Can DreamWorks' Indoor Theme Park Outshine Disney World?

DreamWorks

has signed a deal with Triple Five to produce an indoor theme park in the New Jersey Meadowlands.

Designed as part of the American Dream project, the theme park will feature characters from the animation studio's most popular films, including

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. In addition to the DreamWorks theme park, American Dream will feature an indoor water park, an indoor ice skating rink, an indoor ski and snowboard park, a movie theater, nearly 1.7 million square feet of retail space, and 150,000 square feet of "fine dining" and restaurants. The project is 80 percent complete. But according to

, "Triple Five and its team of experts, architects and designers are making changes to the exterior to improve aesthetics and to the interior to improve retail attraction and retention. Triple Five is also adding new world scale interactive components including, amongst other things, an amusement park, ice rink and water park, to make American Dream a true tourism entertainment center." The theme park portion of American Dream will be the first in North America to exclusively feature DreamWorks Animation characters.

"American Dream at Meadowlands is poised to become a one-of-a-kind retail and entertainment destination in North America," Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO, DreamWorks Animation, said in a

. "We look forward to working with Triple Five Worldwide to incorporate DreamWorks Animation characters, storytelling and technology into a unique and innovative family entertainment experience at the venue." DreamWorks and Triple Five have not announced when the park will be completed, or when American Dream will open to the public. But both companies promise that the theme park will offer a "new amusement park experience, driven by innovation, to entertain adults, teens and children alike." Today's announcement comes less than one month after Disney

opened Cars Land at the company's California Adventure theme park. Featuring life-size replicas of the automobiles and environments from the hit Pixar movie, Cars Land is expected to drive massive traffic to the Disneyland Resort. When American Dream opens, this will be the first time that a major animation studio challenges Disney's theme park dominance in North America. Triple Five has not released any visitor expectations for its new theme park. However, the company projects that its ski and snowboard park will receive 1.6 million visitors annually.