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DUBAI Developments & Attractions
Dubai, U.A.E.
 General Area Attraction News - (1/17/2025) Former Disney Imagineer, Eddie Sotto, wants to bring a new attraction concept called the “Thrillboard” to life somewhere in the UAE, where it would really stand out in a modern city landscape, such as Dubai. Thrillboard is described as being part billboard, part roller coaster and part observation wheel, all wrapped together in a giant tower like format where the entire outside surface is one giant video screen.
Riders would climb aboard small individual cars that could hold between 4 and 8 passengers and make their accent up the tower from the basement to the top, where they can enjoy the view for a time. Once they peak, they’ll perch on the edge briefly before taking a short but brief vertical plunge that would roll out into a family friendly style coaster ride down and around the outside of the tower, eventually taking another surprise plunge before the end.
Sotto describes the experience as being fun, but “not too scary” as they don’t want to limit the ridership to only attract thrill seekers. The Thrillboard “has a family audience.” Follow the link to read more about it and see some of the concept art. For now this is just a dream project, but you know how those have a way of becoming reality before you know it in the UAE.
(1/10/2025) The dream of taking a taxi ride across the sky will soon be a reality in Dubai. According to this report the first “Vertiport” has been approved in Dubai next to the Dubai International Airport, and is now slated to begin offering commercial air taxi operations by early 2026. The Dubai International Vertiport “will serve as the first of four strategically positioned vertiports in Dubai”, developed by Skyports Infrastructure.
The three-story Vertiport structure is designed to handle up to 170,000 passengers per year with two-landing areas and fast-charge technology for an eVTOL fleet of Joby S4 aircraft. They expect to support up to 10 aircraft landings per hour, and will eventually be networked with four other Vertiports. They say that air-transportation between the airport to locations like Palm Jumeirah can be done in 10-12 minutes, compared to a land journey by car that can take up to 45 minutes.
(9/15/2024) An interesting new attraction will soon open in Dubai called the Museum of Candy. According to reports it will feature 15 different themed rooms, each one designed in the theme of a different kind of candy. Interesting things mentioned include the claim of “free-flowing candy”, a gummy bear pool and a “cotton-candy bath” along with many other interactive stations and displays.
Oh… and the opportunity to indulge your sweet tooth on a level never seen before.
(5/19/2024) You may recall how the 2020 World Expo in Dubai was severely impacted by the COVID pandemic. In fact… it did not take place in 2020 at all, but rather was delayed to take place from October 2021 to March 2022 as a result. Despite the best attempts, I know a number of people who would have liked to have seen it simply were not willing or able to do so during that chaotic time period.
However, it is worth noting that some of 2020 World Expo will live on in the form of a new legacy museum at the site in Expo City Dubai that just opened this weekend, where you can also still see many of the structural features built for the Expo, such as the Garden in the Sky observation tower and the “Surreal” water wall. The new Expo 2020 Dubai Museum, through the use of displays, interactive content and mixed-media exhibits, will take guests on a journey back to see what the 2020 World Expo was like, with guided tours every half hour.
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