The Ultimate Dubai And Abu Dhabi Itinerary

Disneyland is coming to Abu Dhabi, but the region already has world beating attractions (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NurPhoto via Getty Images

When Disney announced in May that its most advanced resort will be built in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) it put the country on the radar of many theme park fans. The resort isn’t due to swing open its doors for at least another five years so it might not seem like Orlando’s crown as the theme park capital of the world is in immediate danger. But in fact the UAE has already built up a collection of attractions which give Orlando a run for its money.

Although Abu Dhabi and neighboring Dubai might not sound like realistic alternatives to Orlando for many residents of the United States, it’s a very different story for tourists based in Europe. It takes around nine and a half hours to fly from London to Orlando whereas a flight to Dubai and Abu Dhabi is two and a half hours shorter. That’s just the start.

Then comes the question of whether the travelers will actually be allowed into Orlando. This has become a genuine concern for many tourists as a result of well-publicised increased scrutiny of visitors to the U.S. and unpredictable immigration interviews.

There have also been widespread reports that U.S. visa applications made by everyone from ambassadors to ordinary travelers have been declined. Indeed, in April an Indian man’s story went viral after he posted on Reddit that his visa for a two week vacation to visit theme parks in Orlando was rejected after an interview which lasted just 40 seconds.

Recent data from the National Travel and Tourism Office revealed that the number of overseas visitors to the U.S. in July fell 4.9% on the previous year, only reaching around 86.6% of the pre-pandemic level despite it being one of the busiest seasons of the year. It is the latest development in a months-long trend which also saw international arrivals fall 6.6% in June.

In contrast, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have earned a reputation for their swift border processing and allow many nationalities to enter visa-free or with an e-visa. It explains why the number of international visitors to Dubai rose 9% to 18.7 million last year whilst Abu Dhabi attracted 3.2 million international overnight guests, a 28% increase on 2023. Nowhere was this more apparent than on Abu Dhabi’s theme park hub of Yas Island which recorded over 38 million visits last year, 10% more than in 2023.

Even though Disneyland hasn’t even begun construction in Abu Dhabi yet, it still makes a natural start for a two week theme park vacation to the UAE. Yas Island is home to three theme parks which are all largely indoors to shield visitors from the intense heat which soars above 105 degrees in the summer. They all have enough attractions to justify spending a day in each one and there’s only one place to start to see how they stand toe to toe with Orlando’s theme parks.

DAY 1: SeaWorld Abu Dhabi (full day)

Forget the rustic appearance of SeaWorld in Orlando, its counterpart in Abu Dhabi transports visitors into painstakingly-detailed environments from tropical beaches to the arctic. The former looks like a Caribbean hideaway with huts which are built from bamboo and have thatched roofs. Colorful plants fill the rockwork lining the walls and waterfalls rush down beside them. Traditional baskets woven from multi-colored beads stand by bamboo fences and trees hang over the stone paths.

In contrast, the path in the polar region area seems to have been cut through a mini mountain range of snow-capped rocks. It soars so high that when you zoom in on photos you can see snow mobiles on the peaks and wooden walkways leading up to them. Pine trees are dotted around the landscape stretching right down to ground level where ice floes seem to float on the water just outside touching distance. They form part of an ingeniously-camouflaged tank for otters, sea lions and walruses.

Next door is a one-of-a-kind simulator with seats which rotate around the inside rim of a soaring LED sphere in time to the footage on it. At the heart of the park is another immersive extravaganza as footage of seascapes and schools of fish swirls dizzyingly around one of the world’s biggest wraparound screens whilst drones which look like illuminated jellyfish fill the air. It blows the Living Seas pavilion at Disney’s futuristic Epcot park in Orlando out of the water. What’s more, it’s the first SeaWorld park with no orcas.

DAY 2: Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi (full day)

Anyone who has been to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando knows that the highlight is its intricate Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land which is designed to be a world where characters from the sci-fi saga actually live. Now imagine an entire theme park with that level of detail and immersion. Welcome to Warner Bros. World.

