Mashable: Saudi Arabia is bringing the ‘Dragon Ball’ world to life

The world’s first Dragon Ball-inspired theme park is coming to the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is building the world’s first Dragon Ball theme park, honoring the legacy of Japanese manga artist and series creator Akira Toriyama.

The Dragon Ball Theme Park has been announced for construction at Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia!
Stay tuned for more details about this amazing project that will bridge the world of Dragon Ball and real life!https://t.co/devwAKvJol#dragonball pic.twitter.com/JZsVgM1FOU — DRAGON BALL OFFICIAL (@DB_official_en) March 22, 2024
On Friday, March 22, 2024, Toei Animation, the owner of the franchise revealed that Qiddiya Investment Company will bring the Dragon Ball theme park to life. It will be built in Qiddiya, the entertainment and tourism project outside the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

This comes just a few weeks after the death of Akira Toriyama, the famous manga artist and the creator of Dragon Ball. The world’s first theme park dedicated to the universe of Dragon Ball– be it comics, movies, or games is centered around the world of Son Goku, the young boy with supernatural martial arts powers, who takes on a journey to collect seven magical orbs that elicit a wish-granting dragon.

Akira Toriyama achieved worldwide success with Dragon Ball. He died on March 1, 2024, at the age of 68. His death came as a shock to the industry and brought mourning by millions of fans from around the world.

Fans of the anime in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the world reacted positively and are super excited about the Dragon Ball world coming to life.

The massive planned theme park will be spread over more than 500,000 square meters. It will feature a total of seven different areas which will recreate various iconic locales from the original series, like Kame House, Capsule Corporation, and Beerus’s Planet.

The Dragon Ball theme park will also feature five state-of-the-art rides and more than 30 attractions. The plan also comprises the construction of themed hotels and restaurants.

Meanwhile, Qiddiya in Saudi Arabia is being built on a site that is reportedly more than double the size of Florida’s Disney World.