Yabba dabba do in Abu Dhabi
HOLY theme parks in the desert! Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi has just opened with rides and attractions featuring the film company’s many famous characters, including Batman and Robin.
The indoor theme park, one of the world’s largest, comes with plenty of air-conditioning, gigantic Bronto burgers for fans of The Flintstones (served in ‘prehistoric car’ booths), theatrical light shows compered by Bugs Bunny, and a Museum of Mysteries in which Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma solve dastardly goings-on. Zoinks!
It’s housed in a huge golden building on Yas Island with an entrance shaped like the Warner Brothers logo. Inside are five zones: Metropolis (home to Clark Kent, Lois Lane, the Daily Planet and Superman), Gotham City (where the Caped Crusader presides amid Gothic skyscrapers, and The Joker lurks), and Bedrock (populated by the Flintstones and the Rubbles, with a lovely scenic ‘caveman’ boat ride).
Then there’s Cartoon Junction with its Tom And Jerry Swiss Cheese Spin ride in a car-sized wedge of cheese, as well as Dynamite Gulch, where Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are the stars. Here you can take the Fast and Furry-ous rollercoaster through a recreated desert landscape – slightly ironic given the baking setting outside, although it is speedy, with frightening twists above fake cacti and a mining shaft.
It is all part of the redevelopment of Yas Island, where Ferrari World opened in 2010 (home to the world’s fastest, 143mph rollercoaster) followed by Yas Waterworld in 2013. There’s also the Yas Marina Circuit, the Formula 1 venue where tourists can drive Aston Martins.
Back at Warner Bros, the Riddler ride on a rapid chute passing through a water haze is gripping. And kids will love the Cartoon Junction’s fun Animayhem ride, with its lasers to fire at baddies (although the score monitor was not working on our visit).
The highlight? Apart from The Riddler, hanging out in Fred Flintstone’s caveman car with a cool drink at the end… yabba dabba doo in Abu Dhabi!