As America seems to host the world’s biggest and best amusement parks, it was rather surprising to see that Russia would be getting DreamWorks amusement parks. Oh well, every country needs some animation love (although I am a little surprised that Anastasia hasn’t moved in on this sooner.) The parks are scheduled to open in 2015 and will be located in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Yekaterinburg.
According to DreamWorks, the theme parks are going to be very grand. With huge immersive environments, a 4D movie theater, and state-of-the-art attractions, Jeffrey Katzenberg (DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Officer) boasts that the three parks are going to be “groundbreaking cultural hubs that will give families the chance to truly enter the world of DreamWorks.”
Each park is designed to be about 35 meters high to help give visitors a sense that they are in an outdoor environment. DreamWorks will be incorporating all of their largest franchises, including : Shrek, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon, and Kung Fu Panda, along with movies that will soon be released such as Turbo. There will be characters roaming the parks, and while they haven’t stated which characters yet, I really want to see the snail costume that someone may have to wear for Turbo.
According to Katzenberg, “Russia is one of the most important markets in the world for [DreamWorks].” Six DreamWorks films reside in the top ten animated films of all-time for Russia, including: How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek Forever After, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Puss in Boots, Madagascar Escape 2 Africa, and Kung Fu Panda 2. This is, if I must say, pretty darn impressive. No wonder DreamWorks is hitting Russia. Plus, they might do pretty well without having a Disneyland to compete with.
But never fear to those who live far away from Russia. Amiran Mutsoev (Member of the Board of Directors, REGIONS GC) has stated that, “DreamWorks Animation parks are ambitious projects unprecedented in Russia and the rest of the world.” So maybe, DreamWorks has plans bigger than any of us know, and their theme parks will start to move to other countries throughout the world. It never hurts to hope!
Source: Animation World News
