SpongeBob SquarePants, along with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dora the Explorer, and other beloved Nickelodeon characters, is finding a new home overseas with the construction of a huge, 250-acre theme park in – wait for it – Foshan, Guangdong province.
The city, known more for kung fu and lion dancing than roller coasters, will house a USD1.85 billion project described as 'the most immersive and extensive Nickelodeon experience ever built.' It'll also be the first theme park for the American TV network.
Los Angeles company Rethink Leisure & Entertainment was recently awarded a contract for developing attractions and planning the project. The company previously masterminded a 20th Century Fox theme park and resort in Dubai as well as an 'undersea adventure park' in Seoul.
A planned attraction at Dubai's Fox World Park
Construction on the new Nickelodeon park began last January, as we previously reported, and is now expected to finish in 2020 or 2021. The themed tourist draw will be part of a larger, 750-acre development descriptively named 'Foshan Cultural and Ecological Coastal Park.'
Although it's technically Nickelodeon's first-ever park, the new project will be the company's second themed project in Asia: Malaysia's Nickelodeon Lost Lagoon, opened in 2016, offers 12 different rides and attractions.
The Nickelodeon park is also one among many in China's ongoing amusement park boom, which has promised to bring us wonders both well-loved and weird.
While we still have a couple more years to go, here's to hoping Nickelodeon's 'most immersive' experience yet will be more of the former.
READ MORE: 12 of the Biggest Amusement Parks in China
[Images via wallpapercave.com, sohu.com, Rethink Leisure & Entertainment, news.takungpao.com]
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