- Dragon Ball Z fans will be able to visit Saudi Arabia to enjoy a massive theme park based on the series, the only one in the world.
- Rollercoasters, special attractions, a live-sized Shenron and a real-life Kame House are a few of the things in store.
- The park will be built by the Qiddiya Investment Company, but no opening date has been revealed yet.
Earlier this month the world mourned the passing of Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball Z, but if it needed yet another example of the undying influence of the works he created, a massive 500 000 square meter Dragon Ball theme park is set to be built.
The theme park is officially licensed and comes after the Saudi Arabian Qiddiya Investment Company announced that it would be building it. It will be the world’s only Dragon Ball Z theme park and it will be located in Saudi Arabia.
The country has been rushing to attract worldwide media empires to itself in order to clean its image of past human rights violations. In February, entertainment juggernaut the WWE announced that it would open a “Super Dome” experience centre in the country.
When built, it will likely be the largest monument to the legacy of Toriyama and Dragon Ball, and, excuse the pun, the Mecca for super fans of the classic manga and anime.
In terms of what can be expected at the park, the official Dragon Ball website notes that it will boast seven different areas recreating iconic locations from the series. This includes a real life Kame House, a Capsule Corporation building and an area resembling Beerus’ planet. From the mockups, we can see there will also be a Tenkaichi Budokai tournament ground.
“At the park, visitors will be able to join an adventure with Goku and pals as they enjoy the world of Dragon Ball, from the very beginning of the anime all the way up through Dragon Ball Super!” the official announcement reads.
Also featured in the park will be five state of the art rides and 30 plus attractions. According to a video uploaded with the announcement, one of the attractions will be the ability to shoot Kamehameha blasts using a VR headset.
Qiddiya are also going to build a 70-meter-high Shenron, the iconic magical wish-granting dragon from the series. This location, the announcement says, will contain a large-scale roller coaster inside. “In addition, there will also be fully stocked hotels and restaurants available at the park to enable fans to immerse themselves in the world of Dragon Ball for an entire day of fun,” it adds.
South Africans can apply for an eVisa to travel to Saudi Arabia now after a deal was struck between the two countries’ governments in October last year. It costs R2 667 per application and lasts 90 days at a time.
No opening date for the theme park has been revealed yet.
You can check out a video trailer of the theme park below:
