Jul 17, 2008 01:22 PM
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Last Sunday, we had been to the newly opened Innovative Film city just outside Bangalore(or probably part of the greater Benaglooru) with friends. It is a huge area of fun and entertainment for the whole family. Though it is open for public, one can see everywhere that there are lot more coming up and many barren structures and make-shift arrangements.
Guess, the phase1 has been opened to get money inflow to sponsor the rest of the phases. That could be a reason for the sky-high entry fees for any of the attractions once you enter the campus. That does not deter Bangaloreans from crowding this place in the weekends, esp. the kids and college students!
The main entrance has a nominal fee of Rs.50 per person and this means that you can enter the complex and do widow sighting/ shopping and only that! For each attraction inside one has to shell out an average of Rs.100 bucks per person. (The tickets vary from Rs.50 to Rs.150)
Attractions:
Ripley's Believe it or not! Its worth a visit esp. for children in 7-15 age group and the curious souls. As I haven't been to any international Ripley's exhibit, I am not in a position to compare it. My rating : 3/5
Louis Tussad's wax museum: We get to see few Indian and more international celebrities in wax statues - only that the quality is poor. Only, Dalai Lama was realistic and others were badly done and most of them had brown skin tones. The worst one was a disfigured Diana! The height ratio was incorrect in almost all of them :-( Missing were prominent Indian celebrities like Indira Gandhi, Ash or SRK who stand tall in Madame Tussads in London. A casual look at Prince Charming's hand reveals flowing/melted wax/colors! Lot of scope for improvement when compared with its counterparts across the globe. My rating: 1/5
Dinosaur park:It is primary park with plants and a dozen creatures with minimal animations. An unrealistic dinosaur who can wag its tail or open its mouth can be interesting for the first timers or very small kids. If you want to look up in awe at the mammoth creatures, this is not the place. And its definitely not worth the entrance fee! My rating: 1/5
There is a fossil museum next to it which we dint go and don't regret also, after the Dinosaur experience.
Artifical beach: This is what I would call as total scam! After paying 150 bucks per head, you enter only to see a very small wave pool and beach sand with benches, but a few hundreds of people on a sunday! The 'waving' happens once in half an hour and does not last beyond 5-10 minutes. The place is crowded with children <3 years, teenagers, families etc and the deepest place is less than 5 ft high. The waves are too mild to have any impact!
Good things abt the beach: Nice benches to lay lazing(Might be good to prevent the heat and light of sun on summer days)! Fine palm trees and the environmental design and setup are good. Pool has no swimming costume requirements which is good for families, but at the same time doesnot give a clean look or hygienic! We could see the cleaning staff in action throughout and the guards whistling at the children left to play by themselves. Lot of balls, tubes etc to play inside water. Then, there is a mini volleyball setup.
My rating: 2/5
Cartoon city: This is free to enter zone and pay-for rides where there are interesting rides for kids. I liked the cartoons at the entrance :-)
My rating: 3/5
Mirror maze: Heard that it is very good, but the length of the queue throughout the day deterred us from venturing in!
4D Movie Theater: It was crowded all the time. The booking software had glitches(like any other s/w) and dint let us book in advance. Whenever we join the queue just before the show timing, there were no tickets. So missed this one as well :-(
Mini-Golf : Too mini !
Go-Karting : Too small to try! (Though, I am a not a pro!)
Food courts: Good variety of food - veg, non-veg, North & South Indian choices. Quality of food was good in 3 outlets that we tried. Only the place was not at all enough for the weekend crowd. My rating: 3/5
The upcoming structures at the entrance are huge and definitely a way-forward among other Bangalore attractions. Model of an old theatre(talkies, should I say) showed a peep into past and the hut-shop was 100% realistic !
Overall I would rate this place 2/5 and its worth a visit, especially in groups and for the entire family members, though you might find the wallet screaming out loud later. If possible, avoid weekends (which is difficult while planning in groups).
Maynot be a place for those who have visited the fun parks abroad and expect those standards.
BTW, why is it called film city ? any clue will be of help
