City Walk Jeddah bids farewell
Held under the theme ‘Together All Year,’ the annual entertainment fest brought a world of fun and delight to residents and visitors
The second City Walk in Jeddah ended on Wednesday after 45 days of shows, activities and performances from international stars.
The event opened on April 24 to provide entertainment with the theme “Together All Year.” Organized on an area of 282,000 square meters, the City Walk had 10 subzones representing different thematic experiences such, Anime Village, BBQ Yard, DJ Station, Horror Village, Splash, Wonder Wall, and Roller Disco, Fashion Village, Movie Land and Carnival.
The Movie and Carnival zones featured performers strolling among visitors, circus dance shows and filming and production studios for youngsters. Visitors told Arab News they loved the event.
Ash Rafie, a 17-year-old Tunisian resident in Jeddah, visited City Walk three times with his friends and loved the games and attractions. “City Walk for me is the best thing here in Jeddah, maybe in all Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He said it was sad to see it end just before the school summer holidays. “It is closing at a bad time! I would like it to close at the end of the vacation because I really like this place.”
Kristina, 36, a visitor from Romania, said that City Walk was enjoyable. “People are very friendly and fun … the scary sub-zone was very captivating.” Rayan Jameel, 21, who travels from Makkah to Jeddah for work, said he left his office a day early “to just catch up with my friends here and get to see this unforgettable place.”
Anime Village and Horror Village were the best zones for him.
Hassan Yamani, a Saudi who has lots of TikTok followers, said he visited City Walk nine times with his friends and the Horror Village the most. “To be honest the Horror Village was extra thrilling, I tried all horror experiences today with my friends including the school … a jail and court. We were very scared but it was super fun.”
The Horror Village experience included three mazes, a haunted house, stunts performed for visitors and actors playing zombies, ghosts and monsters.
Inside the village, there is a justice court, police station and a prison, where visitors are taken to all the three stations to gather photos of the most famous and dangerous criminals in history.
Another attraction in the village was a “Psycho Maze” where inmates of a psychiatric hospital were on the loose, and an abandoned haunted school that turned students and teachers into zombies.
The village also features a Saudi restaurant called Trend based on the American horror movie “Pennywise.”
Abdullah Salem, a Saudi who traveled from Riyadh, said: “I toured all the sub-zones twice, I really liked it all here.” “I did not expect that City Walk would be this great. I am into Japanese culture, and I loved the Anime Village so much.” The arcade games area witnessed tremendous traction from youngsters. Maya Mohammed, a 12-year-old Saudi visitor, who came with her family played air hockey with her aunt at the arcade games area. There were also machines for Tetris, Pac-man and other games.
She also loved the roller coasters and the Carnival sub-zone. “It is really fun, you can scream all the time there.”
Maya’s mother said: “The place here is worth visiting, the efforts compared to the previous version of City Walk indeed varies in terms of the number of activities and games varieties.”
The Carnival sub-zone featured four main experiences, such as “Iconic Brides,” “Top Buzz,” “Big Wheel,” and “Artistic,” in addition to nine fun games and three restaurants. Another Saudi national, Elyas Al-Ghamdi, 16, liked the stage area most as he is a huge fan of music and DJs. “They are playing beautiful music all the time,” he said.
Al-Ghamdi played all the games and loved the Splash area filled with water guns, water skiing and boats, as well as activities such as “Big Waves,” “Water Maze,” “Water Curtain.”
Clutching a stuffed animal toy he had won in a competition, Moatasim Saeed said he “loved everything about City Walk ... everything is joyful here, especially the Anime Village.”
The Fashion Village this year included a retro skating disco area with the 1980s and 1990s vibes. According to City Walk, 950 people used to visit the rollerskating area each day. Tuesday was free entry day to those in 1980s costume.
Visitors to the Fashion Village enjoyed soulful music played by three Saudi and one international DJs, who performed in the middle of the ring to everyone’s thrill.
City Walk also featured over 20 restaurants offering cuisine from all over the world. Drive-in allowed visitors to eat inside a classic car while enjoying watching a film.
City Walk was also an attraction for high-profile visitors from around the world including South Africa’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mogobo David Magabe and his diplomatic delegation, as well as superstars of WWE such as Rhea Ripley, LA Knight, Omos, Karrion Kross & Scarlett, and Rick Boogs who visited in March and enjoyed games, rides, and dined.
People are very friendly and fun … the scary sub-zone was very captivating. Kristina
Visitor from Romania