TR: Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, July 7th, 2011
Rastus O'Ginga
After a decent night’s sleep, since I wasn’t worried about whether or
not I would get the Formula Rossa credit, I went down for my free
breakfast. Holy crap, the buffet was enormous. It had strange
looking middle eastern stuff, weird fruits on a stick, a few cereals,
hummus, strange seafoods, an omelet station (thank God), and lots of
other stuff. The bread station had some of the excellent Arabic bread
with some cheese and herbs. I took one to try, and loved it. I went
back for many more. I’d never seen such a large selection for
breakfast.
I then went and checked out, leaving my luggage with the bellhops. I
took all my free water bottles with me, and got a taxi to Ferrari
World. The driver took a different route, which got us to some
consruction. The fare ended up being about 25% higher than the day
before, but that was still only $3. Taxis are super cheap in the
UAE. Plus, my driver wasn’t scary like the night before.
One thing I saw on the way was a guy that was wiping sand off of
traffic lights! He was wiping them all off. I mean they were
spotless at that intersection. The others had a fine layer of sand
dust on them. Talk about a never ending job. And this is for an area
that has very little going on in it, except Ferrari World. I couldn’t
believe they actually pay someone to do this.
I get to the park, buy a ticket and join about 30 other people waiting
for the opening. I was the only one that headed to Formula Rossa. I
had to wait a few minutes while they finished testing, and a handful
of people joined me, including one guy and his family. He asked if FR
compared to X2 in America. That sort of surprised me. Apparently he
had been to LA, and X2 was the main coaster he remembered, and
compared to FR, not Superman!
We ended up riding the front seat together on the first train of the
day. The launch was quite good, and the front seat definitely adds to
the thrill. I went around for another ride, he ended up with me again
in the front row. This launch, my 6th overall, was just crazy. He
even commented how the second launch was much better than the first.
The airtime throughout the ride was much more pronounced on the second
ride. I took a third, and my final ride, near the middle. The launch
seemed very strong again.
I walked up and went out to the deck overlooking the track. A Ferrari
World employee was out there, noting the temperature, and watching the
coaster quite a bit. I started asking him some questions, and got
some good info. The park is very concerned about how the ride will
operate over the next few months, when the heat gets extreme. When it
is over 40, they get worried. He made a comment how the ride
manufacturer didn’t take the heat into consideration as much as they
should have. He said there were two downtimes last year, the one that
prevent R&E from riding, which he claimed was from the cable not being
the right length, apparently stretching after the first weeks of
operation. He also said they had a heat wave above 40, and had some
issues. It sounded like they did some heat management changes after
that, and that is what he was watching closely. As we talked, the
temperature went from 38 C to 43 C (109 F)!! It was fargin hot.
The guy I rode with was there too, and he asked about the seemingly
different launch speeds. The FR guy said they more weight on the
train, the faster the launch. This seems counterintuitive to me, but
who knows. He agreed the launches can change, but was acting like it
was more a 2-3 mph shift, not the obvious changes that I felt. I’m
honestly surprised the launches fluctuate, since KK and Dragster don’t
seem to, but I would guess the launches I experienced were over a
15-20 mph range.
One other thing about the FR station, they played a lot of great metal
guitar instrumentals. I think heard Satriani and Vai among other
stuff.
I finally headed into the rest of the park. There really isn’t much
there. It’s a huge building, most of the inner area is a kids car
ride, and the Italian countryside car ride. I went to the back of the
park, where the simulators are. I got a ticket good immediately for
the free simulators, which really weren’t much more than what you see
at Disneyquest, or Gameworks. They did have two upper level ones that
were in fullsize cars, with big 180 arc screens in front of then on
big motion bases. These were upcharges of about $20, and I passed.
Next I rode the countryside car ride, which was pretty lame. It was
mostly hobby shop quality trees on hilly landscape, with only a few
large models. I can’t imagine this is what they planned to do
originally, it just screamed of budget cuts.
