Dinosaur, disaster theme park to woo Indian tourists
Dinosaurs, rides named after Hindu gods and a dash of Bollywood put the spotlight on a new theme park on the outskirts of Mumbai that promoters say would match the lure of Disneyland and the Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood.
Adlabs Imagica, built at the cost of 11 billion rupees, opens next week and aims to woo India's growing middle class with more spending power for tourism.
Promoter Manmohan Shetty, founder of media and entertainment firm Adlabs, said it was difficult to manage costs and rationalise ticket prices for a facility built at a seventh of what a theme park outside India would cost.
"When Universal puts a theme park in Singapore, it's 1.2 billion dollars which is 7,500 crore (75 billion) rupees and they charge in dollars," Shetty told Reuters in an interview. "We couldn't afford that kind of investment."
Located some 75 km from Mumbai and spread across 300 acres, the theme park includes a dinosaur ride with the name Rajasaurus and a disaster ride showcasing the Indian gods for wind, fire and water.
"We have seen what is working best abroad and Indianised it and made it with Indian subjects and stories," Shetty said.
Also among the attractions is a six-minute Mr India simulation ride, based on the 1987 Bollywood blockbuster of the same name.
Entry tickets begin at 1200 rupees for adults, with weekends costlier by 300 rupees.
Shetty also plans a water park and a hotel at the same location and is in talks for similar theme parks in other parts of India.
The toughest part wasn't putting up the complex. Shetty had a hard time acquiring land and convincing Indian banks he had a viable project.
"They didn't know what theme parks are," he said. "All the public sector undertaking banks haven't been to Orlando or Disneyland, so it took time to convince them."