Saturday 20 / April / 2024
As much as I am in love with Oman and its cultural and traditional rootedness, Dubai’s glitzy grandeur and manmade magnificence never fails to fascinate me. So when I received an invite to attend the much-awaited inaugural opening ceremony of Dubai Parks and Resorts, I jumped at the chance to see what kind of over-the-top entertainment the city was up to now.
Dubai Parks and Resorts (DPR) is in Jebel Ali, about 45 minutes from downtown Dubai. As we drove, I kept wondering why the park had been built so far away from the city. When the park came into view, I had my answer. They couldn’t possibly have build what looked to be an entire entertainment city (which turned out to cover an area of 2.84 million square metres) within the confines of Dubai’s skyscrapers. As we drew closer, I could see European-style castles, rollercoasters, and what appeared to be a godzilla-sized movie film reel. What was this place?
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Inside, a whole new world awaited. Or, more accurately, “worlds”. My group and I were like tourists visiting a new country, clicking pictures in awe, gasping at the size of certain structures, and excitedly trying to figure out what some of the others were.
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Our first stop was Legoland.Every child’s dream, the bright and colourful set-up of Legoland screams “awesome childhood memories” starting from the gate itself. A perfect destination for families with kids who can enjoy the 15,000 model structures made out of Lego blocks throughout the park or try to build a new model. Before you get overly confident in your building skills, I should warn you that my Hogwarts ended up looking like a worn out car.
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The highlight of the place was Miniland (a deceiving name), an enclosure that housed structures and monuments from around the world made entirely of transparent Lego blocks, from the Egyptian Pyramids to Burj Khalifa. I loved how every minute detail was attended to, from little Lego Egyptians outside the Pyramids to the Lego cars near Lego Burj Al Arab, with 60 million Lego bricks used in the construction of this one-of-a-kind amusement land.
We continued our journey through the mega dramatic Motiongate film reel entrance, which I had spied on our approach, everything turned semi-sepia. This section is spread across 5 zones that unites three legendary film studios Columbia Pictures, Dreamworks Animation, and Lionsgate, with attractions inspired by 13 iconic Hollywood films.
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Although, not all attractions are operational yet, this is the section for ride enthusiasts, making brilliant use of technology to give visitors unforgettable visual experiences. For instance, the “Hotel Transylvania” and “Ghostbusters” rides were totally immersive. Riding through the Hotel Transylvania feels like you have stepped not onto a set, but into the film itself. In the ghostbusters arena, I became one of the four ghostbusters. And in a multipurpose theatre films are adapted to live shows, like the current offering “Step Up”.
Back on main path, we continued our journey.
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After a few minutes, I began to hear the faint sound of Bollywood beats. They seemed to be growing louder as we walked. Suffering from OBD (Obsessive Bollywood Disorder), the sound was like an invisible rope pulling me closer and closer. I arrived at a large entrance, which bore a resemblance to India Gate. Posters of classic Indian films were papered on the walls and the sign read “Bollywood”. Eyes bulging, I entered a Bombay film city, and like any good Bollywood film, the whole setup was larger than life. There were street food stalls, massive film sets, a local train inside which you could sit and eat, a double-decker red bus, and live performances from blockbuster Bollywood hits new and old, and in the Hall of Heroes, I found Krish and Ra.One.
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Housed in the gorgeous Rajmahal, guarded by two great elephants, is an 850 seat auditorium where we watched a Broadway-style, Bollywood-themed musical. Simply marvellous.I hadn’t realised how terribly I missed the colours, the shimmer, the glitz, the loud drum beats, the flamboyant expressions, heavy costumes, the strident yet graceful steps, and everything else about Bollywood dance until I watched it, transfixed and transported, as I sat in the front row. We were watching the Jaan-e-Bahar musical and I couldn’t contain the excitement that was written all over my open-mouthed, 32-teeth-baring, face. Apart from being able to emotionally connect with the act because of the familiar music and dance, I was also awestruck by the brilliance of the quality of the performance and its production. A huge number of people were involved on-stage, with over a hundred budding artists showcasing their talents. I saw the same fabulous bunch later in the day when they performed on the train, and appeared on various stages throughout the park, somehow with the same amount of vigour and enthusiasm each time.
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In spite of spending an entire day at Dubai Parks, I hadn’t even seen half of it. Atop the towering Zombie Blast-off freefall, I spotted a whole new area called “Kingdom”, which I had completely missed, making me realise that this theme-park city is not a place to pass a few hours while in Dubai, this place is the weekend destination, more than sprawling enough to fill days and nights. A trip to Dubai Parks and Resorts is not a trip to the UAE, it is a trip to a whole new universe.
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Tips for Planning Your Visit to Dubai Parks
If you have only one day, organise your schedule in such a way that you have the chance to visit all the three parks. It is easy to get carried away and stick at one place for a long time, but you will be missing out on a lot if you do.
Dubai Parks and Resorts
Sheikh Zayed Road, Opposite Palm Jebel Ali
dubaiparksandresorts.com/en
Hours
Legoland Sunday-Saturday: 10:00am-7:00pm
Motiongate Sunday-Wednesday: 10:00am-7:00pm, Thursday-Saturday: 10:00am-9:00pm
Bollywood Parks Sunday-Wednesday: 10:00am-8:00pm,
Thursday - Saturday: 10:00am-10:00pm
Pricing
Multiple Park Annual Pass OMR249.5
1-Day Legoland OMR29.5
1-Day Motiongate OMR25
1-Day Bollywood Parks OMR28.5
Current 3-for-1 Special Offer (visits through 31 Jan, 2017) 1-day all parks, OMR29.5 or 2-day all parks, OMR53
