“As you set foot through the iconic Warner Bros. shield, prepare to be transported to the lands of your favorite characters for a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.” Warner Bros. Abu Dhabi
The much anticipated Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi opened last week amid a fanfare of international guests, much loved characters and thrilling rides. The new theme park, which offers twenty-nine exciting rides, completes the trio of landmark attractions that alongside neighbouring attractions, Yas Waterworld and Ferrari World, have made Yas Island the one-stop place for entertainment in the capital.
One of the world’s largest indoor theme parks, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is housed in a huge, unmissable yellow building emblazoned with characters opposite Yas Mall. The air-conditioned park is set across a series of connected lands, bringing together cartoon favourites, superheroes and villains in the form of attractions, roller coasters, shows, state of the art theatre experiences and character interactions. The central portal, the Warner Bros. Plaza houses a selection of themed restaurants, retail outlets, a cinema experience and plenty of character meet and greets.
The family-friendly amusement park offers attractions for younger children as well as older (and taller) thrill seekers. We started in Cartoon Junction, a colourful land that’s home to classic cartoon characters from Looney Tunes and Hanna-Berbara and immediately bumped into Tweetie Pie, Taz and Jerry (half of Tom & Jerry) before being spun round at top speed in a wedge of cheese. Don’t be fooled by the cute exterior of this ride (like me), inside the pastel coloured house the Tom and Jerry Swiss Cheese Spin roller coaster is a fast and furious ride.
Next up was Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and the gang searching for ghosts in The Museum of Mysteries, a more low-key ride where you find yourself on a mystery solving journey with plenty of clues and scooby snacks. Cartoon Junction is great for younger family members with lots of interactive attractions such as Ani-Mayhem, ACME factory and the colourful character carousel. Meet Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck at the hometown theatre show at various times of the day (top tip – get your ticket when you arrive otherwise you will not be permitted to enter).
Dynamite Gulch is a desert landscape that’s home to Wile. E Coyote and Road Runner, jump on the Fast and Furry-ous ride to be thrown around the mountain that reenacts one of their many, manic chases. Younger guests can jet into space with The Jetsons Cosmic Orbiter and pilot a space rocket on the Marvin The Martian Crater Crashers ride.
One of my favourite lands was Bedrock, a prehistoric replica dedicated to the world’s most famous stone age family, The Flintstones. Prepare to get wet (you sit in puddles before you even set off) on the Bedrock River Adventure as you bob around Bedrock on a log flume ride with Yabba-Dabba-Doo ringing in your ears (tip top maybe save this for last otherwise you will walk around with soggy clothes for quite a while). Grab a photo with Fred and Barney, sit in a Flintstones car and feast on a Bronto Burger or ribs accompanied by a milkshake from Mammoth Munchies.
Enter the dark land of Gotham City, where the clock perpetually reads eleven minutes part midnight, guarded by Batman aka Bruce Wayne and his sidekick Robin. If you dare, ride Riddler Revolution, where you are strapped to a rolling, spinning illuminated coaster decked out in the Riddler’s, one of the caped crusader’s notorious foes, signature purple and green colours.
Probably the most well known baddie of Gotham City, The Joker is immortalized in The Funhouse, an old school carnival style attraction where you find yourself lost in a maze of mirrors, climbing up moving stairs and negotiating through obstacles and optical illusions before descending down tube slides to exit (not suitable for those with limited mobility). Unfortunately the main attraction, Batman Knight Flight was not operational during our visit and my daughter got stuck at the top of the Scarecrow Scare Raid ride which wasn’t ideal but was sorted fairly quickly without incident.
Undeterred we headed to our final land, Metropolis home to the Justice League, the Daily Planet and my personal favourite superhero, Superman. Disappointingly the Superman 360: Battle for Metropolis was also closed but we did find our favourite ride of the whole park, Green Lantern Galactic Odyssey, a 5D theatre experience that blasts you around the cosmos at top speed, definitely not one to miss. We joined all the DC Super Heroes on the Justice League Warworld Attacks immersive ride and as we headed out we caught sight of The Flash in the main street, where incidentally it’s always sunset. Sadly we just missed meeting Superman himself who was clocking off for the day.
All the lands offer a range of dining options that range from grab-and-go selections to sit down meals in various themed cafes and restaurants, every single venue boasts its own signature dish. If you are looking for something special head to The Starlight restaurant in the Warner Bros. Plaza where you can enjoy a meal in the company of lots of different characters. I can personally recommend the coffee from the Beverly Hills Boulangerie and the nutella covered churros at Celebrity Scoop.
Bear in mind that some of the rides have height restrictions, schedule your time around shows and character meet and greets if you want see specific things. There’s plenty of shops to pick up a unique Warner Bros. Abu Dhabi souvenir, perhaps your favourite superhero cape or even a vintage comic from Treasures of Hollywood. Don’t forget to check out the photograph studio before you leave as there’s plenty of photographers capturing your memories throughout the park.
We really enjoyed our afternoon at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, in fact it far exceeded our expectations overall but especially in terms of rides, attractions and interaction with so many characters. We visited on the second day of operation so some closures were to be expected and it’s a perfect excuse to return to try those rides that weren’t operational. Luckily we didn’t experience any major queuing issues but I expect weekends will be busy especially so consider buying The Flash Pass to fast track around the park and download the app for all the park information including ride queue waiting times. If you are a keen theme park goer you may want to consider buying a Founders Pass, a limited one-time discounted offer for an annual pass or a Yas Parks Annual Pass that gives you year round access to all three Yas Island Theme Parks.
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi
Location: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Opening Hours: Warner Bros. Plaza: 10:00 am – 09:00 pm. Rides and Attractions: 11:00 am – 08:00 pm
Website: www.wbworldabudhabi.com/en
Click HERE to buy tickets online
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I was invited to visit Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. The views in this post are all my own based on my experience. Unless otherwise stated all photos © Jo Brett 2018. All rights reserved. First photo used with courtesy of www.wbworldabudhabi.com/en