Dubai Parks and Resorts expansion
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Construction work has officially started at Six Flags Dubai ! 27 rides including 3 "world record breaking" ones. Also, the lands' names are based from the US Six Flags parks.

Facebook.com/dubaithemeparks

The final touches are being added to the beautiful Rajmahal Theatre.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGpJTevNZhd

Dubai Parks & Resorts (the company) is looking to trade under a new name pending a decision by shareholders.

The only reason I can see for doing this is to enable the company to dissociate itself with this specific project and seek building new parks outside of it. The loss of Dubai in the name also makes me think that they will be looking to expand into other territories.

The proposed change will be put up before the company’s general assembly, following approval from the board of directors’ meeting on June 15. Shareholders have been invited to attend the general assembly meeting on June 23 (at 2pm) at the Taj Hotel, Business Bay, Dubai.

If it meets with shareholder approval, dXb Entertainments PJSC will be the name for the corporate entity, while Dubai Parks and Resorts will continue to be the name of the region’s largest integrated theme park destination, featuring motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai, Legoland Dubai, and Legoland Water Park, opening in October this year.

Source: http://gulfnews.com/business/companies/dubai-parks-holding-company-in-possible-name-change-1.1847083

Two photos that I don't think have posted yet of a scale model of Dubai Parks and Resorts





Plus some info about the parks and future expansion plans:

Domes inspired by the royal palaces of India rise from a new Bollywood theme park under construction in Dubai, part of a drive to lure millions more tourists to the emirate.

It already boasts opulent shopping malls and numerous luxury resorts, but the Gulf city-state has even grander ambitions and the film industry is center stage.

Bollywood Parks is part of Dubai Parks and Resorts (DPR) which is being developed as the region’s “largest integrated theme park resort.”

Spread over 25 million square feet (2.3 million square meters), it will feature three theme parks and a water park.

The resort is located near the region’s busiest port and close to where Dubai is expanding its second airport to make it the world’s largest.

The Bollywood theme park, a first of its kind inspired by the Indian popular movie industry, aims with its centerpiece Rajmahal Theatre, cinemas, rides and simulators to increase Dubai’s appeal to tourists from South Asia.

“We are trying to target a wide geographic area, but of course the majority will be from India and countries in close proximity to India ... and (are) big lovers of Bollywood,” said its general manager, Thomas Jellum.

Around 14,000 construction workers are toiling round the clock to keep DPR on track for its October opening.

More than 14.2 million people visited Dubai in 2015, but the target is 20 million by 2020 when the Gulf emirate hosts the global trade fair Expo 2020.

Dubai has invested billions of dollars over more than a decade to put itself on the map as a regional business and tourism hub.

It has built a modern infrastructure unmatched by its regional peers.

And as turmoil hits traditional tourism destinations in the Middle East and North Africa, Dubai has capitalized on its reputation as a safe haven for tourism and business.

Tourism authorities have said hotel capacity was to reach 100,000 rooms in May, boasting that Dubai aims to “position itself as a top 10 global destination in terms of available hotel supply”.

Hotel occupancy stood at 85 percent in the first quarter of 2016, with average nightly revenue of $142 per available room.

To increase tourist numbers, Dubai is looking for visitors far from beyond its Gulf neighborhood.

“The benefits would be limited if we rely on markets that we are used to. We need to expand our marketing to new places,” said Dubai Tourism chief Issam Kazim.

Visitors from Gulf countries represented the largest regional group last year at 3.3 million, up 12.8 percent, with Saudis alone numbering 1.54 million.

But Indian visitors surged by 26 percent to 1.6 million, becoming for the first time the largest single nationality, while Britons rose 11 percent to 1.2 million.

“We do not want to focus on six or seven markets. We want to focus on 20 markets,” Kazim told AFP.



More theme parks in pipeline

Bollywood Parks will target visitors passing through Dubai and aims to “keep them a little bit longer”, said Jellum.

Other theme parks are also being developed to increase the number of visitors.

Next door, Motiongate Dubai teams up three major Hollywood studios -- Dreamworks, Sony Pictures and Lionsgate.

It features rides that take visitors across simulated settings like the Smurfs Village, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, among 27 attractions based on 13 popular movies.

“Our target is everybody,” said Motiongate Dubai general manager Guido Zucchi, including visitors from Gulf countries and elsewhere.

