Confirmation of the world's first cartoon themed water park is being planned by the Cartoon Network. The location of this large scale park is in the municipality of Bang Saray on the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand. This puts the park very conveniently situated, being only 15 minutes from one of the best beaches in Thailand at Pattaya, and more significantly just 90 minutes from the country's capital, Bangkok. With the park scheduled to open in 2013, tourists will be able to meet some of the Cartoon Network's most famous characters, The Amazing World of Gumball, The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo and Ben 10, all set amongst a recreation backdrop of the Amazon rainforest.
Theme parks based on entertainment brands have very recently seen something of a renaissance, especially in Asia and the Middle East. In Dubai, a new Marvel Adventure attraction is to open in early 2013, with focus on many of the major characters including the X-Men and The Avengers. Rovio Entertainment has recently announced it too, is to be opening parks and many retail stores across China in leu of the success of the Angry Bird mobile games, so the theme park business certainly appears to be thriving.
Named The Cartoon Network Amazon Park, it will see significant benefits from the rise of tourism to Asia. Indeed, the Finance Ministry of Thailand claims that the year 2011 saw more than 19 million tourists entering the country, including increases in visitors from Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
The park is said to cater for people of all ages, with a huge vertical drop for the daring adults, and more serene rides for younger members of the family including a winding adventure river, raft rides and speed racing slides.
The US$32 million project aims to provide an exciting attraction for the 800,000 visitors it aims to attract per year. Resort and attractions developer, Amazon Falls Co. Ltd., has been closely working with a team of designers to get the project completed for opening in early 2013. Already, the first phase of the project is well under way, and barring any significant problems, should remain on schedule.
