First Theme Park Hunger Games Area Now Open at Motiongate Dubai

The first ever theme park land based on The Hunger Games series has officially opened at Motiongate Dubai, a part of Dubai Parks & Resorts.  The above clip was released before the grand opening, but shows some of the area's two main attractions in operation.  Although the Hunger Games movies have already come and gone, the popularity around the franchise has many fans excited to see what Motiongate has created.

© Motiongate Dubai

The Hunger Games themed section is actually a subsection of the Lionsgate area, although the only operating attraction in that part of the park until now was a Step Up themed dance show.  The expansion features many icons from the series of Hunger Game films, several of which can be seen above and below in photos.

© Motiongate Dubai

There are two major attractions that just opened in The Hunger Games area, the first is a 4-D simulator style ride named Panem Aerial Tour.  Riders board a hovercraft that takes them on an exhilarating aerial tour of Panem which of course has plenty of surprises along the way, including interactions with the Capital's troops.

© Motiongate Dubai

The ride that many of our readers will be most interested in is the Capital Bullet Train, a launched roller coaster designed by Mack Rides.  I haven't found a lot of statistics for the coaster, but it looks to utilize boyj forward and backward launches to get up momentum to soar through the course.  From this photo, it appears as though the train probably launches forward up part way into the vertical loop, then backward up the spike, then forwards again through the full layout.  It looks like in addition to the vertical loop there is also a corkscrew in the mix.

The coaster has a compact layout but the use of multiple launches gives the attraction a marketability as a "thrill ride" that Motiongate Dubai has needed since it opened.

Hunger Games Theme Park Attractions Headed to Both the U.S. and Around the Globe

© Lionsgate

The Hunger Games, a smashing success at the box office, will soon be available at several theme parks across the globe.

In a story by the New York Times, the Hunger Games is reported to be the major draw to new theme parks in the U.S. near Atlanta, Georgia, and also near Macau, China.  The theme parks will come on top of a new live stage show themed around The Hunger Games opening in London, and a Lionsgate themed land at a new park in the Middle East.

In a careful approach to entering the theme park sphere, Lionsgate will be licensing the Hunger Games characters to developers, not actually building and running the new parks and experiences.

In the U.S., the Hunger Games is set to be a major part of Avaton Park, located outside Atlanta, Georgia.  Described by developers a "next generation theme park built on the crossroads of where
entertainment meets fantasy and perception becomes reality," the creators are "focused on creating an
interactive theme park with user-centered design and technology to provide a fully immersive experience."  While Avaton Park is still in the design and investor phase, the licensing with Lionsgate also includes franchises like Step Up and Now You See Me.

In Hengqin, China, developers have licensed The Hunger Games along with several other movie properties for a large indoor theme park - planned to open in 2018.

© Motiongate Dubai

The soonest we will see The Hunger Games open at a theme park will be at Motiongate Dubai, opening around a year from now.  The movie studio themed park will host lands based on studios like Dreamworks, Sony and Lionsgate.  The Lionsgate themed section will include Hunger Games attractions like a roller coaster themed to the story's transport trains, and a simulator that lets guests explore and adventure through the franchise's settings.  The drawing at the top of this post is from the New York Times article, which appears to depict the attractions at Motiongate.

While many thought the Hunger Games wouldn't translate well into theme parks, it appears as though the popularity of the series has changed some minds.  I'll be interested to see the finished products of these planned developments.