Location | Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
---|---|
Coordinates | 25°3′33″N55°23′0″E / 25.05917°N 55.38333°E |
Status | Cancelled |
Owner | Dubai Holding |
Operated by | Universal Destinations & Experiences |
Area | 20,000,000 square feet (1,900,000 m2) |
Attractions | |
Total | 12 (planned) |
Roller coasters | 4 (planned) |
Water rides | 2 (planned) |
Universal Studios Dubailand was a proposed Universal Studios theme park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Originally planned to be built within Dubailand, a future entertainment mega-complex, the project broke ground in July 2008 but stalled a short time later. [1] On October 27, 2016, officials announced the permanent cancellation of the project. [2] [3] [4]
Universal Studios Dubailand was a joint venture costing over 8 billion dirhams ($2.2 billion US) between Universal Studios and Tatweer, a subsidiary of Dubai Holdings. The theme park was announced in April 2007 with a theme park plan that expected to attract 5 million visitors annually and was scheduled to be completed in 2010.
The project broke ground on July 27, 2008, [5] but the financial problems prompted the developers to delay further development, and push back the opening until from 2010 to 2012. [6] [7] However, no construction work on the project site had been reported since early 2009. By mid-2012, the only public evidence of the project was a gate bearing the Universal Studios logo. [8]
The identity of the Dubai joint venture partner was no longer clear, as Tatweer was dissolved in mid-2010, with most of its assets merged into TECOM or other members of Dubai Holdings. In April 2011, Universal was once again in talks with Dubai officials about finishing the Universal park. By late 2012, there had still not been any construction progress on the proposed site. [1] In late November 2012, Dubai's ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced Dubai's renewed intentions to invest in an array of development projects in the desert just outside central Dubai, including the world's largest mall and an attached Universal Studios branded "family entertainment centre". [1] [9]
On October 27, 2016, plans for the Universal Studios Dubailand theme park had officially been scrapped. [2]
This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.(January 2013) |
The area was to be designed a lot like Universal Studios Florida's Hollywood area. It was expected to feature a Mel's Diner building as seen at Universal's Florida, Japan, and Singapore parks. [10] Restaurant chain Planet Hollywood was thought to be planning on opening their largest restaurant in the area.
A heavily themed area featuring a Blues Brothers outdoor show and a Hooray for Bollywood indoor show. The area was also expected to feature an air-conditioned undercover Gramercy Park Square. [10] There was also going to be both a trackless dark-ride shooter themed to Ghostbusters and a Men in Black rollercoaster, which would have been a clone of The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal Islands of Adventure.
A boardwalk/beach themed area for kids was expected to feature Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster, Curious George takes a ride (slot car ride similar to autopia) . [10] and three attractions based on Sesame Street (a sand castle themed carousel, a live stage show and Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic ), as Sesame Workshop signed an agreement in February 2009. [11]
Epic Adventures would have been the home to Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure', Waterworld, and a new King Kong dueling roller coaster which would have been a clone of Dueling Dragons from Universal's Island Of Adventure. [10]
Legendary Heroes was expected to be the home of another incarnation of the Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride indoor roller coaster. It was also set to be the home to the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad, a copy of PortAventura's Temple del Fuego, King Tot's Oasis (an outdoor water play area combined with an indoor foam ball play zone), and Flight of the Roc (a suspended flat ride). [10]
Alton Towers Resort is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, mini golf and hotel complex. In 2021, it ranked first for attendance among amusement parks in the UK, with an estimated 1.8 million visitors.
Dubailand was an entertainment complex planned to be built in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which was owned by Tatweer. When announced in 2003 it was one of the most ambitious leisure developments ever proposed anywhere in the world costing $64.3 billion, but development has been severely impacted by global recession and Dubai's financial crisis. The development was put on hold in 2008, due to the global financial meltdown of 2007-2008, but resumed in mid-2013. Updates in 2013 showed that $55 billion had been raised towards the works.
Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts. The original park is in Tampa, Florida, and the second park is in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were also previously Busch Gardens parks in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California (1964–1979) and Houston, Texas (1971–1973). The "Busch Gardens" name was earlier used to refer to the gardens developed by Adolphus Busch near his home in Pasadena, California, which were open to the public from 1906 to 1937.
Universal Destinations & Experiences, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. They are also referred to as Universal Studios Theme Parks or Universal Theme Parks.
Universal Islands of Adventure, originally called Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and later Universal's Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part of an expansion that converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort. The resort's slogan Vacation Like You Mean It was introduced in 2013.
Universal Studios Japan (ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン) is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by USJ LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal. The park is similar in layout to Universal Studios Florida and contains selected attractions from both Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, in addition to a small number of unique attractions.
Mall of the Emirates is a shopping mall in Dubai. Developed and owned by Majid Al Futtaim Group, it opened in November 2005 and is located at interchange four on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Bawadi is a sector in the Dubailand development of the Emirate of Dubai, on the coast of the Arab's Gulf. The development is focused on amusement parks, hotel, commercial and residential buildings along a 15 city block, 10 kilometres (6 mi), transit zone. The project was first announced by the government of Dubai on 1 May 2006. The developer is Tatweer, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding. Arif Mubarak was the initial CEO of the Bawadi development.
Universal Studios Singapore is a theme park located within the Resorts World Sentosa integrated resort at Sentosa in Singapore. It features 28 rides, shows, and attractions in seven themed zones. It is one of the five Universal Studios theme parks around the world.
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.
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.
F1-X Dubai was a proposed theme park dedicated to Formula One. It would have been the first official F1 theme park and was to be built by Union Properties close to the Dubai Autodrome as part of the MotorCity section of Dubailand. Union Properties obtained the exclusive rights to build such parks, budgeting $360 million for the Dubai site and originally having plans for sites also in Europe and the Far East. The amount that Union Properties borrowed for the whole project was around $1.6 billion.
Trans Studio is the world's third-largest indoor theme park, located in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The 20,000-square-metre (220,000 sq ft), 20-metre (66 ft) high building houses the indoor theme park. Trans Studio is built on 12.7 ha with investment up to IDR 1 trillion. The indoor theme park was inaugurated by the Vice President of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla, exactly on September 9, 2009 (09-09-09). Trans Studio itself is a part of The Trans Studio World project, which will include Trans Walk and Rodeo Drive, Trans Studio, Trans hotels, and offices of Mega Bank. Under the management of PT. Trans Kalla, the Mega Development Project will provide an integrated development, comprising not only an indoor theme park, but also shopping mall, supermarket, hotel, office area, recreational beach area, and residential area. The whole project was scheduled to be completed sometime in 2010.
Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster was a junior roller coaster located at Universal Studios Florida. It was the park's first roller coaster and the first roller coaster constructed at Universal Orlando Resort. The coaster was built in 1999, between the outside queue area for E.T. Adventure and the original location of Hard Rock Cafe. The attraction was permanently closed in January 2023.
Since the early 2000s, DreamWorks Animation, an American animation studio, owned by NBCUniversal, has had an involvement in the creation and theming of amusement park rides and attractions. This article details the ventures of DreamWorks Animation in amusement parks.
IMG Worlds of Adventure is an indoor amusement park in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai, situated within the City of Arabia, along Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road.
Motiongate Dubai is a Hollywood-inspired theme park located in Dubai Parks and Resorts, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, showcasing five themed areas and attractions dedicated to popular feature films and other media franchises like DreamWorks Animation, Columbia Pictures, Lionsgate, and The Smurfs and was opened on December 16, 2016.
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.
In the desert outside the city stands the shell of the last large-scale leisure development – a 107-square-mile entertainment complex called Dubailand which was meant to house the world's largest array of theme parks. The signs for what would have been Universal Studios are whipped by the sand, and its gate leads nowhere.