Six Flags Dubailand

Six Flags Dubailand

Location	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Owner	Dubai Holding, Inc.
Area	5,000,000 square feet (460,000 m2)

Six Flags Dubailand was a proposed theme park to be built in United Arab Emirates by Tatweer Dubai LLC under a licensing agreement with Six Flags. The park was scheduled to open in November 2011, but Six Flags terminated the agreement in 2010, after Tatweer failed to make a payment due to Six Flags, breaching the contract.^[1]

History

In March 2008, Dubai Holdings, Inc. and Six Flags announced a corporate marketing alliance that would allow Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holdings, Inc., to lease the exclusive right to the Six Flags brand name in the Dubailand Development of the United Arab Emirates. According to Six Flags, this was to be the largest Six Flags to be developed outside of the United States, and the first of several products outside of the Middle East. The park was to feature thrill rides and live entertainment featuring Tony Hawk. Groundbreaking was set to begin in early 2009. Unlike other Six Flags theme parks (including Six Flags America), this one was not going to have a Looney Tunes theme in its park or any other Warner Bros. characters because Warner Bros. was planning on opening its own park in Abu Dhabi: Warner Bros. Movie World. Six Flags Dubailand was going to be the first park to be built and opened as a Six Flags since Six Flags Over Mid-America (now Six Flags St. Louis) opened in 1971.

In 2010, owing to financial difficulties, Tatweer failed to make a payment due to Six Flags under the license agreement, breaching their contract, and Six Flags terminated the agreement.^[1]

On April 10, 2014, Six Flags announced a new, separate partnership with Meraas Leisure and Entertainment to build a Six Flags-branded theme park in Jebel Ali with a scheduled launch date in late 2017.^[2]

Design

Six Flags Dubailand was designed by the Goddard Group- the Los Angeles-based design firm responsible for many popular attractions at Six Flags theme parknnmbs, including the Glow in the Park Parades and Monster Mansion. Design began in May 2008 and continued until November 2008.

Retired Six Flags General Manager Steve Calloway served as Executive Producer for Six Flags overseeing the day to day creation of the park's concept, and the Goddard Group's Taylor Jeffs served as the park's Creative Director.

While the details of the park's design have not been officially released to the public, insiders have reported that the park follows a traditional hub-and-spoke model with several innovations, including first-of-their-kind approaches to the ticketing, entry, and exit experiences. It has also come out that the park does not have lands themed to places or times, but instead designed to a collection of emotions.

Many themed entertainment industry veterans worked on the project, including James Adams, Christopher Smith, Greg Pro, James Michaelson, James Wong, Scott Sherman, Lawrence Nelson, Victor Post, Bob Baranick, Scott Wren, and Greg Maletic.

References