Adlabs Imagica: Inside India’s First

Disney-Style Theme Park

It’s Disney World meets the Hindu pantheon with a splash of Bollywood at India’s “first”
theme park, Adlabs Imagica, which opens its sparkling gates Thursday about 90 minutes
southeast of Mumbai.

The INR11 billion ($200 million) park will form the centerpiece of media mogul Manmohan
Shetty’s INR16.5 billion ($305 million) 300-acre entertainment district along the Mumbai-
Pune expressway. Shetty conceived the project in 2007, and it’s the flagship venture of
Adlabs Entertainment Ltd.

“When Mr. Shetty started the Imax [in India], he changed the entire industry with digital
multiplexes. He is now set to do the same with theme parks,” Aarti Shetty, creative director
of Adlabs Entertainment and Manmohan’s daughter, explained to International Business
Times a day before the opening. “The idea was to make a magical place where the entire
family could spend a day and build memories which no other form of entertainment could
give.”

Adlabs Imagica will be India’s “first entertainment theme park based on Indian stories in an
international format.”

The 110-acre park will employ more than 2,000 locals both directly and indirectly in the
catchment, and can accommodate as many as 20,000 visitors at a time across 21 “Indianized”
attractions, including India’s largest roller coaster and 4D simulation rides.

Baltimore, Md.-based Premiere Rides, known for its work at several Six Flags and Universal
Studios locations, is among an impressive list of designers behind some of the park’s biggest
rides. Another U.S.-based company, Gateway Ticketing Systems, partnered with Adlabs to
ensure a smooth ticketing experience.

South Asia’s first major theme park is split into six international zones: Viva Europa,
Americana, Jambo Africa, Asiana, Arabia and India.

Viva Europa is a “land of innocence” full of children’s rides set along cobblestone pathways
with Victorian lampposts. Americana is home to the park’s thrill rides like the Gold Rush
Express and Dare 2 Drop roller coasters and the pendulum-like Scream Machine. It also has
the Red Bonnet American Diner, replete with red leather chairs, checkered floors, neon lights
and 1960s rock n’ roll music.

Africa, meanwhile, contains the dinosaur ride Rajasaurus River and the thatched ZeZe Bar
and Grill; Asiana has the futuristic Cinema 360 and Deep Space attractions; while Arabia
boasts the Magic Carousel and the interactive Alibaba ride.

Naturally, India forms the center of Adlabs Imagica, with historic Hindu-themed attractions
like Wrath of the Gods and more contemporary ones like the motion-simulated Mr. India -
The Ride, based on the infamous Bollywood villain Mogambo in the 1987 blockbuster of the
same name.

Other highlights include live entertainment and an evening laser show.

Aarti said 16 of the 21 rides and four of the six restaurants will be open for the launch
Thursday. A themed three-star hotel with 300 rooms and a water park with 14 rides are part
of Phase 2 and Phase 3 of development within the sprawling Entertainment District. Shetty
hopes to fill up the remainder of the 300-acre site with high-end real estate.

Introductory weekday adult tickets will cost INR1,200 ($22) and INR900 ($16) per child,
while on a weekend or a holiday, adult tickets will cost INR1,500 ($27) and child tickets
INR1,200 ($22). All are considerably large sums in a nation where the average ticket to the
cinema sells for less than $2, but Adlabs Imagica aims to lure India’s growing middle class
with more spending power for tourism.

“India is an evolved nation with mature consumers making informed choices,” Aarti
explained. “Lifestyles are changing and the improvement in standard of living and increase in
disposable incomes have enabled people to spend on leisure, entertainment and experiences
that help them unwind.”

Ticket prices are expected to form 75 percent of the revenue, with the rest coming from food,
beverage and merchandise sales. The park has a target of attracting 3 million visitors in the
first year of operations.

Though it’s billed as India’s first theme park, greater Mumbai already boasts another
amusement park: the 64-acre EsselWorld and Water Kingdom complex in Gorai. EsselWorld
claims up to 1.8 million visitors annually, and with adult rates as low as INR 590 ($11), it’s
easily a much more affordable alternative.