Archive for the ‘Attractions’ Category

A new state-of-the-art theatre is currently being installed in The Planetarium at Dubai Children’s City. The full dome 3D system will offer an enhanced display with high levels of brightness and resolution, and will boast a screen area of 288 square metres.

Makiya Al Hajri, Head of the Children’s City, said ‘Visiting children would be able to explore the universe and the galaxy in a very exciting way thanks to the new display technology. From now onwards, these shows will be accompanied by live educational workshops that suit the tastes of children in different age groups who are visiting the planetarium.’

The new system is expected to be operational by October.

IMAX Corporation have announced that they have signed and agreement to install an IMAX theatre at Meydan, a commercial and residential project in Dubai incorporating the Meydan Racecourse. The advanced motion picture system is expected to be installed by the end of 2009.

The first IMAX theatre in the UAE opened at the Grand Megaplex cinema at the Ibn Battuta Mall in 2005 and features a screen measuring 44 feet tall and 70 feet wide.

Plans for a massive water fountain at Downtown Burj Dubai have been unveiled by Emaar Properties. Situated in the Burj Lake, it will be capable of shooting jets of water 500 feet high, equivalent to the height of a 50-storey building.

It will be complemented by a visual effects system consisting of more than 6,000 lights and 50 colour projectors. The total cost of the lake and fountain is budgeted at AED 800 million.

Emaar Properties has announced that the opening of the Burj Dubai will be delayed by around 8 months. Completion is now expected in September 2009.

Part of the Downtown Burj Dubai development, the tower is the world’s tallest building. Work came to a halt in November 2007 when 40,000 labourers working on the project went on strike over conditions and pay.

Dubai-based property developer Emaar has announced that the Burj Dubai is now the world’s tallest man-made structure. It has reached a height of 629 metres, surpassing the KVLY TV mast in North Dakota (628.8 metres).

Mohammed Ali Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar, said ‘Emaar’s Burj Dubai has accomplished another milestone in its development, placing the city of Dubai and Burj Dubai once again on the global spotlight. With over 160 storeys now, the most number of liveable floors in any building in the world, Burj Dubai is already pushing the frontiers in construction engineering.’

The Burj Dubai is the centrepiece of the Downtown Burj Dubai development. The final height of the tower remains a closely guarded secret.

Tatweer has announced an agreement with Six Flags, the world’s largest theme park company, to develop a chain of theme parks across the Middle East. The highlight will be a 5 million square feet development at Dubailand. Work is expected to commence on the Dubailand project in 2009.

Busch Entertainment Corporation (BEC) and Dubai property developer Nakheel have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop four theme parks on the Palm Jebel Ali. Under the terms of the agreement Nakheel will provide the capital to develop the project while BEC will operate the parks.

The four parks will be SeaWorld Dubai, Aquatica, Busch Gardens, and Discovery Cove and will operate under Busch’s World of Discovery banner. The first phase of the project is expected to open in 2012.

Dubai property developer Emaar has announced that it has completed 50 percent of the cladding work on the Burj Dubai. The iconic structure now stands at 604.9 metres and is the world’s tallest free-standing structure.

Tatweer, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, has announced a strategic partnership with American film studio DreamWorks Animation to develop the world’s first DreamWorks-brand theme park at Dubailand.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, said, ‘We are thrilled to bring the first DreamWorks Animation dedicated theme park to Dubai through our alliance with Tatweer for Dubailand. This relationship will allow us to create an exciting destination where families and tourists will enjoy the unique opportunity to interact with DreamWorks branded content within Dubailand.’

Details of cost and completion date were not revealed.

Emaar, the property developers behind many of Dubai’s megaprojects, have signed an agreement with SEGA to develop indoor theme parks throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

The first to open will be at the Dubai Mall at the Burj Dubai development, scheduled to open later this year. Based on SEGA’s Joypolis amusement park in Tokyo, the 76,000 sq ft facility will feature an indoor roller coaster, motion ride simulators, and arcade games.