IMG Worlds of Adventure Dubai, World's Best Theme Park

IMG opened its doors in 2016 due to the Dubailand Mega Project. Its developers, Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari, also known as IMG, came from the city of Arabia with plans to build the world's largest indoor theme park, which they succeeded at doing when it opened. Warner Brothers World has since surpassed it in Abu Dhabi, and that record is currently held by Chimelong Spaceship in China. Spanning 1,500,000 square feet is nothing short of impressive, and the amusing thing is that this wasn't even the original plan for this park. If you're unfamiliar with the Dubailand project, this was essentially a dream entertainment city for Dubai.

There are going to be 45 mega-projects, including multiple theme parks. Dubailand would be home to Universal, Six Flags, Legoland, a whole Marvel Park, and a DreamWorks Park. Some of those ended up happening, like Legoland, while others were abandoned, and then a few of them morphed into other projects, such as the DreamWorks section of Motiongate or the Marvel section of IMG. The park was designed by Falcon’s Creative Group out of Orlando, and there are six themed sections: IMG Boulevard, the haunted town, IMG Kid Zone, Lost Valley, Cartoon Network, and Marvel. Four of those are original themes, while two are branded. It is a big deal that they got those brand deals. In general, there aren’t many parks that have a Cartoon Network-themed area, and Marvel is typically only found at Universal or Disney. This already gives IMG a lot of credibility. 

This is a fully immersive park with 18 rides and attractions, including three roller coasters and four or five dark rides. The thing that kills IMG is their entry price, at a whopping AED 365, or $100, per day ticket. It is the commitment to go to IMG. That is a typical price you only see when you go to, like, an Orlando or maybe California park, and when there's so much to do in this area, IMG just kind of gets lost in the scene. When it opened, it performed well for the first 6 months, and then there was just a drop-off, and the park never really got its footing, and that's sad to hear because it's tough starting a new theme park. Often, new parks will have a slow start, but then they eventually find their footing and build up to be these popular destinations. It seems like quite the opposite has been the case for IMG when, objectively, in theory, this park should perform very well.

For theme park fans, IMG is one of those options, along with some of the parks in Abu Dhabi that come to the bottom. The employee-to-guest ratio is very off in this park, like the awesome parade of Chinese dancers traveling around the park with this awesome dragon puppet are performing for no one. IMG Worlds of Adventure Dubai is right off a major highway on the outer loop of Dubai. This park is located directly next to the Global Village.

IMG is open for 365 days a year from noon until typically 10:00 or 11:00 p.m., and for a huge chunk of the year, it is just too hot to go outside in Dubai. That's why there are so many indoor theme parks. The first thing noticeable when walking in this park is the darkness surrounding it. IMG Worlds of Adventure is permanently set in night mode, with no windows to be seen. It is designed to make you feel like you are here in the middle of the night. Other indoor parks have adapted windows for some sections, like Ferrari World and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, to bring in the natural lighting that is helpful. At a place like Warner Brothers World, they have some night sections, but Bedrock is permanently set in daytime mode. The Cartoon Network Land is a better option to visit during the day because it is bright and colorful, and the whole park is set up under one roof. This huge dome is wildly impressive because there are only a few support columns in the center, and they are them.

The park is nothing short of extraordinary, and people around the world wish that a park like this existed in other countries, such as the United States. Imagine a park themed to this caliber in cities like Seattle or Las Vegas that have very specific weather conditions where an indoor park would do so well. Even Orlando, which has many theme parks, would benefit from a cool indoor park.

The main entrance for IMG is a forest-like setting with Christmas lights hanging from trees and a ton of animatronic dinosaurs. One of the sections for IMG Lost Valley is very prehistoric. It is like Jurassic Park but without the license, so they made that one of the first things visible upon entry. The dinosaurs are impressive, but there are very simple movements and nothing too unique or extraordinary. Entering the theme park, you are greeted with IMG Boulevard, which is very Chinatown-inspired, with no rides, and is primarily embedded with shops and restaurants. This is one section that thrives with the night lighting because they can light all the lanterns, and the Christmas lights hanging from above create a great first impression, considering that there aren’t too many Chinatown sections in theme parks.

