Thrills, chills and the magic of films

Outside, it’s hot and sandy. Inside, the huge, yellow-trimmed, warehouse-like structure is an air-conditioned and picture-perfect world under a gorgeous artificial sky – a perfect morning blue in one part, a luminous dusky red in another, and a sinister dark night somewhere else. As one wanders down the gleaming roads, past the Art Deco buildings of the Warner Bros. Plaza, the majestic skyscapered city line of Gotham City, the modern office buildings and cafes of Metropolis, the toy-land houses and their pretty picket fences of Cartoon Junction, one marvels at the imagination and the attention to detail that’s gone into bringing to life the world of movies.

We’re at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, the theme park centred around some of the best-known characters from the American production company – Batman and the Dark Knight, Superman and Wonder Woman, Scooby-Doo, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, and the Flintstones, to name the most prominent. The interiors are straight out of the movie sets – a little faux, a little hyper-real, larger-than-life, and dramatic in every inch.   

Built at a cost of over $1 billion, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi opened in late July this year and is only the third branded amusement park from the American company in the world – Universal Studios and Disney, in contrast, each have several more across the world. Though not very large by theme park standards – Disneyland Paris, among the biggest, is 22.3 sqkm – at 1.65 million sqft, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is the largest indoor theme park in the world. Though much larger than the older, well-known Ferrari World next door on Yas Island, and even bigger than IMG World Of Adventure Dubai that opened last year, it remains negotiable by foot.    

Yas Island, where the Warner Bros. park is located, is a one-stop leisure-entertainment destination that has been coming up in phases since 2006 at the cost of billions of dollars – part of the desert kingdom’s bid to diversify its economy away from oil. The island now has, besides Ferrari World, the 2.5 million sqft Yas Mall; Yas Waterworld with 40 rides, a 5D water adventure and a suspended watercoaster; the Formula One circuit called Yas Marina Circuit; Yas Links golf course with a Par 72 championship course; an outdoor arena called du Arena for concerts and the like; and sundry hotels, diners, lounges, beaches and so on. The idea, clearly, is to get people – both from within the Emirates and international tourists from the region to visit and provide them with enough choices to keep them occupied for many days. Warner Bros. World adds to Yas’ bouquet of attractions, providing something to keep both children and adults happy and satisfied for a day or two.  

The park has 29 rides of varying difficulty and thrill – starting with a gentle carousel, a car bumper ride with a difference called Marvin the Martian Crater Crashers, where kids must bump and smash their space pods into each other. The more stout-hearted have plenty to choose from. And, while they may seem much tamer than the neighbouring Formula Rossa at Ferrari World, which accelerates from 0 to 240km in 4.9 sec and is the world’s fastest rollercoaster, you need to take your courage firmly in hand to attempt the Riddler Rollercoaster, a rollercoaster-cum-waltzer-cum-pirate ship; Fast and Furry-ous, a rollercoaster where riders are the Wild E Coyote in the Looney Tunes chasing after Road Runner; and Scarecrow Scare Raid, which tips you upside down for a few, heart-stopping moments.     

Apart from the rides and among other leisure activities is shopping for souvenirs and branded keepsakes. 

If you’re planning a visit, look out for the windows in Cartoon Junction – no two of them are the same, and the clock on the streets of Gotham City that perpetually reads 11 minutes past midnight.

AT THE THEME PARK 

The Fast and Furry-ous, a rollercoaster where riders are Wild E Coyote in the Looney Tunes cartoons chasing after Road Runner, and Scarecrow Scare Raid, which tips you upside down for a few, heart-stopping moments are just two of the 29 rides at the park
For the more leisurely minded, there are a number of eateries offering a wide choice of cuisines; photo-ops with favourite DC characters; Warner Bros. Cinema Spectacular, a nearly 15-min show that uses music and live projection to present all the Warner Bros. films