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Dubai / Abu Dhabi - Guide to Projects & Coasters


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Over at IMG, I give them some credit for their quick-response in installing those smaller "coin-operated" rides (which are free to use and have been there for almost a year now) and the mini-train. All done based on guest requests for in-park transportation and more things for their youngest guests to do. The park listened and delivered what guests wanted. Kudos to IMG!

 

It looks cheap as hell. I have no other way to describe it. To build a billion dollar theme park and find yourself installing 50 of these:

 

 

...does not look good. It, in fact, means that the park is literally no better than an average Sparky's location for small children, which suggests they didn't grasp their market when constructing and designing the place.

 

While there are a decent number of vacancies still at Riverland - how has the Cheesecake Factory closed since it hasn't even had it's grand opening yet? The restaurant is still, technically, under construction as they are still finishing the work inside the restaurant before they open to resort guests.

 

Has any work been done in months? Shake Shack indicates it is closed for Summer. It is December now. All of the landscaping plants are dead there because of a lack of maintenance. It's clear that there are some failed businesses already there and a tremendous amount of "this is never happening".

 

The top attractions in the region definitely get hour-long waits. This is especially true during the holiday periods (Eid, National Day, etc) and periods that neighboring countries have extended time off. Even now, the "star" attractions at many of the parks are seeing 45-minute+ waits on Fridays and Saturdays.

 

I was at Ferrari World every single day of the Grand Prix weekend and I can affirmatively say that Flying Aces never had more than a two train wait while running dispatches once every 5 minutes. The only ride with an actual wait caused by a significant surplus of people vs. the cycle time of the attraction was Formula Rossa, and again, that was running one train. Literally nothing at Dubai Parks ever had a wait in excess of 25 minutes this past Friday and Saturday with incredibly ideal weather. Almost everything was a complete walk-on at all times, every day. It reminded us of Universal Orlando after IOA was built except 100x deader.

Edited by robbalvey
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I was at Ferrari World every single day of the Grand Prix weekend and I can affirmatively say that Flying Aces never had more than a two train wait while running dispatches once every 5 minutes. The only ride with an actual wait caused by a significant surplus of people vs. the cycle time of the attraction was Formula Rossa, and again, that was running one train.

 

Ferrari World is never very busy during the weekend of the F1 race. While spectators do get in free with their race pass - most visitors coming to Abu Dhabi for the race are there for the race and race-related events, they are not particularly interested in an amusement park. Locals not going to the race stay away from Yas Island that weekend of the race due to the potential traffic congestion. If you were at Ferrari World the following weekend (UAE National Day) - you would have seen some pretty significant queues.

 

A little positivity and fact-checking goes a long ways!

Edited by robbalvey
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Ferrari World is never very busy during the weekend of the F1 race. While spectators do get in free with their race pass - most visitors coming to Abu Dhabi for the race are there for the race and race-related events, they are not particularly interested in an amusement park. Locals not going to the race stay away from Yas Island that weekend of the race due to the potential traffic congestion. If you were at Ferrari World the following weekend (UAE National Day) - you would have seen some pretty significant queues.

 

A little positivity and fact-checking goes a long ways!

 

They're themed to the event happening down the street with 60,000 spectators and are physically connected to the venue where most everyone parks or hitches cabs to/from. There should be people there. There should be queues. There should be no reason I'm getting solo rides on Benno's in the middle of the afternoon. It would be like saying that Coney Island should be dead on the 4th of July because everyone is too busy going to the beach.

 

Trust me, I want these parks to succeed, but it is pretty clear that there are not big crowds and that they are way, way, way behind in their projected attendance. When was the last time Stark's was open? The entry way to the restaurant looks abandoned and we could see a notice on the elevator that it was no longer functional. Any signage the place had was removed. The park didn't even have all the soda available that it should have. I literally couldn't buy a Diet Pepsi!

Edited by robbalvey
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It’s true that Ferrari World is always quiet during the f1. I have been twice recently when the place has been packed. As for img. I like the addition of the coin op rides and kids love them especially the fact that they are free. The park had some early criticism that there wasn’t enough for younger kids so they actually listened to people. As for Dpr. The place is often very busy. They have some great special events that bring people in. I’ve not noticed anything really closed in Riverland. And motiongate often has ques for its major rides. It’s only just getting high season here so certainly places have been quieter but it’s all getting busier now.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by robbalvey
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