By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Falcon’s Beyond Global has announced details of its upcoming world-class theme park, Katmandu Park | Punta Cana.
Falcon’s Beyond is a fully integrated, top-tier experiential entertainment development enterprise focusing on a 360° IP Expander model.
The company brings its own proprietary and partner IPs to global markets through owned and operated theme parks, resorts, attractions, patented technologies, feature films, episodic series, consumer products, licensing, and more.
The Katmandu Park | Punta Cana is expected to open in early 2023 in the Dominican Republic. It will feature rides and attractions based on the company’s proprietary franchise, The Hidden Realms of Katmandu.
Katmandu Park | Punta Cana will be brought to life through an overarching, episodic Katmandu storyline. Falcon’s Beyond is working to carefully match the attraction and ride systems for the theme park to chapters in the Katmandu storyline while allowing each ride to function as a stand-alone experience.
Katmandu Park | Punta Cana’s signature attractions will include:
Voyage of the Fathom Wanderer:
The park will feature a Suspended Theater attraction where guests will join the character, Kilgore Goode, on an underwater mission to protect the Hidden Realm of Azurlan from a sea monster. For this attraction, guests are lifted through the air and placed in front of a giant, compound curved screen for an immersive story-driven flying experience.
Challenge of the Mad Mage:
The ON!X Theater attraction is an upgraded 4D interactive theater with an array of advanced technological features. The narrative will feature the Explorer Mage named Alvis as he challenges guests to a blaster duel in the Hidden Realms.
A fully interactive real-time system gives players the ability to direct the action and affect the narrative as it unfolds on a massive screen. A unique targeting system will provide accurate positional tracking that detects where players aim and how they move their blasters.
The upcoming attraction will also feature electric motion seats to provide guests with multi-sensory feedback in the form of vibration, wind, mist, scent, localized sound, and more.
Legend of the Desirata:
The upcoming 4D Dark Ride attraction will guide guests through the origin story of the Katmandu character, Kilgore Goode. The ride will feature a dynamically-moving vehicle, multiple integrated projection screens, high-framerate and high-fidelity stereoscopic 3D media content, immersive audio, lighting effects, wind effects and scenic elements to bring the story to life. 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 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, scenic elements, immersive projection, and an interactive gameplay journey.
Several of the rooms in the attraction will feature projections on all four walls to transport guests from the halls of Jadu into the Hidden Realms to defeat Explorer Mages using interactive props. The goal of the walk-through attraction is to find an EtherMetal ember and get back home.
“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.”
Additional attractions at Katmandu | Park Punta Cana will include a 36-hole mini golf course called Expedition Golf, an outdoor ropes course called High Point Adventure, and four unique indoor climbing courses for both adults and kids called The Quadagon.
The centerpiece of the park’s plaza will be the Wheel of Infinite Wonder, a Katmandu-themed carousel with custom figures inspired by creatures and characters from the Hidden Realms. In addition, the park will offer several themed food and beverage venues, carnival-style games, retail shops and an arcade.
Each guest of Katmandu Park | Punta Cana will receive a smart wristband that carries their attraction passes, enables cashless payments and grants them their own virtual identity with BeyondME, a new free-to-use fan loyalty and online game platform for all ages.
Through the platform, guests will be able to customize their BeyondME persona, personalize their avatar, gain and spend experience points as virtual currency, and level up their status for additional benefits.
In addition to the real-life experiences inside the park, the BeyondME platform will connect to various digital experiences, such as mobile games, Roblox and online shopping, to further earn and redeem XP.
With the upcoming Katmandu Park, Falcon’s Beyond aims to offer a ‘Big Experience/Small Footprint’ theme park concept that offers world-class experiences in a smaller and more sustainable landscape.
Katmandu Parks will be connected to high-class resort destinations, providing consumers a hospitality experience that blends entertainment experiences with resort amenities. The first of these new resorts, Falcon’s Resort by Meliá | All Suites Punta Cana, is set to debut in December 2022.
Following Punta Cana, Falcon’s Beyond is expected to open Katmandu Theme Parks in locations across the globe. These locations will include Tenerife, Canary Islands in 2024; Playa Del Carmen, Mexico in 2025; and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with an opening date yet to be announced.
Going forward, Falcon’s Beyond aims to activate the Katmandu franchise across all forms of entertainment. This will include media content, consumer products, and location-based entertainment destinations.