In December, details were announced about a wildly ambitious new theme park and resort based on OG vampire and blood-sucker extraordinaire, Dracula. Under development in Romania (oddly not in Transylvania, but near Bucharest), the proposed 200-acre Dracula Land would feature six lands and more than 40 attractions, including roller coasters and a high-speed dark ride through an ornate Dracula’s Castle. Valued at €1 billion, the 400-acre destination resort would also include hotels, an indoor water park, and other amenities.
With a launch set for 2027 and no actual construction underway to date, the Dracula Land project seems iffy. Still, the plans are alluring. Let’s see what’s in the works.
As with most of the Disneyland parks, guests would be able to hop aboard a train upon entering the park. Dubbed the Transylvanian Railway, it would be one of the signature attractions of the Moonlit District. The Dracula Land folks say that the gateway land would remain open late into the evening and host a projection and drone show. Unlike the rest of the park, the Moonlit District would also operate year-round. In addition, the land would offer Romanian Odyssey, a flying theater ride that would likely take guests soaring above the Eastern European country, a double carousel, and Hollywood Vampires, an immersive exhibit that would probably explore movie incarnations of the creature, such as Bela Lugosi’s classic portrayal. The Main Street Opera House at Disneyland presents Walt Disney – A Magical Life. At Dracula Land, visitors could learn more about the inspiration for the park’s namesake in the proposed walk-through experience, The Legend of Vlad.
The Dracula’s Castle land at the park would feature a large-scale rendering of the mythical monster’s abode. As depicted in concept art (see below), the gothic building gives off distinct vibes of Frankenstein Manor, the fortress at the heart of Dark Universe at Universal Epic Universe. The Castle Escape attraction within the show building, which is described as a race through the catacombs to flee from Dracula, could aspire to Universal-level quality. This land would also feature a coaster, Flight of the Batwing.
Other lands would include Transylvania, which would offer the dark ride, The Magic Forest, as well as a mountain coaster. London Town would include a large Ferris wheel and a “vampire hunting training parkour and obstacle course” (whatever that is). In the Port of New Orleans, guests could brave the multi-launch coaster, Werewolf Run (apparently vampires wouldn’t be the only monsters lurking in Dracula Land). And younger kids would find play zones, an interactive dark ride, and toned-down spinning rides in the aptly named Family Kingdom.
The concept is certainly intriguing. And Universal has deftly demonstrated the appeal of horror in its theme parks, as well as at the new Universal Horror Unleashed attraction in Las Vegas.
“The legendary figure of Dracula and the rich mythology of vampires are truly timeless–making a theme park dedicated to them is a brilliant and captivating idea,” says Chris Lange, owner of Creative Studio Berlin, which is helping to design the park. “With its proximity to Bucharest and Transylvania, the location could not be more fitting, as it lies at the very source of these enduring legends.”
Beyond the theme park, the scope and scale of the planned resort is impressive. The opulence of the 400-room Dracula Grand Hotel is implied in its name. Straddling the park would be a second, 200-room lodge, the Dracula Family Hotel. (I’m having a tough time wrapping my head around the intersection of “Dracula” and “family.” Then again, we do have Count Chocula and Count von Count.) At an announced 538,000 square feet, the Dracula Aqua Park would dwarf massive indoor facilities such as the DreamWorks Water Park in New Jersey. Toss in a mall with over 70 stores and restaurants, a 22,500-seat performance venue, and a race track and motor park (because, why not?), and it’s clear that the Dracula Land folks aren’t timid about aiming high.
But the aggressive timeline for the project gives me pause. It would be difficult, if not nearly impossible, for a large-scale, €1-billion resort with a high-end theme park at its center to be built in less than two years. Making Dracula Land even more suspect: Apparently at least some of the financiers ponying up the €1 billion have yet to be secured. Much of the project’s official Website is targeted to investors.
The theme park annals are littered with projects that never made it out of the development phase. Dreamers (and sometimes schemers) have floated parks ranging from harebrained ideas to perfectly reasonable propositions. Just because a project checks all of the boxes, however, doesn’t mean that its visionaries can get the permits and funds to actually bring their visions to life.
That’s not to say we should put the final nail in Dracula Land’s coffin. I wish the project all the best and would love to visit the park and resort should it get built. But at this point, I’m not booking my flight to Bucharest next year.
Would you want to visit Dracula Land? Do you think the park will one day open its gates?
I am interested to see what they do with additional theming for this park and I think they could have some fun with vampire and other monster ideas. For example, some of the food items could stress that they do have or do not have garlic. The water park could have a "holy water" pool or something along those lines where vampires can't swim. Even a ride that starts out as a dark ride that eventually makes its way outside into the sun to ward off vampires. The ride might even be able to change what happens if it goes outside at night versus the day.