Falcon’s Beyond, a leading fully integrated global entertainment development company specialising in IP creation and expansion, has announced details of its forthcoming theme park, Katmandu Park Punta Cana.
Expected to open early 2023 in the Dominican Republic, Katmandu Park, conceived and built by Falcon’s Beyond, will feature cutting-edge rides and attractions that immerse guests in the company’s original, proprietary franchise, The Hidden Realms of Katmandu.
Katmandu Park Punta Cana will be brought to life through immersive storytelling experiences, including four marquee attractions and the use of several proprietary technologies. As part of one overarching, episodic Katmandu storyline, these major rides stand alone while living within the universe of the Katmandu franchise.
Falcon’s Beyond carefully matched the attraction systems to the chapters in the Katmandu storyline in a way that best immerses guests in the unfolding adventure, while allowing them to enjoy each as an independent experience.
“Katmandu Park Punta Cana will deliver an unprecedented theme park experience based on the popular characters of our very own Katmandu fantastical universe,” said Cecil D. Magpuri, CEO of Falcon’s Beyond. “Through innovative rides and attractions that deliver unmatched and immersive storytelling, guests will truly lose themselves in the Hidden Realms of Katmandu. Combined with other day and night entertainment, dining and shopping, Katmandu Park will offer an extraordinary experience for families and theme park lovers in the premier resort location of Punta Cana.”
Katmandu Park Punta Cana’s signature attractions will include:
- Voyage of the Fathom Wanderer: The park will feature its first-ever Suspended Theatre attraction, where guests will join Kilgore Goode on an underwater mission to protect the Hidden Realm of Azurlan from a sea monster. For this attraction, guests enter and begin the experience in what appears to be a standard widescreen theatre experience. But, unlike experiences that may exist in other parks around the world, there is a key element of surprise: guests are swiftly but elegantly lifted through the air and placed in front of another giant, compound curved screen, ushering them inside the story. Riders will soar through epic adventures as this unparalleled attraction delivers the unique sensation of flight in a whole new way.
- Challenge of the Mad Mage: The ON!X Theatre attraction will reimagine the traditional 4D interactive theatre with an impressive array of features seamlessly blended with advanced technology. Here, an Explorer Mage named Alvis challenges guests to a blaster duel through the Hidden Realms. A fully interactive real-time system gives every player the agency to direct the outcome of the action and even affect the narrative that unfolds before them on the massive, cinema-style screen, warranting repeatability to further discover new realms and interactions. A unique targeting system provides accurate and persistent positional tracking that not only detects where players aim, but where and how they move their blasters. Simultaneously, electric motion seats provide guests with multi-sensory feedback in the form of poking, tickling, vibration, wind, air blast, water mist, scent, localised speakers in headrests, and more.
- Legend of the Desirata: A highly sophisticated attraction typically found only at the world’s biggest theme parks, the 4D Dark Ride attraction will be an immersive experience that tells the Katmandu origin story and empowers guests to feel the thrill of adventure through movement. Seamlessly blending scenic elements and media, erasing the lines between reality and imagination, guests follow inventor and explorer Kilgore Goode into the Himalayas in a dynamically moving vehicle to experience his journey into the Hidden Realms as he discovers the mysterious Desirata. The attraction features multiple integrated projection screens, delivering high-framerate and high-fidelity stereoscopic 3D media content, immersive audio, lighting effects, wind effects and stunning scenic elements throughout the guest journey. The action in the rider’s surroundings and on the screens is choreographed with the vehicle’s movement, making it feel as if the rider is truly immersed in the story alongside the characters.
- EtherQuest: This interactive walk-through attraction will make its global debut at Katmandu Park Punta Cana. The attraction combines proprietary technologies, elaborate scenic elements, immersive projection and an interactive gameplay journey to reimagine a traditional walk-through experience. Several of the rooms feature projection on all four walls to transport guests from the halls of ‘Jadu’ (the house of Katmandu) into the Hidden Realms to defeat powerful Explorer Mages with various interactive props, find an invaluable EtherMetal ember and get back home. To give guests the chance to explore, play and influence their experience, this attraction uses an action-packed interactive walk-through system, where guests are really the main characters of their own adventure.
Following Punta Cana, Falcon’s is expected to open Katmandu Parks in locations across the globe, including Tenerife, Canary Islands, scheduled to open in 2024; Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, scheduled to open in 2025; and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with an opening date to be announced.