The theme parks are only the latest additions to a long list of entertainment venues in Dubai, including an indoor ski slope.
But authorities do not seem worried about saturation in Dubai’s tourism market.

“We follow a long-term strategy,” said Dubai Tourism’s Kazim.

He said authorities make sure “hotel room numbers do not rise before seeing that the number of visitors is increasing,” stressing there is “continuous dialogue between the private sector and the government” over expansion.

Motiongate Dubai is also confident.

“The tourists that Dubai is attracting every year, together with the expected ones for the following years, will absolutely be enough to create in this region an important destination, not only for tourism but also for leisure,” said Zucchi.

Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/travel-and-tourism/2016/06/05/Bollywood-Hollywood-enrolled-in-Dubai-tourism-drive.html

Thought I would share some images and quotes from TheNational link below...

At Motiongate, 14,000 workers are busy building the 27 rides and attractions inspired by 13 blockbuster films.

In spite of the searing summer heat, construction work at the region’s first theme park development is being carried out around the clock.

Source: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/tourism/final-touches-to-motiongate-in-dubai-ahead-of-october-opening---in-pictures#1

An introduction to attractions in Bollywood Parks Dubai:

It's Dubai we're talking about... they are working 24/7, in 4 months they can do the same as 8 months or more in another country.

No way is this going to be ready for October. If they open it it'll look nowhere near finished and I think everyone knows it.

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/tourism/final-touches-to-motiongate-in-dubai-ahead-of-october-opening---in-pictures

Rides unveiled at world’s first Bollywood theme park in Dubai

Visitors to the world’s first Bollywood-themed amusement park will get to fly like Indian superhero Krrish and enjoy a lavish Mughal-style banquet when it opens in Dubai in October.

The 1.7 million-square-feet Bollywood Parks, part of the Dh10.5billion Dubai Parks and Resorts complex, will have 16 cinematic rides, six themed restaurants and 30 live shows inspired by contemporary Hindi-language blockbusters, including superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Don, Salman Khan’s Dabangg and Aamir Khan’s Lagaan, as well as classics such as Sholay and Mughal-E-Azam.

Visitors will enter the park through “Bollywood Boulevard" to gain access to four other zones: Mumbai Chowk, Rustic Ravine, Royal Plaza and Bollywood Film Studios.

The park will also house the 850-seat Rajmahal Theatre, which will stage Broadway-style musicals.

“We have tried to take all the ingredients that go into a Bollywood movie and pick evergreen classics for the park that will stay with the people," says Vinit Shah, chief destination management officer of Dubai Parks and Resorts.

“We went directly to the production houses to talk about the films for the concept development and for insights for the story development for our rides."

Immersive 3-D and 4-D rides and stunts will offer visitors a first-hand look at the behind-the-scenes action for movies such as Krrish and RA.One.

The Bollywood Boulevard zone will be home to Rock On!, a restaurant with a live rock band recreating a scene from the 2008 film of the same name, starring Farhan Akhtar.

In Mumbai Chowk, Don: The Chase, will bring to life the classic car-chase sequence from the film, while the Rustic Raven zone will shine the spotlight on movies with a rural focus.

The Lagaan corner will be set up as a carnival, with a Ferris wheel, carousel and games. The ride Sholay The Hunt for Gabbar will have visitors fighting the “bad guys".

The Royal Plaza Zone will house Mughal-e-Azam, a restaurant inspired by the classic 1960s film, with a sumptuous menu inspired by the Mughal era.

The Bollywood Film Studios’ Hall of Heroes area will provide a sneak peek into the making of movies, including the coming-of-age drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Aspiring filmmakers and actors can also try their hand at filming a scene on site.

Retail outlets such as Chalte Chalte, the Bollywood Studio store, Desi Emporium and Mumbai Bazaar, all of which will sell movie memorabilia and themed merchandise, will be found throughout the park.

Thomas Jellum, the general manager of Bollywood Parks, said the park was created not only to attract Bollywood fans but people from all over the world who are curious about one of the biggest film industries in the world.

“As a European, I find the concept of the park so unique," he says. “It has a flavour that is not too spicy and will be entertaining for everyone. A lot of people are already aware of Bollywood, and for them coming here will be a good education in the industry and what it has to offer, as well."

Source: http://www.thenational.ae/arts-life/well-being/rides-unveiled-at-worlds-first-bollywood-theme-park-in-dubai