Cleverly, the major rides in the park are hidden behind internal walls which are designed to look like caves, skyscrapers and a row of houses. It enables the rides to blend in seamlessly with the elaborate environments. In Batman’s Gotham City land some of the windows in the building facades are cracked whilst others are boarded up or have curtains which are only partly pulled to. Bricks look weathered and soot-stained, there’s graffiti on the walls, posters are peeling off them and shadows of moving people are even projected onto the windows of the train in the station.

The rides are like Disney’s finest on steroids. A Hollywood Studios favorite is Toy Story Mania, a ride that sees guests firing a virtual shooter at a 3D screen. Ani-Mayhem at Warner Bros. World does that and allows riders to interact with the scenery as well. The main event is a flight simulator which is up there with the esteemed Avatar Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Called Green Lantern: Galactic Odyssey, it sees riders soaring over psychedelically-colored planets and dueling with fire-breathing dragons. It really is like being thrust into an ‘80s sci-fi film.

DAY 3: Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (full day)

Think that Orlando is the place to go to find all the record-breaking rides? Think again. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi has Flying Aces which takes the record of having the world’s highest coaster loop at a vertiginous 63 meters. At the top of the park’s podium is Formula Rossa, which accelerates from zero to 240 kilometers per hour in just 4.9 seconds making it the world’s fastest roller coaster.

It also has the world’s only SFX Coaster, essentially a simulator on a roller coaster track. Called Mission Ferrari, the highlight comes when the ride car pulls onto a simulator table in front of a domed IMAX screen. It is followed by a loop, reverse segments and even a sideways drop. It rivals Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts at Universal Studios Orlando which is widely-considered to be one of the world’s most immersive theme park rides.

Much of Ferrari World’s theming is as breathtaking as its coasters. There’s a meticulously-designed Italian street complete with artificially-cracked pavement and a piazza filled with stone columns covered in plaster which appears to be peeling off exposing the brickwork beneath it. Ornate iron street lamps stand outside what appears to be a colorful quaint row of hoses with shutters on the windows, flower boxes in front of them and traditional terracotta tiles lining the roofs. It’s so detailed that it comes close to the level of immersion found in the Venetian-themed Mediterranean Harbour in the mighty Tokyo DisneySea.

DAY 4: Yas Waterworld (full day)

Unsurprisingly given how hot it is, the UAE is awash with world-class water parks. So many indeed that several are worth a visit. Yas Waterworld is Abu Dhabi’s finest and is the closest you can get to an Aladdin theme park without the Disney characters. Throughout it there are forts, full-size wooden galleons and signs hung on what appear to be Persian rugs. The palm tree-lined paths and actual dunes nearby add to the Arabian Nights atmosphere.

Based on local traditions, the park tells the story of a giant pearl which was washed onto a mountain in a storm. A model of it can be seen perched atop a rocky outcrop in the middle of the park and just below it is a giant bird’s nest which the slides snake out from. Several of them emerge from giant snakes’ heads and have different lighting, music and sound effects in each tube.

Unlike any other water park, the slides are combined with theme park rides. There’s a 3D theater which actually floods up to your knees as waterfalls pour in and the seats sway in time to the story on screen about how the centerpiece pearl got to the top of the mountain. There’s also a log flume with a splash so big that it’s an attraction in itself and a suspended roller coaster which weaves between the craggy stone columns supporting the slides. More than any theme park attraction, it makes riders feel like they are on a real-life version of the Death Star trench run from Star Wars.

DAY 5: Snow Abu Dhabi (half day) )

Most tourists don’t come to Abu Dhabi to put on a thick coat and stomp around a snowy landscape but theme park fans are the exception. They are on the lookout for escapist environments and they don’t get much more outlandish than setting in Snow Abu Dhabi. Located off Yas Island on Reem Mall, it looks like a scene from a Harry Potter movie.

Guests enter through a tunnel which appears to be surrounded by the roots of a tree with colorful gems embedded in the soil. The big reveal comes as they pass through it and are met with a snowy landscape with a gnarly treehouse standing at the foot of an icy slope. A conveyor belt takes visitors to the top of the slope where there’s a range of ways to return depending on how brave they are. The calmest are inner tubes, then comes an innovative tilting launched bobsled and, finally, anyone who dares can take a zipline around the park.

