The Second “Dragon Ball” Theme Park Will Be Built Near Paris!

In developments that will excite certain longtime Dragon Ball Z fans, Saudi Arabia and France have agreed to build a Dragon Ball Z Theme Park near Paris. The project is estimated to cost almost $7 billion USD. And I have thoughts.

For those who might not know, the recently announced theme park near Paris will be the second Dragon Ball-themed destination of its kind. The first one was announced to be constructed in Qiddiya City back in 2024. You can read more about it by visiting the official Dragon Ball website as well as the official Qiddiya City website, which is being promoted as a new city that brings entertainment, sports, and culture together in a way that has never been seen before.

Financed by the Saudi Arabia-based Qiddiya Investment Company, that particular DB destination is part of the company’s “Qiddiya” giga project. The first location will be over 500,000 square meters and house seven different areas inspired by the Dragon Ball IP. The promotional material showcased the Kame House, Capsule Corporation, Beerus’ Planet, a Shenron rollercoaster, and more. Apparantly, the vibe of the park will incorporate the beginning of the anime all the way through Dragon Ball Super!

Excited fans will get to enjoy more than 30 attractions (VR will likely be used), with the Shenron rollercoaster planned to be, from my understanding, moving inside and around a 70-meter-high model of Shenron. The park will also include hotels and restaurants.

Of course, whether the actual theme park closely matches the promotional promises remains to be seen.

But yeah, you can expect the near-Paris location to look similar.

The announcement for France’s DBZ theme park was made by the Elysee Palace during the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Paris. Apparantly, the Crown Prince and French President Emmanuel Macron had shared their love for DBZ during a previous meeting.

As for right now, the plan is to construct the park near Cergy-Pontoise. The project is said to create more than 22,000 jobs.

The fan reaction online is… well, let’s just say, mixed. While there are DBZ fans who are excited, I’m also seeing two types of people who aren’t into the existence of such a kind of theme park. The first group’s disdain has to do with the socio-political controversies and issues surrounding Saudi Arabia. And that is a whole other conversation.

The second group, who also seem to be DBZ fans themselves, are a bit nervous about a solo Dragon Ball-themed park being capable of sustaining interest. Even major franchises like Harry Potter, Marvel, and Star Wars don’t have separate theme parks. And those IPs encompass a majority of demographics, compared to Dragon Ball being, let’s be frank, majorly male-centric.

I can see where such fans are coming from. Multi-billion-dollar construction plans have been known to fall through. And even if constructed, there’s no guarantee that a theme park will do well. So, let’s see what happens.

While we wait, are you excited about the planned Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z theme parks? Do you think they have enough of a fanbase to warrant such hefty investments?

Let us know.

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(via Reuters, IGN)

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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