Kong x Godzilla: The Ride at Lotte World Adventure in Seoul (Hong Yoo/The Korea Herald) Lotte World Adventure will gradually expand attractions built around outside intellectual property, its chief executive said Wednesday, as the Seoul theme park prepared to open its costliest ride to date.Kong x Godzilla: The Ride opens Friday at Lotte World Adventure in Seoul, the park's first attraction based on a licensed film IP, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.""We've previously launched game-based IP projects with Nexon's MapleStory and PUBG's Battlegrounds, and we are currently working on another attraction with a different IP. We plan to gradually expand IP-centered attractions," said the park's CEO Kwon Osang at a press conference.Kwon said a task force began reviewing candidate properties in 2022 and judged the monster franchise the most promising. Development took three years and 10 months. Lotte World declined to disclose the investment figure, saying only that it exceeded the roughly 50 billion won ($34 million) spent on Pharaoh's Fury, the park's previous record holder.International visitors account for about 15 percent of admissions, a share the park wants to raise by meeting the expectations of guests who have been to theme parks overseas, Kwon said.The multimedia dark ride was produced with Legendary Entertainment, Japan's Toho, which holds the "Godzilla" IP, and US ride specialist Sally Dark Rides. It draws on Legendary's Monsterverse franchise."It is a trackless dark ride, which is rare in Korea. The vehicles move by wireless signal and are synced to the images riders encounter," Kwon said, calling it the most technically advanced attraction in the country. Photo zone at the exit of the new attraction, Kong x Godzilla: The Ride at Lotte World Adventure in Seoul (Hong Yoo/The Korea Herald) Set on the third floor of the indoor park, the ride takes place in Hollow Earth, the subterranean origin of the Titans. Riders join a Kong-led expedition that runs into Titans driven into a frenzy by volcanic activity, before Godzilla surfaces to fight alongside him.The queue is themed as a Monarch facility designated M-42, where a life-size researcher figure briefs guests on the Titans and on the HEAV, os the heavy Earth aerial vehicle that the ride's eight-seat cars are modeled on.The 11-minute ride cuts between large media screens and animatronics up to 5 meters tall and 11 meters wide, including a full-size Kong, with vehicle motion, sound and effects timed to the footage. The effect is close to a 4D film without the glasses and in a moving seat. The exit leads to a photo zone and a store selling park-exclusive merchandise.Kwon added that Giant Revolution, a thrill coaster, will be launched at Lotte World Adventure in Busan this fall.