Ferrari World, the vast 40-acre theme park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, was due to open on Thursday, but the death of Sheikh Saqr Al Qasimi, the ruler of the Ras al Khaimah, one of the smaller states in the UAE, has caused this to be delayed because of a period of official mourning. The 92-year-old was one of the world’s longest-serving monarchs, having ruled the emirate since 1948.
The new theme park is hoping to attract 10,000 a day when it is fully operational. It is seen as an important element in the tourist development of Yas Island.
The planned F1X theme park in Dubai remains on hold. Work on the park stopped after the economic crash of 2009 and although the company behind it – Union Properties – has claimed that it was still trying to find $460 million in funding needed to complete construction, there is little hope of that at the moment. Union Properties is busy disposing of assets to raise money to finish building projects which are hoped will be successful, but F1X is not one of them. The company is renegotiating its debt repayments and has scrapped plans to expand in Asia and Europe. The share value of UP has fallen dramatically this year.
A true red elephant. A monument to vanity, greed and folly, built with imaginary money on the back of African slave labour, and soon to be reclaimed by the desert. Just like the nearby Burj Khalifa, future generations will look back and wonder “what on earth were they thinking…”
Tom,
Calm down… The oil is still out of the ground… All the world’s empires were built on the toil of the poor, but they do not stay poor for ever.
panem et circenses
A fantastic facility, shows why Ferrari is so different from all others.
Will they have the “Brazilian Sidekick” rollercoaster ride? That’s the one that’s not quite as fast as the more expensive ride, all the cars have #2 painted on them, and it’s uphill from start to finish.
I had the, erm, pleasure of attending the small-fry opening for the media on Wednesday and while the thing looks really impressive and stunning and beautiful (the lights! the roof!) from the outside the event itself was a disaster. Half of the attractions weren’t working, including the 240 kph rollercoaster, and the organising of things seemed not that professional. If other than media people had turned up for the opening most of them had vowed to never return again. Actually it seems as if the passing of Sheikh Saqr Al Qasimi saved Ferrari from a shameful disgrace. Quite obviously the place wasn’t ready and they had bitten off considerably more than they could chew.
10,000 people per day? That’s really ambitious. Having stayed in a hotel on Yas Island for a couple of days that would probably triple the number of people coming there. There is a Formula 1 circuit, there are two golf courses, there are a handful of very nice hotels, there’s Ferrari, and that’s it. I’d be surprised if that concept works out in the long term.
Future generations will scratch their heads we they hear we went car racing here.
@Tom – if you’re eying an apartment in the Burj Khalifa you’d better hurry up! – it’s almost 4% occupied, a year after its completion.
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