Birdsong plays in the background and actual igloos abound. At the top of the treehouse, a rope bridge gives a panoramic view of the park. Baubles hanging from the branches give the tree an ethereal look and cleverly, the floor is formed from soft rubber moulded to look like pebbles. There’s a carousel, bumper cars and a train for children but beware, there’s nothing Mickey Mouse about the climate which really does hover around freezing point.

teamLab Phenomena (half day)

A cross between an art gallery, a museum and a theme park doesn’t sound like it would appeal to thrill-seekers but teamLab Phenomena is an exception. The silvery structure is perched on the coast of Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island and with its wavy walls and domed roof it looks like a beached spaceship. Inside it is even more otherworldly.

A series of cavernous rooms are connected by dark corridors illuminated by images of brightly-coloured gems beamed onto the walls and floors which scatter when visitors walk over them. The rooms are packed with high-tech trickery which creates alien-like landscapes. There are no rides but many of the attractions are as adrenaline-pumping as a rollercoaster. The walls of one room are lined with mirrors whilst giant fans spin below grates in the floor. The room is filled with light-weight silver spheres which swirl through the air around guests like a tornado.

Another room is filled with a forest of soaring pillars which touch a mirror-lined ceiling making it look like they are stretching up endlessly. Colorful leaves are beamed onto the faux-treetrunks before digital rain drips down them eventually making it look like the room is flooding. The highlight is a darkened circular room with more than 1,000 multicolored lasers arranged around its rim just below a domed ceiling. The lasers converge and somehow create what looks like a circular portal to another planet which shimmers and spins. Just when it seems to be over, the portal somehow turns into what looks like a multicolored snake which weaves around in mid-air. It’s made for Instagram stuff.

DAY 6: Emirates Palace and Grand Canal (full day)

The biggest criticism of any themed hotel is usually that it looks artificial. That’s not a concern at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Originally opened in 2005 to house a meeting of the six countries that comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council, the sand-colored hotel rises from the coast near downtown Abu Dhabi like a majestic monolith. Awash with acres of marble, and dotted with gold leaf and pearl lined domes, the hotel has a wing reserved for visiting dignitaries. Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth stayed there as did King Mohammed VI of Morocco for three months. So, yes, it is an actual palace.

Looking like a real-life version of the Sultan’s Palace from Aladdin, the hotel is an attraction in itself. So much so that it even offers tours of the sprawling resort. There, visitors come across soaring mosaics made from tiny golden tiles, murals of horses and sandy indoor quadrangles with palm trees sprouting up under vaulted ceilings. Peacocks roam around the lush grounds and peer at guests bobbing by in a tube on the lazy river. It has an alcove with a waterfall pouring down in front giving it more than a passing resemblance to the pool area at Disney’s Grand Floridian in Orlando. It’s no coincidence as both hotels were designed by American architects WATG.

Opulence like that doesn’t come cheap and rooms can rise up to $1,600 a night in September. Equally impressive theming is on offer at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Canal which is around 20 minutes away and costs around ten times less. Ritz-Carlton isn’t famous for its theming but its hotel in Abu Dhabi competes with the industry’s finest. The palatial property looks like it has been uprooted from Italy with terracotta tiles on the roof and rows of Renaissance arches. It resembles a Venetian palace and even has an artificial village with olive trees in the gardens and restaurants in place of houses. Arrive around sundown and you’ll be serenaded by an opera singer in the lobby with its towering chandeliers and staff wearing period outfits. Fans of the Italy pavilion at Epcot or Universal’s Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando will feel right at home.

DAY 7: Green Planet and Museum of the Future (full day)

Around an hour away from Abu Dhabi is an attraction in Dubai which could be dropped right into Epcot’s Land Pavilion. Called the Green Planet, it is set inside a soaring cylindrical conservatory with a man-made rainforest tree in the middle. Take an elevator to the top and visitors will find free-flying birds of paradise and butterflies. You come inches away from a sloth and feel like an Ewok tottering round the rope bridges which encircle the tree. Panels explain the different layers of the canopy and the creatures that live there. Fittingly, at the foot of the tree, the roots are immersed in a huge tank teaming with piranha fish.

