Some projects were cancelled, although Dubailand has since become the name of an entertainment district in Dubai where some of the planned projects for the Dubailand complex have opened. Other projects are being built and are planned to open in 2025.[2]
Development
The Dubailand site office and showroom of the sales center, 7 March 2006
Dubailand was announced on 23 October 2003. It would have an area of 278km2 (107sqmi), twice the size of Walt Disney World, and comprise 45 "mega projects" and 200 sub projects.[3] Over the years, there were 22 projects under construction.[4] Dubailand was divided into six zones (worlds): Attractions and Experience World, Sports and Outdoor World, Eco-Tourism World, Themed Leisure and Vacation World, Retail and Entertainment World, and Downtown,[5] the largest collection of theme parks in the world.
The Sahara Kingdom theme park, situated in the Attractions & Experience World, would cover 460,000m2 (4,951,399sqft) and would combine high end virtual and physical theme park rides, attractions such as a state of the art gaming zone, IMAX theater, and integrated live and virtual entertainment shows, together with a retail zone, four hotels and residential accommodations. The theme of the development was traditional Arabian folklore and the tales of One Thousand and One Nights.
In 2006, planning permission was granted for the Great Dubai Wheel, a 185-metre tall (607ft) giant Ferris wheel with 30 passenger capsules, to be built and managed by the Great Wheel Corporation. It was expected to open in 2009, at a cost of over AED 250 million.[6] In January 2012, it was announced that the Great Dubai Wheel would not be built.[7]
In 2008, most of the developments in Dubailand were put on hold and virtually all of the staff and workforce were fired due to the 2007–2008 financial crisis.[8]
On 19 January 2008, DreamWorks announced plans to build a theme park in Dubailand.[9]
On 1 May 2008, Tatweer announced the launch of Freej Dubailand. Freej Dubailand would boast hotels totalling 2,600 keys, and feature retail, food and beverage outlets, as well as a spectrum of entertainment attractions.[10]
On 2 May 2008, it was announced that the design and conceptual master plan for a MarvelSuperheroes theme park had been finalized, the first of its kind. It would have included 17 rides and attractions on a 4,500,000sqft (420,000m2) development. It would also comprise nine retail outlets on an area of 30,000sqft (2,800m2). Over 40 food and beverage outlets, including carts merchandising light refreshments, would be developed over 40,000sqft (3,700m2).[11][12]
On 6 May 2008, Tatweer announced a strategic alliance with Merlin Entertainments Group to build a Legoland park in Dubailand. The project would have cost AED 912 million, occupy a total of 3,000,000sqft (278,709m2), and would feature more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions geared towards families with children ages 2 to 12.[13]
At this point, Dubai Properties Group took over Dubailand from Tatweer. American park franchises Six Flags and DreamWorks announced having dropped their projects, citing loss of interest.
In September 2012, Dubai Properties Group announced the revival of the Mudon residential community project, estimating the completion of the project at around 18 months.[14]
Construction on the site resumed in early 2013, with the 72,000 square metres (780,000sqft)Dubai Miracle Gardens opening at the beginning of March.[15] The adjacent 2,600 square metres (28,000sqft)Dubai Butterfly Garden opened in 2015.[16]
Legoland is a chain of family amusement parks focusing on the Lego building toy brand. They are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainments, which shares a common owner with The Lego Group.
Mall of Arabia was a planned shopping mall; that would have been a part of the City of Arabia in the Dubailand theme park premises in Dubai. Original announcements said it would be completed in 2008. Following the collapse of the Dubai real-estate market, the mall's opening has been delayed. In 2016, in favor of IMG Worlds of Adventure's opening date, it was announced that the mall will be revived within 10 years. According to the developers the 10 million square-foot mall would contain more than 1,000 retail outlets, a rooftop hotel, waterfront dining and entertainment, a theme park, an earth science museum, and a planetarium. It would also contain its own monorail system linked with the Dubai Metro along with a two-story underground parking garage capable of holding 10,400 vehicles.
Legoland Windsor Resort, styled and also known as Legoland Windsor, is a theme park and resort in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego brand. The park opened on 17 March 1996 and is currently operated by Merlin Entertainments. The park's attractions consist of a mixture of Lego-themed rides, models, and building workshops targeted at children between three and twelve.
Dubai Mall is the largest shopping mall in Dubai. It is the second largest mall in the world by total land area after the Iran Mall, and the 26th-largest shopping mall in the world by gross leasable area, with a total retail floor area of 350,000 m2 (3,800,000 sq ft). The mall is part of the 20-billion-dollar Downtown complex called Downtown Dubai that is adjacent to the Burj Khalifa, and includes over 1,200 shops. In 2011, it was the most visited building on the planet, and attracts over 54 million visitors each year.
