Dubailand

Area Overview

Dubailand represented a grand plan for entertainment and recreational development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that was developed by Tatweer, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding. The project that was opened on 23 October 2003 was considered to be one of the biggest entertainment projects ever to have been offered and had a rough cost of about US64.3 billion. It was put on hold in 2008 due to the global financial crisis and the resultant decline in the property market in Dubai in 2009. 

Elegant Homes Offering World-Class Facilities

The initial master plan spanned a total of some 278 square kilometers, which is approximately twice the size of Walt Disney World, and consisted of 45 large projects and over 200 small projects. It had reached its high point with 22 projects in construction at a time. Dubailand was planned into six themed destinations, these included Attractions and Experience World, Sports and Outdoors World, Eco Tourism World, Themed Leisure and Vacation World, Retail and Entertainment World, and Downtown, which was to host the largest concentration of theme parks in the world. 

One of them was the Sahara Kingdom theme park in the Attractions and Experience World, which was to cover 460,000 square meters. Based on the Arabian folklore and the tales of the Arabian One Thousand and One Nights, the Sahara Kingdom was created to combine high-tech virtual and real-life rides with the elements of a state-of-the-art gaming area, IMAX movie theater, live and computerized entertainment programs.