There’s a new attraction coming to New York City’s Times Square on May 9: Gulliver’s Gate.
The 50,000-square-foot display is a miniature replica of scenes from different parts of the world, including Manhattan and India’s Taj Mahal, complete with moving cars and trains. The project cost $40 million and was built over a 16-month period.
“This is not an institutionally-funded program,” says co-founder Michael Langer. “This was really about finding people who believed in this really, really big idea and believed that we could build it. Raising funds for something this ambitious was a very big challenge, but we’re excited we got it done.”
Admission will cost adults $36 and children and seniors $28 to tour the space. “We have miniatures that represent some of the world’s greatest treasures, and as you go through you get this really unique experience of seeing the world in a way you’ve never seen it before,” said Langer.
Visitors can even choose to place miniature versions of themselves into the scenes, leaving their mark for future guests.
To come to life, the project brought together an assortment of model makers, electricians, and all different kinds of engineers. The team developed their own GPS system in order to control the cars and how they behave.
“The technology and the science and the creative spirit that these people put together is the real magic,” says Langer.
Watch the video above to get a peek at Gulliver’s Gate.