Russia Gets Its Disneyland, a Cold War Dream Come True

“Everybody is comparing these prices with Disneyland,” which now run $200 per person, she said. “But will they sell emotions, like Disneyland?”

Disney-like medieval towers rise at the entryway. But behind them lie gigantic, rectangular buildings recalling jumbo jet hangars, covering 74 acres. Glass cupolas enclose some areas. The developers say it is the largest covered park in Europe — and the only option for remaining open through Moscow’s long, grim winter.

The theme park has nine zones. Five were created by “Russian artists specifically for Dream Island,” according to a promotional brochure. The others are licensed attractions: Hotel Transylvania, from Sony Pictures; the Smurfs, from the Belgian company IMPS; the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, from Viacom; and Hello Kitty, from Sanrio of Japan. The Cuningham Group, a Minneapolis firm that has designed a variety of theme parks, including Warner Bros. Movie World in Madrid, created all nine themed zones based on the Russian and foreign-licensed concepts.

One of the newly conceived zones drew from characters in a classic Russian adaptation of “Pinocchio.” The centerpiece zone is the Snow Queen’s Castle, ruled by a fierce and beautiful monarch “wielding power over snow and cold,” not unlike Disney’s princess in “Frozen.” Both characters are based on a Hans Christian Andersen tale.

Mr. Mutsoev said he had hired teams of artists and writers and was confident in the pull of his new characters. He has published new children’s books to flesh out the characters and tell their adventures.

“Disney has its snow queen, and we have ours,” he said.

And he said he was glad he had ditched previous Russian ideas of one-upping Disneyland by infusing a park with educational elements: “Not everybody wants to read Tolstoy, especially if you are 8 years old.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/business/russia-dream-island.html