Debuting last month, the $40 million project consists of a collection of scenes from around the world, or at least a sizable chunk of it. For now, Australia and Antarctica are MIA; same goes for much of Africa and the U.S. outside of New York City and the upper East Coast.
The Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, the pyramids of Egypt and the Brooklyn Bridge are just a few of the instantly recognizable icons peppered throughout the sprawling display, which feels like an elaborate model train exhibit. (Speaking of trains, look down at your feet between the England and France sections to spot one speeding through the underground Chunnel linking London and Paris.)
The all-ages attraction includes plenty of whimsical touches, like brown bears armed with musical instruments in a snow-covered Russian forest and people using ropes to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa. On the scaled-down shores of Scotland’s Loch Ness, tiny tourists’ cameras flash when the mythical monster suddenly surfaces before disappearing into the deep with a splash.
Gulliver's Gate President and CEO Eiran Gazit has a similar attraction — a miniature Israel — outside Jerusalem. The New York project, open daily at 216 W. 44th St., includes 50 nations and counting. Regular admission costs a not-so-little $36 for adults, $27 for children and seniors. www.gulliversgate.com.
Roughly 100,000 “people” populate this dwarfed-down universe, named for Jonathan Swift’s 18th century satire “Gulliver’s Travels,” where the title character gets shipwrecked on an island full of little Lilliputians.
At Gulliver’s Gate, the denizens are built on a 1:87 scale, meaning a 6-foot-tall person measures just shy of an inch.
You, too, can become a model citizen: Step inside a scanner to create a 3-D model of yourself for $44. When your figurine is finished a few weeks later, it will be added to the display.
About the Author