MysteryPackage

I usually prefer to sit it out while other people ride The Smiler, and most times those who've wanted to ride have been through the single rider queue. Maybe I've been lucky, but I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes or so for them even on busy days. Just time to grab a drink from the shop and have a sit down on the rocks for a few minutes!

The United Arab Emirates has been getting a lot of attention recently, with four major new theme parks having opened in Dubai over the last few months. I went out there back in March with 130 others on a trip with the European Coaster Club to discover what all the fuss was about. Over the course of five days we visited Legoland Dubai, IMG Worlds of Aventure, Ferrari World, Motiongate, Bollywood Parks Dubai, Sega Republic and some smaller Family Entertainment Centres housed in the giant malls out there. Sadly, Sega Republic has since closed down - it had a fantastic Gerstlauer spinner. The parks are all very high quality, and as you'd expect have the latest and greatest in ride technology. Given the climate, many of the rides are indoors inside huge air conditioned buildings, although there are a few rollercoasters outside. Unfortunately that's not always a good thing - the Blue Fire clone at IMG Worlds of Adventure is already feeling rough, only having been sat outside in the desert conditions for a few months. Luckily, Formula Rossa at Ferrari World (famous for being the world's fastest rollercoaster) provides a brilliant ride. It's acceleration is intense, and knocks our own Stealth out of the water. My favourite coaster of the trip was Flying Aces at Ferrari World. It's Intamin's version of a wing coaster, and is amazing from start to finish - they haven't gone silly with inversions, and it is largely made up of graceful sweeping curves, a huge non-inverting vertical loop, and a finale barrel roll. It's smooth, and very awesome. My favourite park was a bit of a surprise, which I'd not have guessed before visiting: I loved Bollywood Parks Dubai for it's theming and range of great simulator rides. For a park which lacks a single coaster, it punches above its weight. It just proves that, even if you have no idea who any of the characters are or what the story behind any of the IPs is, with some good ride design, hardware and storytelling, you can create a brilliant guest experience. If you get the chance to visit, I'd highly recommend a trip to the UAE. Although everything out there is a bit less familiar, Dubai and the parks are quite Western and the people are very friendly. You may have heard the rumours, but I found that if you obey the rules and show a little courtesy toward the local customs, you'll have no problems at all. I've written up my experiences in a lot more detail, together with photos and videos, on my website. If you're interested in reading more, you can find it at: https://www.themeparkjames.co.uk/trips/2017/ecc-arabian-adventure-uae/

I think they've done a spectacular job - as Benin says, it'll look better once the roof garden has had time to bed down. Most other parks would have just painted it grey/green and have done with it.

Rude, but so honest :-p And don't mess with LePaigeHalil_ ... rumour has it she eats rather unusual "food". Cheers Peaj for organising another fantastic day! Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

It doesn't shine directly in people's eyes, more like around them. It would be like the tunnel effect, but more encompassing than it is now. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Lasers on lift hills can work really well, but the problem with the one on X is they've chosen to site it at the bottom of the lift. It gets partially blocked by the train/riders. While it's fun to put your arms up into the light, it messes up the light tunnel effect a bit. I think if they could get it at the top of the lift shining back down then they'd end up with a much better effect. Efteling managed to do it perfectly with Vogel Rok.

No worries. Hopefully lots of vids of future meets to come! Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Here's my video from the meet up: Hope you enjoy it!

It was fantastic to meet you all on Saturday - thanks for making me feel welcome! Oh, and sorry for breaking your spoons. No, scratch that. I'm not sorry at all. I'll try and get a video together over the next few days.