His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubaiofficiallyinaugurated the Dh13 billion Dubai Parks and Resorts yesterday, Sunday 18th December.
AccompanyingShaikh Mohammad wereShaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the Federal National Council, Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interiortogether withother senior officials.
The Dubai Parks and Resorts site isin Jebel Ali, close to the Expo 2020 site.
Theinauguration was attended by the world'spress. Alongside them werewithtwo hundred children from the Awqaf and Minor Affairs Foundation and the Make A Wish Foundation. Attendees witnessedlive entertainment performed by dancers and actors from the resort'sdifferent theme parks.
Bollywood star "lookalikes"of movie starsShah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan danced to their popularsongs.
Oscar, Grammy and Tony Award-winning composer Alan Menken performed the attraction's theme tune, All the Wonders of the Universe, with his daughter Anna Rose. Menken had written the song for Dubai Parks and Resorts.His portfilioincludesthe scores of thehugely popular Disneyfilms Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, PocahontasandBeauty and the Beast.
After the half hourGala, there wasan enormous fireworks display.
Dubai Parks and Resorts; the 3Parks
With a footprint of around2.8 million square metres Dubai Parks and Resorts comprisesthree main theme parks. These areLegoland Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai and Motiongate Dubai.The developmenthas a phased opening, with Riverland Dubai, the central hubconnecting all the parks, open on October 31.Shaikh Mohammed, is optimisitc about theresort and its impact.He says it will become a cultural and tourist landmark that willelevate the UAE’s position as both a regional and global tourism and family entertainment destination.
Legoland Dubai is atheme parkinspired by the popular toy.Bollywood Parks Dubai is auniqueattractionfocused on the Indian film industry.
Motiongate Dubai is a movie-themed park.It will showcaseattractions and characters major studios and IPs. These includeSony Pictures, LionsgateandDreamWorks Animation. Riverland Dubaiisthe ‘reception’ or "atrium" area servingall the parks.It is a themed area with hundreds of restaurants and cafesand a river in the middle. Park guestscan stay at the Polynesian-themed Lapita Hotel, which ismanaged by the Marriott Group.
Six Flags the Fourth
“We are very proud of the destination we have created for the UAE and its visitors.We thank our partners, guests and shareholders for their support of this complex and unique destination, ” said Raed Kajoor Al Nuaimi (above), the chief executive officer of DXB Entertainments, the company that operates Dubai Parks and Resorts.
