A few weeks ago, the creator of Dragon Ball passed away at the age of 68. Now a tribute to him, Akira Toriyama, has been announced. One for fans to enjoy: a Dragon Ball theme park. But it’s not coming to Toriyama’s native Japan. It comes in… Saudi Arabia.
Dragon Ball
The amusement park is completely dedicated to Son Goku and the idea is probably that you feel like him when you walk around that amusement park. In itself it is also very clever: the strength, the speed, these are all things that occur in battles in Dragon Ball, but also in amusement parks. Being shot away in one go on a roller coaster, or, for example, flying up and down in one of those vertigo sofas. Not to mention a gigantic green Piccolo roller coaster or a movie house where you might be able to watch an exclusive episode of the series.
Dragon Ball is also an ideal franchise for making shirts and themed restaurants: after all, the fighters eat loads of rice, so we expect to be able to eat that in the upcoming amusement park. We also expect to encounter the 7 Dragon Balls, because that is what Son Goku is looking for: he has to collect the seven magical balls and then gets a dragon in front of him where he can express his wishes. That dragon will hopefully become the centerpiece of the amusement park: that would be cool, as if it were a Disney castle but a little different (by the way, there is a dragon sleeping in the Disney castle in Paris, although not everyone knows that you can play it too) can actually see). There will be at least 5 roller coasters and 30 attractions, plus of course the necessary Dragon Ball hotels and restaurants.
Manga fans
The amusement park will be located near Riad in the town of Qiddiya. Is that very strange? Well, if you look at the origins of manga and anime. Not if you look at its popularity. Apparently there are 13 million manga fans in Saudi and that number is as high as 85 million in the Arab world. The park is therefore being tackled on a grand scale with 500,000 square meters and indeed 7 different worlds. Think of Beerus Planet, Capsule Corporation and Kame House. For those who don’t think 500,000 square miles mean much, it’s twice the size of Disney World. Not Disney Land, Disney World, which consists of 5 theme parks (and a bunch of hotels) in Orlando.
It may be mainly for Arab fans, but this will undoubtedly become a new destination for manga and anime fans from all over the world. It is still unknown exactly when it should be ready, but at least the plan is there, and the enthusiasm can also be seen online.
