Most of the city seems to have taken off to greener pastures... for Mecca ... or a beach somewhere... or even a desert oasis. We, however, are staying put.
So, in the true spirit of a "staycation", we let the kids stay up WAAAAY later than usual then sleep in as long as they wanted. I honestly have no idea when they went to bed as I can't seem to make it past 10 pm these days. But the girls tell me they pulled their beds down the stairs sometime near 1 am (they think) to watch videos in bed...
This is how I found them this morning... in the living room! Needless to say, it was every bit of 11 am before I even started making breakfast.
Lindsey & I decided today would be our one "touristy" day & we had heard that Ferrari World was running some new rides starting this month. We haven't been to the theme park yet & the kids seemed interested. So, breakfast, baths, shoes.... & off we went!
You gotta love Abu Dhabi & their total lack of proper signage. Although we've driven past Ferrari World almost daily since we arrived here, neither Lindsey nor I had any idea how to actually GET there. In the end, we followed our gut & somehow found ourselves in the taxi queue.... going the wrong way...
No matter. If you just switch on your emergency flashers, no one gets upset & you can pretty much drive across medians, down the wrong way, against traffic, & whatever else you need to get yourself back on track. Everyone does it. As it turns out, I did not have to resort to such tricks...
The lack of proper signage combined with my awesome luck led us directly to the front of the theme park & the Valet Parking queue. Score!
Valet parking it is!!!
We handed over the keys & headed inside. To get into the actual park, you must go up an escalator, pass through a security check, then queue up for tickets. But, before you can reach the escalotors, there is some strategically placed food vendors: Starbucks & a frozen yogurt stand. You know neither Lindsey nor the kids could pass it up.
After everyone "fueled up", we were ready. Bring on the speed!!!!
Being as this is a holiday weekend, it could have been totally packed... But, surprisingly, it wasn't.
We didn't even have to wait in line for tickets. The tickets are priced by height. Yeah, height. Olivia was the only one short enough for the cheaper ticket. Everyone else had to pay the same price. A little over a 1000 AED & we were in! (That's around $350 for the 5 of us!) The ticket booth attendant said everything inside the park is included in the ticket (rides, shows, attractions) except food & souvenirs. Nice!
Did I mention that this is an INDOOR amusement park?! Air conditioning!!!! The only rides outside the huge dome are the 2 roller coasters! Score!! Olivia's height kept her from qualifying to ride those 2 coasters but she didn't feel slighted in the least.
The park is laid out with a center lattice column (you can see from anywhere) surrounded by various rides & attractions. The "front" is where you enter, the "back" is the stage for shows, & the roller coasters are on either side.
We decided to work the park in the counter clockwise direction.
The first ride we came to was the "Speed of Magic" where you race a character called "Nello" for the keys to a Ferrari (of course!!!) The ride seats 8 at a time in a kind of box car on a track. Through the use of movie projectors, slanted seating, a killer sound system, and some well placed bumps & spins, your inner ear is tricked into believing you are actually hurling through various locations (a desert, underwater, a rainforest, racetrack, etc) at impressive speeds with some equally impressive falls.
We were all a little car sick by the end of the ride & I know we probably never topped 5 miles per hour!! LOL!
As we wobbled on to the next ride, we found a penny smasher machine & the kids immediately thought of Joe Pool, our preacher back home.
It was a bit more than $.50 & a penny to gain this little gem (more like $3.50), but well worth it. We will be ready for Smashed Penny Sunday next summer. I'm sure Pastor Pool has never had a penny from Abu Dhabi! We were all just so surprised to actually find a penny smashing machine!
Since it is called "Ferrari World", it should not be a surprise that all the rides have a car or Formula 1 Racing theme. Even the "kiddie" rides are based on cars or car parts..
Junior GT (bumper cars) ...
Devin & Madeline didn't want to ride the "kiddie" stuff, so they played on their phones. One of the staff came over to give them a hard time.
This is the ONLY picture I have of Devin smiling!
Tyre Twist ..
To be honest, all the rides seem to be a variation on a ride we remember from Disney World. There's even a "little Italy" ride where you sit in a miniature of one of the various models of Ferrari's car line while you "cruise" past famous Italian landmarks ("It's a Small World" w/o the annoying song...???) .... & now we are ALL humming... Sorry...
By this time, we needed to refuel. There are actually 3 sit down resturaunts (all serving Italian, of course) inside the park. There is also a cafe, a coffee shop, a counter service resturaunt, & a consession stand. We chose the counter service.
Notice the linen napkins... real metal cutlery, .... & on the table mood lighting?! (& Devin on his phone... It's a theme, these days....)
Seriously, Abu Dhabi just doesn't do anything halfway. Even at their theme parks we had waiters, cloth napkins, & personal service.... at the counter service spot!!!
It was an amazingly tasty lunch & actually rather affordable (for theme park fare). But no time to linger; the kids had spotted the gift shop.
Ug. I personally have a love/hate relationship with gift shops. It's great fun to see what is offered, but my kids seem to think no vacation destination is complete without an overpriced, never-to-be-used-again, trinket. So it was with great trepidation that I agreed to pass through the doors.
As it turns out, the kids are getting better with the word "no". The shop offered everything from candy & toys to coffee cups & t-shirts. Lindsey & I browsed the lithographs & replica full-sized cars while the kids played on the RC racetrack. (Yes! Devin is actually NOT on his phone!)
We left after it was determined that the winner was always the yellow car, regardless of driver. So, if you're in the market for a fast Ferrari, order the yellow one.
We caught both shows - a magic show & a variety show with hints of Cirque du Soleil - then wrapped up the visit with the ride "Viaggio in Italia".
Have you ridden Disney's "Soarin'" at Epcot? This is the same ride.... but with Italty's landscape instead of California's. It's impressive; No doubt. It makes you want to get on a plane to Italy & drive the countryside ... preferably in a little red Ferrari two seater....
But, alas, the fun finally caught up with everyone & the kids were begging to just go home...
Look at those poor pitiful exhausted faces!!! LOL!
Ok. No more pictures... It's time to go get the car... Where did I put that valet ticket?
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