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Photo TR: Robb & Elissa go to Dubai!


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I was expecting the Speed of Magic ride to be very cheesy, half assed, and lame, but actually it was pretty interesting! The introduction and much of it was REALLY cheesy, especially the pre-show, but it kind of looked like fun. Not up to Spiderman or even DarKastle but at the end I thought it was neat.

 

"This could be the most dangerous night of my life--and yours!"

 

Sounds a little familiar?

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Thanks for those videos, Robb!

 

- V12 is utter crap. Hell, even I'd rather volunteer to clean the roof with a toothbrush than sit through that atrocity.

 

- Speed of Magic is also pretty lame......except for the sounds of the engine. I could listen to that all day.

 

- Racing Legends was simply full of awesome. I'm in love with the World of Motion/If You Had Wings: Ferrari Edition aspect of it. Bellissimo!

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To me, its just a gigantic Ferrari Museum with a few mediocre rides promoting Ferrari's cars & accomplishments in their history. I feel like, to me, if you weren't a car/Ferrari/racing fan, this park would just seem weird or off topic. Not everyone will understand it or appreciate it for what it is.

I feel like quoting John Hammond from Jurassic Park...

"No, no, no, this park isn't meant to cater only to the super rich. EVERYONE in the world has the right to enjoy these animals."

 

-Ryan

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- Racing Legends was simply full of awesome. I'm in love with the World of Motion/If You Had Wings: Ferrari Edition aspect of it. Bellissimo!

This was EXACTLY my thoughts about it. It was like they saw videos of some of the early Epcot attractions, Chocolate World, and some Worlds Fair pavilions and then made all these rides.

 

There was actually ANOTHER dark ride that we ended up not getting to ride because it too was closed the whole time we were there.

 

I am really hoping that our next visit to the park will have most of these problems sorted out and will be much better. I saw a lot of potential in the park, and I just hope it lives up.

 

--Robb

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Time for a little bit of credit whoring around Abu Dhabi!

 

If there are a couple of things we quickly found out about the UAE it's the following:

 

1. They LOVE shopping malls. *HUGE* insane shopping malls. I guess you figure when it's hundreds of degrees outside being INDOORS is a great place to be!

2. Rides are pretty unreliable. Doesn't matter if it's the brand new Ferrari World, or an FEC that's been around for ages, if you're doing a coaster trip to the UAE, expect something to be closed! Best part of that is - the UAE is an awesome place to visit, so it will give you an additional excuse to come back!

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Our first stop was the Khalidiyah Mall To check out one of three indoor Family Entertainment Centers in Abu Dhabi.

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"That's right! We are credit whoring in the Middle East!"

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Hooray! We made it to the first of TWO Sparky's in Abu Dhabi.

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Apparently, there is a roller coaster here.

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And it appears to be OPERATING! Which is a good sign.

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"Ready? On the count of three.... 1 ... 2 ... 3 .... SAD AND PATHETIC!!!!"

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Red Track.

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Never heard of 'em....

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You know...this ride gets SERIOUSLY CLOSE to the roof!

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And it goes over 100MPH!

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The ride actually covers the entire FEC.

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Thumbs up for being a whore!

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On our way to the next mall, we passed this bizarre looking building.

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At the Marina Mall was another FEC called "Fun City."

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Well, poop. Fun City was more like "Closed Shark Coaster City" today.

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But they had an Ikea so that made it all worthwhile!

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Worship these dudes...they have a lot of money! Not only do they have lots of oil, but they also have...

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Krispy Kreme Donuts!

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Yup, we are most certainly in the Middle East!

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Another Mall...another FEC...

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And another Sparky's!

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Hooray! We've never been so happy to see a WORKING kiddie coaster!!!

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This one isn't much!

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But we did get a picture of the sign for Larry....sort of.

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On a more serious note - you do have to be a bit more mindful of some of the rules in the Middle East. This wasn't for the FEC, this was for the entire mall!

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"The UAE gets my official seal of approval!"

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Ok, now I've seen it all! Applebee's? REALLY??? What's next? Waffle House????

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Why is there a shower connected to every toilet?

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That night it was time to head back to Dubai to check out the "Global Village", which is kind of part of the complex that Dubailand was supposed to be built on.

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Global Village is kind of like a giant outdoor fair. It goes on for most of the fall months, so we were lucky to be able to hit it.

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Unlike a German fair where you have beer tents, or a USA fair where you have animals and other demonstrations, Global Village had small pavilions dedicated to different countries of the world. Very Epcot World Showcase-like.

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And of course...there were rides!

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First credit of the night was this bizarre kiddie suspended coaster.

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It actually looked quite a bit like the Arrow or Vekoma suspendeds.

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But was more like a Wacky Worm layout!

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Hooray for bizarre Arabic kiddie coasters!

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DubaiDave and I were very pleased that we made the spinning coaster spin a lot! Elissa...not quite as impressed.

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Giant Ass Ferris Wheel!

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Lots of awesome flat rides...

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Top Scan...

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Tagada of death...

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Suspended Ghost Train...

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Anyone else find it slightly ironic that the Flying Carpet ride was broken down?

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And yes, there was even a Wacky Worm.

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"Screw Formula Rossa! It's all about the Wacky Worm!"

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We took another stroll around some of the different country pavilions...

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NOTED!

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Here you can get an idea of how the Global Village is laid out.

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We ended our night at....PIZZA HUT!

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They crunch because they are made out of dead babies.

 

More fun and credit whoring coming soon!

