Falcon’s Creative Group selected as master planner, attraction designer, and creative guardian for the world’s first-ever Dragon Ball Theme Park
Client: Qiddiya Investment Company
Services: Master Planning, Theme Park Design, Attraction Design, Themed Retail & Restaurants, Art Direction, Creative Guardian, Architectural Visualization
Ever since the announcement on March 22, 2024, that the world’s first-ever Dragon Ball Theme Park was going to be built in Saudi Arabia, fans around the globe have taken to social media to express their genuine joy and unfiltered enthusiasm. Who can blame them? Dragon Ball is one of the most popular franchises on the planet. It’s nearly impossible to travel to a country where no one has heard of it. People of all ages and ethnicities have embraced its inspirational story, which centers around the adventures of a courageous protagonist named Goku and his loyal friends.
Dragon Ball Theme Park will be a marquee destination in Qiddiya City, a breathtaking 139-square-mile setting just outside of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. Billed as the first city built for play, Qiddiya City will offer entertainment, sports, culture, mixed-use areas, and even residential communities. There’s still room to appreciate nature, though, as the city is nestled among the impressive Tuwaiq mountains. The theme park itself has a massive footprint – more than 5.3 million square feet. That’s about 122 acres.
Kame House, Capsule Corporation, and Beerus’s Planet are a few of Dragon Ball’s most recognizable locales that will be featured inside the park’s seven themed lands. The number seven is no accident. In the canon, when all seven Dragon Balls are united, an Eternal Dragon named Shenron is summoned and may grant one wish. Shenron is so important that he was chosen as the park’s central icon and the “house” for its signature roller coaster, which travels around the dragon’s 230-foot-tall body. Joining the coaster will be more than 30 themed rides, including five groundbreaking, world’s-first attractions. Fans will be further immersed by the park’s themed restaurants and retail shops.
Collaborating closely with Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) and Toei Animation, Falcon’s Creative Group is playing a critical role in bringing this exciting project to life. The three companies are aligned on the creative vision and have set out to develop an experience that pushes the boundaries of theme park design. There will be a level of immersion and world building that nobody has seen before, even at the world’s best theme parks. Falcon’s attraction designers were able to pull from Dragon Ball’s rich, decades-long history, from the first series all the way to Dragon Ball Super, when thinking about ways guests can interact with the story and even become part it.
It takes encyclopedic knowledge of a brand to serve as lead creative consultant on a project of this magnitude, especially when the fanbase knows the material inside and out. You definitely don’t want to disappoint millions and millions of fanatics! But, with the amount of Dragon Ball experts on Falcon’s staff, it has never been an issue. In fact, it was partly because of their expertise that Falcon’s was awarded this generous scope. It also helped that Falcon’s had already earned QIC’s trust from their work on several other projects, including master planning the Qiddiya Water Theme Park and supporting development for the world’s first Gaming and Esports district, which are both high profile destinations in Qiddiya City.
To maintain the respect for this profound IP throughout the entire design process, Falcon’s was given the role of creative guardian, which allows them to protect the vision and ensure that everything presented at the park is authentic and true to the story and its beloved characters.
Falcon’s Creative Group is grateful for the opportunity to design this epic adventure and for QIC’s commitment to innovation. To have a client that allows you the autonomy to push beyond the limits of the known is a special thing, almost as special as gathering all seven Dragon Balls. Wish granted!
Images provided courtesy of Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC).