Grapevine Mills is a shopping mall in Grapevine, Texas, United States, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Grapevine Mills currently totals over 1,781,628 square feet in size.
Merlin Entertainments Limited is a British entertainment company based at Poole in Dorset, England, which operates a number of theme parks and other tourist attractions. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was acquired by a consortium that includes Kirkbi A/S.
The government of Dubai took a decision to diversify from a trade-based, oil-reliant economy to one that is service and tourism-oriented. This has made real estate and other developments more valuable, thus resulting in a property boom from 2004 to 2006. Construction on a large scale has turned Dubai into one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. There are a number of large-scale projects which are currently under construction or are to be constructed in the future. Due to the heavy construction which is taking place in Dubai, 30,000 construction cranes, which are 25% of cranes worldwide, are operating in Dubai. Due to the burst of construction, Dubai has acquired various building-related records, which include: the world's tallest tower, the world's largest shopping mall, the world's largest fountain and the world's tallest hotel. Also under construction is Dubailand, which will be almost twice the size of the Walt Disney World Resort.
City of Arabia is a US$20 billion retail, residential, commercial and entertainment destination lying at the gateway to Dubailand, United Arab Emirates. Some parts of this project are being built.
Jumeirah Beach Residence is a 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) long, 2 square kilometres (0.77 sq mi) gross floor area waterfront community located on the coast of the Persian Gulf in Dubai Marina in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a residential development and contains 40 towers. JBR can accommodate about 15,000 people, living in its apartments and hotel rooms. The Project has 6,917 apartments, from 900 sq ft (84 m2) studios to 5,500 sq ft (510 m2) penthouses. JBR has a total of six residential blocks, Shams, Amwaj, Rimal, Bahar, Sadaf and Murjan. JBR is within walking distance to Dubai Marina, Dubai Tram and Dubai Metro.
Six Flags Dubai was a planned theme park under development for multiple years in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The park was being developed by DXB Entertainments, under license from Six Flags. The park was scheduled to open in November 2011, but Six Flags terminated the agreement in 2010 after Tatweer failed to make a payment owed to Six Flags. It was later revived and scheduled to open in 2019 near Lapita Hotel and Riverland Dubai at Dubai Parks and Resorts. It was to be divided into six themed sections, and contain 27 different attractions, including six roller coasters. On April 25, 2019, DXB Entertainments issued a statement that the project had been cancelled.
Legoland California Resort is a theme park, miniature park, and aquarium in Carlsbad, California, based on the Lego toy brand. Opening on March 20, 1999, it was the first Legoland park to open outside of Europe. The park is currently owned by Merlin Entertainments, which took a controlling interest in 2005. The second park in the United States is Legoland Florida, which opened in 2011. A third park, Legoland New York, opened in May 2021.
Dubai Outlet Mall (DOM) is a shopping mall in Umm Nahad First, Dubailand, Dubai, the UAE.Opened in 2007 and is located on the Dubai-Al Ain Road near the Dubai Bypass Road interchange. The shopping mall has a total size of 102,193 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft) and a total gross leasable area of 69,977 m2 (753,230 sq ft) and it currently features 240 retail outlets with over 1,200 brands.
Bluewaters Island is an artificial island 400 metres (1,300 ft) off the Jumeirah Beach Residence coastline, near Dubai Marina, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
IMG Worlds of Adventure is an indoor amusement park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is located on Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road within the City of Arabia.
The Dubai Miracle Garden is a flower garden located in the district of Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The garden was launched on Valentine's Day in 2013. It occupies over 72,000 square metres (780,000 sq ft), making it the world's largest flower garden, featuring over 50 million flowers and 250 million plants.
Dubai Parks and Resorts is a resort located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Spread over 25 million square feet, it features more than 100 rides and attractions, and consists of three theme parks: Motiongate Dubai, Real Madrid World and Legoland Dubai, and one water park: Legoland Water Park. It also encompasses Riverland Dubai, a themed retail and dining destination, as well as the Polynesian-themed family resort, Lapita Hotel Dubai.
Dubai Hills Mall is a retail, leisure, and entertainment complex situated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Located in the Dubai Hills Estate, at an intersection between Al Khail and Umm Suqeim. Dubai Hills Estate constitutes as one of the first stages in the development of Mohammed bin Rashid City and Dubai Hills Mall will be the primary regional mall in the area. The mall opened on 17 February 2022.
Legoland Dubai is a theme park in Dubai. It opened on October 31, 2016. It is the first Legoland park in the Middle East and was the seventh worldwide. The park was originally scheduled to open in 2011 in Dubailand as Legoland Dubailand, but was then delayed until October 2016 and is now located at Dubai Parks and Resorts as Legoland Dubai.
Meraas is a holding company privately held and headquartered in Dubai with operations and assets in the United Arab Emirates. In 2020, Meraas become a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, following a directive from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai.
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