A new Mexican venue for Cirque du Soleil is about to open in the Riviera Nayarit, where resort operator Grupo Vidanta is positioning VidantaWorld as a global theme-park contender to compete with the likes of Las Vegas and Orlando.
Starting Dec. 12, the resort will host LUDÕ, Cirque du Soleil’s second permanent show in Latin America and its first aquatic creation since “O” in Las Vegas.
The show will be held in a custom-built water theater in VidantaWorld’s BON (Beauty of Nature) — a 150-acre luxury theme park that’s still largely under construction within the larger VidantaWorld resort complex in Nuevo Nayarit (formerly Nuevo Vallarta).
Its location in the state of Nayarit, along the Ameca River, is about a 20-minute drive from the Puerto Vallarta International Airport in Jalisco. It’s in the southern portion of the Riviera Nayarit, a nearly 200-mile stretch of luxury beach towns and resorts along the state’s coastline.
The show is slated to run year-round with up to 10 shows a week depending on the season.
The VidantaWorld Theater, designed by architect Arturo Hernández, is conceived as the park’s architectural icon, echoing the 2-year-old, state-of-the-art Sphere in Las Vegas and the geodesic sphere (known as Spaceship Earth) at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Florida.
The lotus flower–inspired shell, built with about 3,500 tons of steel, will glow with projections at night.
The 696-seat venue combines a 360-degree aquatic stage, wraparound “human aquarium” and a submersible platform that can switch from tank to dry stage in seconds.
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The LUDÕ show will center on Ludovico, a theater director seeking inspiration in water and play on a global journey that begins at a Mexican cenote.
The 75-minute mega-show uses underwater and freediving acts in a fully immersive 360-degree environment, with action occurring above, around and below the audience.
Just over 10 years ago, Cirque du Soleil premiered the show JOYÀ at the Vidanta Riviera Maya complex near Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo. It has stood as Cirque du Soleil’s only resident presentation in Latin America and the first to include a dinner show.
LUDÕ will also include options for a three-course menu, champagne and tiered experiences from balcony-only to VIP dinner packages. Tickets will range from 2,350 pesos (US $128) per person (for the show only) to 7,780 pesos (US $425) for dinner, unlimited champagne and preferred seating.
BON is part of the 1,011-hectare VidantaWorld complex.
It is in the process of being built as a “luxury” park that limits capacity and replaces long lines with controlled admission and transport systems.
Planned attractions include Tecuani Beast (Latin America’s only double-launch roller coaster), the Vista Wheel, Floresta Drop and nightly entertainment shows — positioning BON as a high-end alternative to traditional mega-parks.
With reports from El Universal, Players of Life, PR Newswire and Obras por Expansión
