences at the Arabian Travel Market and Middle East Film and Comic Con.