The Best Theme Parks in Dubai

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If you are looking for theme parks in Dubai to celebrate your weekend, you will be spoilt for your choice. There is a slew of them, each rivaling the other. This listicle will cover all the major theme parks in Dubai.

1. Aquaventure Water Theme Park

Not the very first water park in Dubai, but arguably the largest one. Aquaventure water theme park is the largest in Dubai and the whole of the middle east and Europe combined. Size aside, how does it fare in the fun department? Quite well, in fact. It received the title of the best water park in the middle east for many consecutive years.

Another factor that draws people to this park is the location. The park is on the outermost part of palm island, right next to the Atlantis Palm hotel. The park gives a nice ocean view, especially if you are on top of the tallest rides.

Best attractions to look out for

i. The leap of faith

This is the most popular ride in the Aquaventure water theme park. As the name implies, you need a nerve of steel to try this ride. And the park does not recommend this ride if you have a full stomach. They don’t want to clean up the mess, of course. The leap of faith is a near-vertical 98 feet water slide that takes you down a transparent acrylic tunnel surrounded by sharks and rays.

ii. Shark Attack

This ride will take two riders on a tube through the transparent tunnel, passing through a large tank of sharks and rays. The ride begins from the Ziggurat at the heart of the waterpark. You plunge into the water and emerge, passing through the Shark Tank at the other end. With clear fiberglass surrounding you, you can look around and get a 360-degree view of the tank.

iii. Poseidon’s revenge

Although it is a waterslide, this ride differs from the other in the trap door, where you have to stand, open up, and drop when you least expect it. Then you fall through the 116 meters long slide from an altitude of 32 meters. This easily qualifies as one of the scariest rides in the Aquaventure park.

iv. Atlantean flyer

This zipline takes you from the waterslide tower to the zipline tower. The zipline is 65 feet above the ground. Even though that is not a dizzying height, the top speed of the zipline, which is 15 km/ hr, will get your heart thumping.

2. Wild Wadi Water Theme Park

This has a reputation for being the first water theme park in Dubai and the whole of Dubai. And the good news is that even though it is more than two decades old, it has aged gracefully. Timely maintenance and proper updates have kept the amusement park relevant even today.

The wild wadi is on the Jumeirah beach overlooking the iconic Burj al Arab hotel. 

The park is themed around the Arabian legend of Juha, the friend of Sinbad, who embarked on adventurous voyages around the world. The park also has something for every age. If you want to experience the tallest free-fall waterslide and the largest wave pool in the region, you have no option but to come here. Also, you get terrific views of the beach and Burj al Arab from here.

Best attractions to look out for

i. Jumeirah Sceirah

This is by far the most famous ride in Wild wadi park. Jumeirah Sceirah towers 33 meters above the ground and is Asia’s tallest free-fall water slide. Moreover, it carries you through a tunnel 120 meters long at a mind-blowing speed of 80 kilometers per hour.

ii. Tantrum Alley

Hold on to a ring for four, tumble down a tunnel, and get your head spinning in not one, not two, but three tornadoes along the way. 

ii. Wipeout

Try out the largest wave pool in the country. This mammoth spits out sevens tonnes of water every second. Riders can board lying down or standing up here, but only those taller than 1.1 meters can ride. So, young ones will have to wait a few years.

iv. Juha’s Journey

This ride is named after the titular character of the theme park. Juha’s journey is a lazy river where you can relax in the water on a single or double-seater tube while bobbing along with the waves. You can spend as much time as possible in this 360 meters long river. This is an excellent place to rest in between the extreme rides. 

3. IMG Worlds of Adventure

In 2016, the largest indoor theme park was opened in Dubai. This was also the first-ever fully air-conditioned theme park in the emirate. Such an expansive indoor area for fun and adventure is excellent in the hot desert climate. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be many things to do in the summer months.

The park spans an area of 140,000 square meters, nearly the size of 28 football fields. IMG world of adventure is a place to meet your favorite movie and animation characters. It is divided into IMG Boulevard, Cartoon Network, Marvel Comics, and Lost Valley Dinosaur Adventure. Even though the park was designed with younger kids in mind, even grown-ups can enjoy some rides here.

Best attractions to look out for

i. The Haunted Hotel

This one is going to get a little scary. Only those who are older than 15 are allowed inside this. The haunted hotel takes you to an unprecedented and horror-filled experience of your life. So, only go inside if you are ready for it. You will meet zombies and half-dead creatures all over the place. 

