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A Full-Size 'Godzilla' Theme Park Attraction Is Coming To Japan

Godzilla theme park attraction concept art 1
By Ben Pearson

Would you like to go directly into Godzilla's mouth? Sure you would! And starting next summer, you can – as long as you visit a new Godzilla theme park attraction on Japan's Awaji Island.

I remember reading about a huge Godzilla head that was constructed outside a hotel in Tokyo, but that seemed to be primarily done for photo opportunities. This, on the other hand, will be an interactive attraction at a theme park, and built to look as if Godzilla is rising up out of the ground. Japanese site IT Media refers to this (via Google Translate) as "the world's first attraction using life-size Godzilla."

The attraction appears to be called "Godzilla Interception Operation – National Godzilla Awajishima Research Center," and it'll be 120 meters (nearly 400 feet) long. The design is based on the Godzilla that appeared in the beloved 2016 movie Shin Godzilla, and there's even a little viral video to go along with the announcement:

According to IT Media (via Kotaku), the attraction is set to open in the summer of 2020. Here's the story reason that a full-sized Godzilla will be frozen in the act of trying to burst through the ground (again, courtesy of Google Translate):

When Godzilla was guided to Nijigen no Mori, Godzilla's movement was sealed with an explosive that had been put into the ground, and a missile loaded with the drug was shot into its mouth, Godzilla stopped working.

Currently, it is under the supervision of the National Godzilla Awajishima Research Center, but Godzilla has only stopped its activities and is not sure when it will start moving. Your power is needed to monitor the behavior.

Check out these models and mock up images:

Godzilla theme park concept art 2Godzilla theme park concept art 4

The site explains that "you can zip into the body from the mouth or challenge missions such as 'shooting games' that destroy the scattered Godzilla cells," and Kotaku has taken that to mean there's going to be a literal zip line into Godzilla's mouth. And honestly, who among us hasn't dreamed of zip-lining straight into the gaping maw of the King of the Monsters? Sadly, it's unclear if that will actually be the case, or if that part was just lost in translation – maybe they just meant you can walk quickly into the mouth. Obviously, we're hoping for the zip line option, and maybe if that wasn't the initial plan, all of this confusion about it will result in them installing one for real.

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