Robot dinosaurs , Lego men and Spider-Man -- all could become Dubai 's newest residents as the city is set to house a slew of new theme parks . On the roster is everything from big brands like Legoland and Six Flags , to new concepts set to make a splash . Literally in the case of Pearl of Dubai , slated to be the world 's largest underwater park when it 's completed ( the tentative date is 2020 , to correspond with the Dubai World Expo ) . Size is a theme for many of the parks on the list . One proposed project , IMG World of Adventure , hopes to usurp Ferrari World as the world 's largest indoor theme park . It will include four zones , including The Lost Valley -- a Jurassic Park-themed segment -- as well as two zones dedicated to characters from Cartoon Network and Marvel Comics , respectively . `` We want this park to be one of the center points in the future of Dubai , '' explains Adam Alexander Page , the vice president of marketing for IMG Group , the developer behind the project . `` As such , you do n't want to build something that wo n't get global attention , and if that means it 's big , that 's what you do . There 's no point in building it small . '' What 's in a name ? Many of Dubai 's developers plan to rely heavily on pop culture and name recognition in bringing people to their parks . This is especially true of the planned Dubai Parks , planned in an expanse 60 kilometers ( 37 miles ) from Dubai International Airport . A theme-park conglomerate , Dubai Parks will house a Legoland , as well as a Bollywood-themed park and the Hollywood-themed Motiongate Dubai . `` Movies have become the kind of entertainment that binds people , young or old , across the globe , because they all watch the same movies , '' notes John Gerner , a theme park consultant and the managing director at Leisure Business Advisors . `` It used to be that if you were to develop a theme park , you 'd take an indigenous theme unique to the area and build on that . Now , it 's almost the opposite . You take an international concept known around the world , like Marvel . '' Thinking different . Aside from the financial incentives , developers cite Dubai 's willingness to think outside the box as part of the appeal of setting up in the city . `` Dubai has an overabundance of vision , '' says Patrick Douglas , the CEO of Reef Worlds , an underwater design company . Pearl of Dubai will be a five-acre underwater park with a Lost City of Atlantis theme . In addition to luring scuba divers and snorkelers , the underwater attraction will also act as a huge artificial reef , designed to attract and nurture aquatic life . `` We 're building for two clients : One has credit cards , the other has fins , '' jokes Douglas . When first pitching the sustainable tourism venture , he approached properties in the Caribbean , all to no avail . `` I told them , we 'd build these sites , they would n't have to put up any money up front , and if they happened to make money from them -- which we knew they would -- we could talk about a revenue share . We did n't get any traction , '' says Douglas . Dubai , however , was a different story . `` They get it . They can conceive of it and they can produce it , '' he says . The Orlando of the Middle East ? While Dubai is currently home to a handful of theme parks -- most notably Wild Wadi and Atlantis The Palm 's Aquaventure -- the city has yet to establish much of a track record in the industry . Many projects announced prior to the 2008 crash were assigned to the scrap heap afterwards . `` In our industry , there tends to be more announcements of theme parks than those actually built , '' warns Gerner . `` It 's a quandary for analysts like myself . Typically we look at new projects as a share of the existing market , so it 's very hard to evaluate the potential for going into somewhere entirely new . '' Then again , building an entertainment industry from scratch is n't unprecedented . Gerner points out that Orlando , Florida was virtually unknown until the 1970s when Disney World moved in . `` Dubai wants to become an international tourist destination for leisure , one that serves not just the greater region , but the entire world . Whether they 'll be successful , that 's a big question , but that 's their goal , '' says Gerner . Read more : Building the new Louvre . Read more : Could your next burger be made of camel meat ?
Dubai has plans for numerous large-scale amusement parks . Legoland and an underwater theme park are two of those envisaged . The city is also home to the world's largest indoor water park, which opened in 2011 with a capacity of more than 1 million people per day.