This is a full-sized outdoor park but under a single roof. One of the most impressive things is the maintenance of the immersive atmosphere. We can't see any of the rides from the pathways unless it is meant to be seen from the pathway. Most major attractions are perfectly hidden behind a facade. They also take good advantage of lighting; like certain rides or buildings will be lit up to look photogenic, and then if there's something they don't want to bring to notice, they will keep it hidden in the darkness to help with the immersion. This park is very smartly and thoughtfully designed.

• IMG, for the most part, follows a circular layout. To the left, there is IMG Kid Zone, just a small section of the park that is mostly a playground for kids. Interestingly, this is their newest and the only expansion they have done since the park’s opening in 2021. 
• The Adventure Time Ride combines a dark ride with an omni mover where you hang below the track, passing over the pathways going through different theme sections. 
• The Amazing Ride of Gumball is one of the park’s dark rides, which in particular is a shooting ride by ETF systems and trackless vehicles largely screen-based. A lot of the dark rides in the UAE follow this pattern and are all built by ETF systems and so in that way many of them feel the same just with a different show or movie tacked on as the theme and they all kind of suffer from the same problem which is that they don't need to be trackless like it doesn't fully take advantage of that system. 
• There are other dark rides in the park, like the Powerpuff Girls Air Race and a Ben 10 Theater. 
• There are so many different attractions in this one place. Even though IMG has six areas, it's like three main themed lands with some smaller ones in between. 
• Cartoon Network is one of the big ones. Right next to it in the center is one of the small ones, like the haunted town that opens later in the day at about 3 p.m. 
• Lost Valley is probably the largest land in the park, at least in terms of area, and is home to three big rides.
• Predator is a mirrored installation of Gerstlauer's Euro-Fighter 320+ model. There is a vertical loop and a nice helix at the end. All in all, it is a solid ride, very dark, and feels like a genuine night ride. Velociraptor is the mock ride's launch coaster, which is another ride in this space alone. 
• The Forbidden Territory is the best dark ride in the park, similar to the dinosaur animal kingdom. This is an identical ride system with a similar premise but a slower pace. 
• Besides big rides, this land is home to a carousel and an elaborate play structure called Adventure Fortress. It is a well-themed land, but it is way too dark; it feels like they genuinely don't have enough lighting here.
• Marvel Land gets people wondering how it is in comparison to the Avengers' Campus at Disney, but it has way more in common with Marvel Superhero Island. It is set up like an actual New York street, so there are sidewalks, street lamps, and traffic lights, and then there is a big Avengers Tower in the skyline. It is not meant to be a realistic New York but more of a comic book interpretation of the city. 
• Another highlight is the big Avengers dark ride called Battle for Ultron, an interesting ride system built by Oceaneering Entertainment Systems.
• The final roller coaster is Spider-Man Doc Ock's Revenge, which is a mock ride spinning coaster, a clone of Sierra Sidewinder at Knott's Berry Farm. It has one section that goes out over the pathway, and the rest of it is behind a facade. 
• Thor's Thunder Spin is a very impressive top spin where we have Thor and Loki facing off with each other. On either side, there are water effects, and it is a well-done presentation. 
• Another popular ride in the park is Hulk Epsilon Base 3D, which is a one-of-a-kind motion stage from Dynamic Attractions. Though it is a ride, it is treated more like a show. There are set show times, and the ride system is mind-blowing as the whole platform moves on a gyro and spins around the whole story-driven attraction. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi has a similar sort of attraction by Intamin called Hypersphere, which is a more modern, upgraded system. 

Whenever you visit Dubai, do add this theme park to your itinerary because the high admission price is all going to be worth it at the end of the day, as there are no bad rides, and the entire vibe of this park is exquisite and uniquely pleasing. From kids to adults, this park has something to serve all and take them on the journey to a fun-filled and exciting expedition.