Edited by robbalvey
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So far, everything looks amazing. I'm one of those people who can never go to a park, or go on a ride and hate it completely (Psyclone SFMM being the one exception) and Ferarri World looks like an amazing park.

 

I'm hoping to go to Dubai for my 18th Birthday, hopefully everything will remain open until then!

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SBF-Visa makes a lot of rides. There are some of thier rides in the US, mostly Kiddies. I know ComoTown here in Saint Paul has a couple units from them.

 

Also, does anyone know if the Mondial Indiago there happens to be the one from the State Fair of Texas?

Edited by Coastercameron
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Global Village was a crazy place! It was the busiest place I saw our whole time in the UAE. I can't even think of a way to describe it as we just have NOTHING like that in the states. My only complaint was whatever incense they were burning or the combination of perfumes and air fresheners made me so sick, I had a terrible headache the rest of the night.

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hey robb ! im from SEA ( South East Asia ) And im here to reply your question , EVERY Bathroom ( well most of them ) have shower taps is because , here in the middle east people use water to wash their A$$ . Sorry if im being too naughty >_<

Thanks for that...I did actually know that, I posted the question more for comedic value!

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SBF-Visa makes a lot of rides. There are some of thier rides in the US, mostly Kiddies. I know ComoTown here in Saint Paul has a couple units from them.

 

Also, does anyone know of the Mondial Indiago there happens to be the one from the State Fair of Texas?

 

Yes, I've been on it! Amazing ride.

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Our next day we did credit whoring in Sharjah, which is another one of the Emirates just a few miles away from Dubai. My short experience with Sharjah is that it's sort of the "Downtown Las Vegas" if you consider Dubai to be the "Vegas Strip." Meaning that both places are not far from each other, and they resemble each other to some extent, but you can certainly tell that Sharjah is a bit "older" and more run down, kind of like Fremont Street.

 

All the parks we visited in Sharjah were also indoor FECs, but some of them were actually quite interesting and very well themed! Let's begin our adventure, shall we?

 

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Say goodbye to Dubai!

 

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And HELLO to Sharjah!

 

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Lots of buildings in Sharjah...just not quite as nice, and a bit older...

 

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Our first stop of the day was at a BONUS CREDIT!!!!

 

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Ok, so what if it wasn't open, and we couldn't even ride it if it was...

 

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But dammit! We found a BONUS CREDIT!!!!

 

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This is where we parked...in case anyone is interested....

 

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Red Velvet escalator, anyone?

 

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Our next park was kind of like an Islands of Adventure and Disneyland knock-off for kids....in a mall!

 

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Since we arrived early, what better thing to do than have some McDonald's

 

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Well, there certainly is at least ONE coaster here...

 

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Ok, so maybe make that TWO!

 

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And all of this inside the mall.

 

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Although both coasters were "powered" so they don't even really count!

 

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Still, the park was really visually impressive...especially for being inside a mall!

 

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First up we did "Adventure Train".

 

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This one was more the "family" coaster of the two. Check it out...

 

 

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Hooray! I love playing Asteroids!

 

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Yup...it's a full sized Chaos...in the mall!

 

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Next up was Quantum Leap...this one was actually pretty decent for a powered coaster!

 

 

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"Yes, we truly are sad and pathetic....this isn't even a real credit!!!"

 

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You can see how both coasters are sort of intertwined. Honestly, this place was really impressive!

 

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Oh god, no! Please don't tell me we teleported to Fuji-Q!!!

 

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...and SEAFOOD?!?!?

 

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"Nobody ever wins a pissed off Giant Ass Panda..."

 

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Our next stop... Space City! It's actually in space.

 

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Space City is home to this really messed, totally bizarre spinning coaster...

 

 

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Elissa was NOT impressed!

 

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DubaiDave liked it because he's not a spinning ride wuss!

 

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This place wasn't quite as impressive as Adventureland.

 

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But as you can see, it really is in space!

 

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You ain't got nothin on The Santa Claw, bitch!

 

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The buildings in Sharjah all kind of looked the same...

 

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Our last mall in Sharjah...

 

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This one has a very "blue" theme to it...

 

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Apparently, we want to follow that sign!

 

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Keep going...almost there!

 

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Hooray! We made it!

 

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This one was the most pathetic of the day...even more than the powered coasters!

 

 

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The park itself was kind of nice. Oddly enough themed to "Arabic stuff!"

 

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They had tons of rides for kids...

 

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And a bizarre assortment of reptiles everywhere...

 

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This was NOT Elissa Friendly!!!!

 

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One person here has balls...one person does not.

 

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Arabic heaven, purgatory, and hell.

 

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I wonder where Elissa could be?

 

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"Arabic McDonalds Credit!"

 

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Mmmm....beef!

 

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The mall food court was a "No Laptop Zone!" Very strange. Well, since we can't have our laptop, we might as well end this update now...

 

More Middle East Adventure coming soon!

 

--Robb

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This is what we called the "Ghetto Wild West Show." Yep, that's a quality show right there...fold-up chairs in the grass in front of the make-shift stage! =)

Edited by ernierocker
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To correct the spray nozzle in the bathroom issue. Those are NOT to wash ones rear with. That would be incredible messy. I didnt' see built in butt-washers that were in Asia, and now in my own home (don't judge).

 

Those are to wash your feet with before prayer. In the very Muslim countries, such as Saudi, you don't want to use a public restroom within 30 minutes of prayer time, because they are all totally covered with water, and humid, and nasty.

 

The one in our villa could take the paint off of a car at full blast. Water pressure was one of the few good things in Saudi.

 

-RO

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