The Land of Legends meets Masha and the Bear Turkey’s The Land of Legends resort turns to a popular Russian IP to expand its park while dealing with the impact of a pandemic during construction by Martin Palicki
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he Land of Legends resort in Antalya, Turkey has been attracting guests to its theme park, waterpark, shopping and hotel since it opened in 2016. The park is owned by Rixos Group, a luxury resort operator based in Turkey. According to Hande Tezerdi, Business Development Director for The Land of Legends, over one million guests visited the resort in 2019 and the park expected nearly two million guests in 2020, prior to the pandemic. The resort features both waterpark attractions as well as a section of theme-park-style dry rides. It includes a shopping district, an on-site themed hotel, an evening spectacular created by Franco Dragone and plenty of room for expansion [See “Turkish Splash,” InPark Magazine issue #64 (2016) and “Defining Polin,” InPark Magazine issue #74 (2018)]. For 2020, the park assembled an international team of experts to help create two new themed areas and two new water rides. Masha and the Bear Land of Laughter is the heart of the new additions - a themed land based on the popular animated Russian
TV series. Masha and the Bear follows the adventures of a young girl and her friend Bear, who has a knack for keeping her out of trouble as she interacts with the other animals in the forest. Loosely based on a Russian folk tale, the show has been around since 2009. The cartoon is lighthearted and features a positive lesson in episodes for young viewers. The centerpiece of Land of Laughter is A Joyful Journey, a slowmoving boat ride through the four seasons with Masha and the Bear. Guests enter Masha’s house before boarding boats that take them in and out of a show building. Indoor and outdoor scenes rely on sets, animatronics, media, UV lighting, sound effects, music and projections to bring the four seasons to life. Most of the scenes show Masha interacting with the seasonal weather conditions and also holidays like Halloween, Christmas and New Year’s. Over 75 figurines populate the attraction, both static and animated. While the ride is inspired by the Masha and the Bear TV series the storyline is unique to The Land of Legends.
The entrance to A Joyful Journey boat ride at The Land of Legends. All photos courtesy of The Land of Legends
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