theme parks-goers hoping to visit the long-awaited IMG Worlds of Adventure will have to wait just a little longer, after the park pushed back its planned opening of today (15 August) to the end of the month.

Now scheduled to open on 31 August, Worlds of Adventure opens around 18 months behind its original 2014 date.

The Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group (IMG Group) are behind the development, which covers 1.5 million sq ft (139,354sq m) and holds the record for world’s largest indoor theme park. The themed entertainment destination features zones based on Cartoon Network, Marvel and Lost Valley – Dinosaur Adventure, all interconnected via the IMG Boulevard. The park has the capacity to welcome more than 20,000 guests a day.

With hotel occupancy booming and Dubai on target to attract 20 million tourists annually by 2020, parks such as IMG will be crucial in keeping visitors coming back to the emirate, with Worlds of Adventure CEO, Lennard Otto recently telling Attractions Management that the park would be key in maintaining that figure after the 2020 World Expo.

“This will be one of the iconic attractions to keep the momentum moving forward for Dubai, especially as a year-round option, it will support the country quite heavily during the down season over the summer season,” he said.

“We’re looking to see if we can increase visitation in that period in the country itself, something the tourism authority is very excited about. 20 million for 2020 is the goal for Dubai. It’s on target for that and we are here to support that vision.”

Worlds of Adventure is the first of three major theme park developments in the region, with Dubai Parks and Resorts scheduled to open on 31 October and Fox World coming in 2018.

“The current trend seems to be Dubai becoming ‘Orlando 2.0’,” said Otto. “The competitive landscape is shaping up quite nicely. There are a lot of attractions coming in which will eventually turn it into the Orlando-based model where theme parks will be one of the key attractions to drive people here.”