The haunted hotel is the most popular adventure ride in the IMG world. Although there are several other action-packed rides in this theme park, you will find the most queue in front of this.

ii. Avengers: Battle of Ultron

A must-visit ride for all the Marvel fans out there. Meet all your superheroes from MCU in one place and be a part of their adventure on the quest to save the day. 

iii. Forbidden Territory

See the largest of the animals ever to walk on the face of the earth. You can see them up close but beware of getting too close. The ride has a height restriction of 130 cm, which means children shorter than that cannot go on this ride.

iv. Ben 10 5D Hero Time

This interactive ride is inside the Cartoon Network zone. On top of the 3D visuals, you experience many more dimensions of the battle between Ben and Rook. Feel your seats move and the wind and splash of water on your face as both characters advance through their journey.

4. Laguna Water Theme Park

Another water park in Dubai is on the shore of the Arabian Gulf. The Laguna water park is in La Mer — a beautiful, bustling beachside attraction in Dubai. It is located right in the center of La Mer and far from Wild Wadi. But this one is pretty new and beautiful.

Laguna is not as expansive as the Aquaventure or Wild Wadi. But there are some unique rides, including a wave pool that is only the second of its kind in the whole world, here that makes a visit worth it nonetheless. Another thing that sets it apart is the slew of restaurants and shopping centers nearby. When chilling at the beach becomes impossible in the summer, you might as well go for the comfort of the cool water in the park. 

Best attractions to look out for

i. WaveOz 180 Degree Flow Rider

Despite its long and winded name, this is a surf pool. But a special one, though. Unlike the surf pools, we usually encounter that only pump the water in one direction, the WaveOz spits water 180 degrees, forming half of a circle. The pool spans a length of 187 feet. The shape of the pool makes carving the waves even more fun.

ii. Infinity pool

The infinity pool is a great place to enjoy the sea view and relax. The pool is near the access to North Beach and has cafes nearby, which makes it even better. 

iii. The Loop

This is the most popular waterslide in Laguna. Fall through the trap door from the top of the tower and pass through a series of translucent loops till you reach the bottom. 

iv. Constrictor

This ride takes regular waterslides to the next level by adding a few optical illusions. These lights create a coiling appearance to the tunnels dizzying the riders. If you dare, try this ride for a second time.

But this ride also has a weight limit for the riders and a height restriction. Only those taller than 1.2 meters and under 136 Kg can go for it.

5. Legoland Dubai

It is a part of Dubai parks and resorts. This novel children’s park has an amusement park and a water park. The famous toymaker Lego designed the park for kids 2 to 12. But in reality, the park will be better enjoyed by those from 4 to 9.

The park has six zones: Miniland, Factory, Kingdom, Lego City, Adventure, and Imagination. Two of them, Miniland and Factory, do not have rides. The factory showcases the Lego-making process, while the Miniland is a large area with replicas of several landmarks of Dubai made out of legos. Kingdom, Imagination, and Lego City are exclusively for kids. If you want to take part in some fun, then try the rides in the Adventure Zone.

Best attractions to look out for

i. Rescue Academy

The young ones can save the day by putting out the fire using the lego fire trucks. This will teach them to be brave in facing challenges and to take risks for good things. Parents can help them in their kids’ mission by helping them get through the ‘flames.’ This will be a fun activity for both parents and kids.

ii. Lego Slide Racers

You can lie down on the water slide in this waterslide and race with your friends to the bottom. There are six slides parallel to each other, meaning you can simultaneously slide together with up to six friends of yours.

iii. Build-A-Raft River

This one is a bit of a creative challenge for the younger ones. But if the kids are younger than six years, parents are required to assist them. They can build custom rafts using giant and soft legos in the lazy river.

6. Bollywood Theme Park Dubai

After the famous movie industry of India, Bollywood park is the only park of its kind in the world. The park showcases the evolution of the Indian film industry (initially based in Bombay, the old name for Mumbai, and hence the name Bollywood) over the decades. 

Here, you can experience some famous movies in India’s history of motion pictures in a new light. You can watch the latest rendition of favorite movies like Lagaan in immersive 4D. The hottest hits of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, which most of the present generation has forgotten, are immortalized in the different avenues of the Bollywood park.

The park is that unlike all the other parks on the list, there are no adrenaline-pumping rides in the park. The ones that come close to any adventurousness are 4D experiences.

Like LEGOLAND, this park is also a part of Dubai Parks and Resorts.