Leaving Green Planet will bring you to the City Walk area of shops and restaurants, which captures the ambiance and range of its namesake at Universal Orlando, with local flavors sitting alongside American favourites such as Nashville’s Hangry Joe’s, New York’s Sarabeth’s and California’s Urth Caffe.

Nearby is an attraction which combines the best bits of Epcot’s other futuristic pavilions. Despite being called the Museum of the Future, it is a world away from the dusty shelves and gothic buildings that museums are famous for. Instead, the soaring silvery egg-shaped structure looks like an alien mother-ship and the sci-fi feel continues inside. Its sparkling white walls resemble the membrane of a high-tech pod and futuristic techno beats echo around them. The museum gets off with a bang by taking guests on a simulated trip to space in a high-tech elevator lined with pin-sharp ultra-HD screens and a floor which gently sways to simulate zero gravity.

That is followed by a tabletop planetarium featuring images of planets beamed onto moving objects which magically protrude from it. Another room is filled with a bizarre collection of 2,400 jars containing laser etched images of mammals and plants. Each one is illuminated by multi-colored LED lights making it look like a high-tech mad scientist’s lab. There are also exhibits of actual cutting-edge inventions and a high-tech spa room with a silky-soft carpet. Waves projected onto it lap around the visitors’ feet making it a welcome break after days on your feet.

DAY 8: Expo City and La Perle (full day)

On the outskirts of Dubai is a futuristic district called Expo City. It is filled with avant-garde architecture, domes and soaring silvery steel umbrellas to shield visitors from the heat. There is also a unique horseshoe-shaped waterfall created by WET Design, the wizards behind many of the fountains in Disney parks. At night, the city’s centerpiece dome hosts a son-et-lumière show like no other when surreal scenes are beamed onto the inside of it. One turns the dome into a giant planetarium whilst another makes it seem like a rocket taking off as buildings scroll down the sides at speed.

Like Epcot, Expo City also has pavilions themed to technology and the environment. In the former, a trail of sparkles follows visitors’ fingers on a touchscreen showing a film about the dawn of telecoms whilst the history of transport is told by eerily-lifelike soaring statues created by WETA, the firm behind the effects in the Lord of the Rings films. In contrast, the sustainability pavilion is split into simulated trips through a rainforest and under the sea with coral-shaped corridors and handrails which look like strands of seaweed.

Like Disney World, Dubai also has a spectacular acrobatic show. Called La Perle, it is the brainchild of the late Franco Dragone, one of the leading lights behind Cirque du Soleil. Waterfalls emerge from the rafters gushing down onto the floor of the theater as the stage below slides away to reveal a pool. It sets the scene for high diving stunts and acrobatics from performers attached to rigging which enables them to appear to glide on the water. Just when it seems that it can’t surprise even more, a giant orb is lowered from above and suspended in mid-air. Four motorbikes race around the inside of it like an enclosed wall of death. They weave in and out of each other’s path almost on their sides and upside down in a loop-the-loop.

DAY 9: Wild Wadi (full day)

Days spent hotfooting around indoor parks soon have tourists longing for the outdoors and as the heat is so harsh, the best way to experience it is in a water park. Dubai has two must sees. The first is Wild Wadi which is set in a faux ruined fort and has astonishing attention to detail. Pipes are painted like tree trunks, flumes are supported by faux crumbling aqueducts, waterfalls gush through holes in the hulls of boats and sails hang overhead to protect from the searing sun. The entrance to the car park even passes under a portcullis and guests’ bags go through an X-ray machine hidden in the rock-face.

Powerful water jets propel the inner tubes up flumes and around the park giving spectacular views of the ocean. The network of flumes connects directly to many of the slides so cool water can lap over visitors as they go from one to the other. There’s also an element of the unexpected as they don’t know what type of slide they are getting into until they’re on it. It’s not for the faint hearted though as one twists and turns in the pitch dark.

