ON THE MERRY-GO-ROUND
£50bn theme park dubbed ‘Middle East’s Disneyland’ STILL being built 21 years on…it’s no surprise when you see the plans
Footage reveals the initial grand plans for the mega project
A £50BILLION theme park dubbed the "Middle East's Disneyland" is still being built 21 years on.
Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dubailand was imagined to be a theme park like no other.
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But while nations in the Middle East are used to building just about anything they want, constructing their own Disneyland has proved difficult.
With Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Paris dominating the Western world, Dubai launched plans of its own to rival its American and European counterparts in 2003.
Costing around £50bn, the 107 sq metre project was set to be twice the size of Walt Disney World Resort and divided into six distinct zones.
These were called Attractions and Experience World, Sports and Outdoor World, Eco-Tourism World, Themed Leisure and Vacation World, Retail and Entertainment World, and Downtown.
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One of the highlights of Dubailand would be the Sahara Kingdom theme park, situated in the Attractions & Experience World.
Covering 4,951,399 sq ft, it was set to combine high-end virtual and physical theme park rides, a state-of-the-art gaming zone, an IMAX theatre, and integrated live and virtual entertainment shows.
It would also be put together with a retail zone, four hotels and residential accommodations.
Yet construction of Dubailand has been riddled with challenges across the last two decades.
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The biggest of those was a five-year stagnation period as a result of Dubai's financial crisis and the global recession in 2008.
But the building would eventually resume in 2013, albeit at the expense of some of the projects.
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And although the theme park has not officially opened, a number of its constituent parts have.
For the last 11 years, visitors have been able to enjoy the Dubai Miracle Garden, which features more than 250 million plants.
And since 2016, the IMG Worlds of Adventure has been providing entertainment with three incredible indoor rollercoasters.
Yet the two attractions are just disconnected residential communities in various stages of maturity.
A firm date for Dubailand's full completion is yet to be established, although current estimates predict a lot of it will open before 2025.
However, a quick search on Google Maps will put that into doubt, with vast areas between Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Road and the desert still untouched.
What was meant to be like entering another universe is now like entering scrubland.
Rather than clusters of internationally branded theme parks and tens of visitor attractions, you've got unfinished construction sites and abandoned display models instead.
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In nearby Saudi Arabia, the world's first floating theme park with three luxury hotels, a whopping 11 restaurants and huge rollercoasters is being built.
Designed to welcome millions through its doors each year The Rig is the latest absurd and over-the-top idea coming out of the country.
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It comes after the oil-rich country announced plans for a multibillion-dollar destination in Riyadh.
Including more than 300 facilities and the world's biggest rollercoaster, Qiddiya is set to be three times the size of the famous Walt Disney World resort in Florida.
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