Dubailand is an entertainment complex being built in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which is owned by Tatweer. When announced in 2003 it was one of the most ambitious leisure developments ever proposed anywhere in the world costing $64.3 billion, but development has been severely impacted by global recession and Dubai's financial crisis. The development was put on hold in 2008 but resumed in mid-2013. Updates in 2013 show that $55 billion has been raised towards the works.
Development
Dubailand was announced on 23 October 2003. It will have an area of and include 45 "mega projects" and 200 sub projects. To date, there are currently 22 projects under construction. Dubailand is divided into six zones : Attractions and Experience World, Sports and Outdoor World, Eco-Tourism World, Themed Leisure and Vacation World, Retail and Entertainment World, and Downtown. It will be twice the size of Walt Disney World Resort, and will be the largest collection of theme parks in the world; however, no theme park in Dubailand will surpass Disney's Animal Kingdom as the world's largest theme park. The Sahara Kingdom theme park, situated in the Attractions & Experience World, will cover and will combine high end virtual and physical theme park rides, attractions such as a state of the art gaming zone, IMAX theater, and integrated live and virtual entertainment shows, together with a retail zone, four hotels and residential accommodations. The theme of the development is traditional Arabian folklore and the tales of One Thousand and One Nights. In 2006, planning permission was granted for the Great Dubai Wheel, a giant Ferris wheel with 30 passenger capsules, to be built and managed by the Great Wheel Corporation. It was expected to open in 2009, at a cost of over AED 250 million. In January 2012 it was announced that the Great Dubai Wheel would not be built. In 2008, most of the developments in Dubailand were put on hold and virtually all of the staff and workforce were fired due to 2007–2010 Financial crisis. DreamWorks announced plans, on 19 January 2008 to build a theme park in Dubailand. On 4 March 2008, Tatweer announced a strategic alliance with Six Flags to build the Six Flags Dubailand theme park. On 1 May 2008, Tatweer announced the launch of Freej Dubailand. Freej Dubailand will boast hotels totalling 2,600 keys, and feature retail, food and beverage outlets, as well as a spectrum of entertainment attractions. On 2 May 2008, it was announced that the design and conceptual master plan for a MarvelSuperheroes theme park had been finalized, the first of its kind. It will include 17 rides and attractions on a development. It will also comprise nine retail outlets on an area of. Over 40 food and beverage outlets, including carts merchandising light refreshments, will be developed over. On 6 May 2008, Tatweer announced a strategic alliance with Merlin Entertainments Group to build a Legoland park in Dubailand. The project will cost Dh912 million, occupy a total of, and will feature more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions geared towards families with children ages 2 to 12. At this point, Dubai Properties Group took over Dubailand from Tatweer. United States companies Six Flags and DreamWorks dropped out of their projects, losing interest in the site. In September 2012, Dubai Properties Group announced the revival of the Mudon residential community project, estimating the completion of the project at around 18 months. Construction on the site resumed in early 2013, with the 72,000 square-meter Dubai Miracle Gardens opening at the beginning of March. In October 2016, Legoland Dubai was opened at Dubai Parks and Resorts, 35 km from Dubailand. In December 2016, Motiongate Dubai, which incorporates DreamWorks' attractions, opened at Dubai Parks and Resorts.