Best attractions to look out for

i. Bollywood Boulevard

Indian movies are known for their vibrant and gritty colors and themes. The Bollywood boulevard lives out on the stage, where plays and dance numbers are reminiscent of old movies.

ii. Mumbai Chowk

A spot that will transport you straight to Mumbai during the golden era of Bollywood. This was also a period in time when mafia bosses ruled the streets. In Mumbai Chowk, you can be a part of the movies inspired by the gang wars in Mumbai, like Don – The Chase Begins. 

iii. Royal Plaza

This is the grandest of the spots in Bollywood Park. Its structure is a cross between the Tajmahal and other Indian palaces. But this also features the latest technologies for comfort. If you check inside this theatre, you might catch some events that are going on.

Apart from hosting live events, people can book this venue for parties and weddings.

7. Motiongate Dubai

Another one is from the famous Dubai Parks and Resorts. While the IMG world of adventures is an indoor amusement park, the Motion gate is open-air. This makes it better to visit during winter when the desert heat is a lot less intense.

Motiongate Park is also themed around movies. More precisely, Hollywood movie studios. The parks are divided into Dreamworks, Columbia Pictures, Lionsgate, and Smurfs Village. Among these, Smurfs Village is not a movie production studio. But unlike the Bollywood parks, Motiongate is not as mellow. Some intense and heated rides in Motiongate will spike up the adrenaline levels in your blood.

Each zone showcases rides themed after the characters that belong to them. For example, Dreamworks features Alex and Marty from Madagascar, Columbia pictures have rides themed after Ghostbusters and Hotel Transylvania, Lionsgate have shows themed around Step-Up movie, and Smurfs Village, have you guessed it, Smurfs.

Twenty-seven rides in Motiongate can be enjoyed by both young and older children. 

Best attractions to look out for

i. Capitol Bullet Train

The Hunger Games movies inspire this scary ride. It is a half-pipe roller coaster with several inversions that will send chills down your spine. It even has a zero-g roll. If you are an adventure lover or a Hunger Games fan, put this on top of your list while visiting the park.

Look at the landmarks you will recognize from the movies all along the roller coaster route. You will find this ride in the Lionsgate section of the park.

ii. Madagascar Mad Pursuit

Probably, this is the craziest roller coaster in the park. Not only does this take you on a high-speed ride, but the tunnel through which it will pass also has some out-of-the-world visual effects to make things even better. 

This is a thrilling and sometimes dizzying ride in Motiongate.

iii. Hotel Transylvania

This might look like the Haunted Hotel in the IMG world of adventures, but Hotel Transylvania has friendlier and more fun monsters. This ride is suitable for the whole family, including young kids. Transylvania hotel is a 2800 square meters vast castle with characters from the animated movie of the same name. 

The guests are taken through the hotel inside carriages that resemble coffins. The ride will last a whole seven minutes. You will meet Dracula, Frankenstein, and many more on the way. 

8. Ski Dubai

This one is very different from the previous ones. This is also the only snow-themed park in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Ski Dubai focuses on one thing and does that one thing well. There aren’t a whole lot of rides here. The number of specific attractions in the park is 2 or 3. And out of these, the snow slope is the crowd favorite.

Ski Dubai View from below

Ski Dubai was once the largest indoor ski park globally and still is the largest in the middle east. There is an 85-meter slope that has four runs of varying difficulty levels. You can choose the one you want, depending on your skiing experience. The longest of these slopes is 400 meters. But if you are not that experienced, you will be better off going for the shortest run before you build your way up to the longer ones.

Apart from these five runs, there is also a 90 meters long freestyle course. The great thing is that both of these have chairlift accessibility. 

You don’t have to bring your ski or thermal clothing to the snow park. There is a facility to rent them near the ticket counter. But the socks and gloves are not rentable. You have to purchase them both.

Best attractions to look out for

i. The Slope

Entry to the skiing slope is based on an hourly basis. There are packages that you can choose from. But not everyone can choose what they can do on the slope alone. 

Ski Resort MOE Glass window

There are six categories of packages depending on your skill level. The rookies start at the Discovery section, where they get basic classes. Like balancing on the skies, making a turn, and coming to a complete stop.

You can access all four runs and the freestyle area with the highest skill set. You require additional passes to access the snow slope on top of the pass to get inside the snow park. If you are a tourist must experience a desert safari tour also.

ii. The Snow Park

The primary entry pass to ski Dubai will get you here. The snow park is a fun place to hang out. You can make snowmen and throw snowballs at one another. If you dare, get inside the zorb ball and roll down to the bottom of the snow hill. Other than these, you can meet some cute penguins, ride the bobsled, have a hot cup of drink, and much more.