Wild Wadi makes visitors feel like adventurers and that theme is continued at the Souk Madinat Jumeirah next door. Styled like an old-fashioned indoor market with a vaulted ceiling formed from wooden beams, there are traditional stalls selling woven mats, urns and lanterns alongside chains like Starbucks. One store is crammed with so many brass statues that they spill out onto the sidewalk outside. There are statues of everything from horses and lions to dragons as well as a ship’s wheel and a picture frame filled with money from all over the world. Fittingly, the neighboring hotel looks like an Indian palace and has a colonial bar. All that’s missing is a man with a Fedora and a bullwhip walking by.

DAY 10: Motiongate (full day)

Think you know all about Dreamworks rides because you’ve been on the ones at Universal’s theme parks? Think again. Dubai’s Motiongate is the largest Hollywood-inspired theme park in the Middle East and its Dreamworks rides are all unique to it. They are amongst the best in the world.

The majority of the park is outdoors and lands themed to different studios are accessible from a central plaza at the end of a street that looks like Hollywood Boulevard with a hint of New York City. The Dreamworks land is straight ahead and as it is indoors its decor isn’t exposed to the elements so it is incredibly intricate. Shrek’s swamp is dimly-lit and dotted with thatched cottages as well as reeds and artificial moss covering fake wooden logs.

There’s a ride through a life-size puppet show based on Shrek’s story while the How To Train Your Dragon land has a suspended roller coaster which twists and turns to make riders feel like they are flying. It even knocks the spots off the more basic roller coaster themed to the movie in Universal’s new Epic Universe park in Orlando. Anyone visiting Dubai between October and May should also head to Global Village in the evening. Partly designed by Disney design legend Eddie Sotto, it features pavilions themed to more than 90 countries. Shopping and food from each one can be found in stylized versions of local landmarks alongside shows and rides.

DAY 11: Legoland and Legoland Water Park (full day)

Dubai’s Legoland and its neighboring water park don’t have the most elaborate or immersive theming but are worth a visit for anyone looking for the authentic Orlando experience, especially if they have small kids in tow. Like its Orlando counterpart, the theme park has a mix of roller coasters, shows and attractions which all look like they have been made from giant colorful bricks.

The flagship coaster weaves through a Lego castle and is formed from carriages pulled by the toymaker’s trademark green dragon. A more ingenious attraction sees riders peering through portholes in submarines which look like they are made from Lego and glide through an actual aquarium. The water park is equally colorful. Brightly colored blocky floats bob down the lazy river which weaves through arch ways that look like they have been made from giant Lego bricks. Soaring yellow Lego characters stand atop the slides which are all kid-friendly.

Outside the parks you’ll find Riverland, a retail and dining area designed to look like a rustic French village. Its weathered cottages hide a range of shops and restaurants, including a tastefully integrated McDonald’s. Riverland even has a working water wheel.

Next door, the Lapita hotel is Dubai’s answer to Disney’s Polynesian and Universal’s Royal Pacific. Set in a series of buildings which look like traditional south seas pavilions, Lapita looks like it has been built with a mix of mahogany, bamboo and stone. The decor seems to have been made with materials which washed up on a beach giving it a genuine castaway appearance. In the rooms, tables are held up with bamboo poles which also surround the mirror. Lamp stands look like they have been made from reclaimed stones and baskets whilst the ceiling fan is made from mock banana leaves. It sets a high barrier for the Disney hotels coming to Abu Dhabi.

DAY 12: IMG Worlds of Adventure and IMAGINE (full day)

Few attractions in Dubai come as close to replicating ones in Orlando as those in IMG Worlds of Adventure. Another indoor park, IMG has six themed lands, three of which alone make it worth a visit. The Lost Valley is home to a simulated dinosaur chase through a jungle as well as a nippy roller coaster which heads out into the desert. The Cartoon Network land features attractions based on beloved children’s shows Ben 10, Adventure Time and The Amazing World of Gumball. However, they don’t pack the biggest punch.

IMG also has a land themed to Marvel comics which will be instantly familiar to anyone who has been to Marvel Super Hero Island at Universal’s Islands of Adventure park in Orlando. Both lands are based on Marvel’s comics, rather than its movies, but IMG’s is more immersive as its rides are hidden behind colorful facades of famous Marvel Comics’ landscapes. Two are standouts: a one-of-a-kind Hulk-themed rotating 360 degree domed theater and a simulated jet ride with super hero team the Avengers.

As it is indoors, the park lacks a nighttime show but one of the best in town can be found a short drive away at Festival City Mall. It hosts IMAGINE, a son et lumière spectacular which rivals anything at Disney’s parks but plays on a lagoon several times a night for free. The show features flamethrowers, multi-colored fountains and lasers synchronized to inspiring scenes beamed onto a 36-storey hotel and three screens formed from fountains which fan out into a fine mist. At one point a character projected onto the hotel appears to throw something into the lagoon and at that precise moment a fountain launches into the air to make it seem like the object has landed there. In other countries it would cost a pretty penny to watch it.

DAY 13: Atlantis Aquaventure and The Lost Chambers (full day)

No theme park aficionado’s visit to the UAE would be complete without a trip to Aquaventure, the world’s biggest water park. Aquaventure looks more like a country club than a water park. The slides snake through lush gardens filled with palm trees and tropical birds. Many are cleverly connected to a spaghetti-like network of lazy rivers so guests can glide on a tube from the exit of one slide and float towards the next. It’s not as serene as it sounds though as the rivers are actually anything but lazy.

One has a surf-sized wave that ripples down it every few seconds whilst others are are more like white-water rapids. There are escalator-like belts to take riders higher but they have to dismount to get to the highest slides which are in Inca-like temples. One twists and turns in pitch darkness before emerging in bright blue light as the tube glides through a clear tunnel in the middle of a giant aquarium.

At sundown, guests can head to an indoor aquarium themed to a lost city. Set to emerge from a major renovation in October, it takes guests deep into the heart of an undersea civilisation. The sea creatures are the stars as they can be seen through the viewing portals set into the cave-like walls. It is all directly connected to Atlantis, a hotel which looks like a pink undersea palace. The rooms have the air of a desert island retreat with carpet patterns which look like cracked earth, mirrors with pearled borders and lamps made from empty bottles. Even the elevators play a role with walls which look like driftwood and lights behind seaweed shapes. That’s attention to detail.

DAY 14: The Dubai Mall and Fountain (full day)

Only in Dubai are shopping malls designed to the same standard as theme parks and the grandest of them all is the Dubai Mall. Saying that it is the world’s biggest mall by area doesn’t do it justice.

Home to more than 1,200 stores, the Dubai Mall is so big that complimentary electric buggies ferry shoppers around and free phone batteries can be borrowed in case visitors run out of power on a day trip there. Aside from the shops, there is a full-size ice rink, a Kidzania theme park, a virtual reality park, one of the world’s largest aquariums, an electric go-kart track and a 24.4 meter long Diplodocus skeleton.

Even the restrooms are an attraction as each one has its own theme. One has an air of art Deco elegance as its walls are lined with black and white photos of historic cinemas, there are bronze door handles, fan-shaped light shades and mirrors framed with white bulbs just like in the boudoirs from Hollywood’s heydays. Others have an African theme with rugs on the walls and carved wooden animals standing on shelves. The entertainment even continues outside the mall thanks to a sweeping fountain show timed to footage playing on LED screens embedded in the world’s tallest tower which looms over the mall. Under renovation since summer, the fountains are set to make even more of a splash when they return next month.

—

This itinerary shows that a two week trip to the UAE can be comfortably filled with attractions to the same standard as ones at Disney and Universal parks. Of course, there are also other theme parks and attractions which aren’t on the same level as the leading ones in Orlando, as well as many more things to do which aren’t themed including beaches, museums, safari parks and trips to the desert.

The malls are filled with the same stores found in Orlando from OshKosh B’gosh, The Children’s Place and Payless ShoeSource to ACE, Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. Likewise, along with Disney and Universal staples the Rainforest Cafe and Hard Rock Cafe, there are outlets of Applebee’s, Black Tap, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, IHOP and even Orlando-based casual dining chain Tony Roma’s, once owned by Clint Murchison Jr., founder of the Dallas Cowboys.

All that is missing is a Disney park and Harry Potter attractions, both of which are heading to Abu Dhabi soon. Orlando had better watch out as the UAE is coming for its crown.