I then got to the Made in Maranello ride, which is an Epcot type ride
that shows how Ferraris are made. It had a few neat visual effects,
but was pretty lame. I was surprised it was in English, as was
everything there. There really wasn’t much Arabic anywhere.
I then walked by the large building that housed V12. I really wish it
was still running. The park really needs another thrill ride, no
matter how lame it is. But, it sounds like V12 is down for the
count. They should try and spruce it up and salvage it.
I then got to Speed of Magic, touted as a Spider-man like ride. You
start with a preshow of a kid playing a video game when a guy named
Trickster pops out and takes the keys. You then follow him through 5
or 6 scenes, a jungle, a dessert, an ice area, and you chase him
through. The ride isn’t nearly as advanced as Spidey. Each scene is
on a 180 arc screen, and you vehicle slows moves past it. I don’t
think there was any changing reference points in the 3-D, you simply
moved past the screen. Between each movie, you went through a
slightly themed area with some physical props. At the end, you get
the Ferrari keys, and go to the unload. It’s a cute ride, but is
advertised as a family ride, not a thrill ride, and that’s correct.
I finally made it around to the dualing coasters Fiorano GT
Challenge. There are trains of 3 Ferrari Spiders, and you race
through the track, going over and under the other track. You begin
with a small drop out of the station into the first launch. The
launches are not very strong. This is supposed to simulate an F-1
race, so you slow down, take a sharp turn, and then go into a launch.
A lot of the track is underbanked, so the laterals are a bit high, and
the seats are not very good for a larger person, I just didn’t seem to
fit them with my broad shoulders. Both tracks were pretty similar,
and you cover a lot of ground, but there aren’t very big hills. I was
a bit upset that the squished “penny” machine wasn’t working, so I
didn’t get any souvenir for the ride.
That pretty much ended the loop around the park. There were a few big
restaurants, and a couple of snack stands. I noticed the drinks were
a little over $3 each.
I skipped the shot tower, which seemed to launch up pretty slowly,
then creep to the top, where you did see barely over the building, and
then drop down. It was just too damn hot to ride a lame tower.
I went through the store again, just laughing at the prices. I
understand they try and make “Ferrari” a high end brand. But you
really need a few cheap theme park tems too. I did find a Formula
Rossa magnet that was only about $6. One great souvenir is the park
map, which is very well done, and made of very thick paper, and is
very high quality. They also sold just Ferrari items too, including
chromed exhaust pipes, watches, purses, and clothing.
I got a taxi back to Shrangr-La, and tried to move my chauffeur ride
up a few hours, but couldn’t, so I have a few hours to kill. I walked
over to the Souk (mall) next to the hotel. They had a cheap Abu Dhabi
souvenir stands, chocolates, high end clothes, and a grocery store
with a non-Muslim area with Arabic SPAM!!! I got back to the lobby
and the hot concierge babe came over to me and talked for a while.
They had a guy serving coffee and dates to people. I tried the
coffee, which had cardamon in it, which smells pretty bad, and doesn’t
taste all that great either.
I fell asleep on the ride back to the Dubai airport, and eventually go
to the lovely Dammam airport in Saudi, bought some Krispy Kremes and
went to the compound. The fun was over.
-R
rob...@bellsouth.net
> I then got to the Made in Maranello ride, which is an Epcot type ride
> that shows how Ferraris are made. It had a few neat visual effects,
> but was pretty lame. I was surprised it was in English, as was
> everything there. There really wasn’t much Arabic anywhere.
Great TR.
Yes, everything is in English because the other languages blow, and
they want De Amerikens to visit. It's happening in many parts of
the world.
Well, that's good you made it out of there with your hands still
attached.
Park will die because of terrorism. The Muslim world hates everyone,
and if you're not 100% Muslim, they want you dead. Not a very
friendly place for tourists to go.
GodsOnSafari
> World employee was out there, noting the temperature, and watching the
> coaster quite a bit. I started asking him some questions, and got
> some good info. The park is very concerned about how the ride will
> operate over the next few months, when the heat gets extreme. When it
> is over 40, they get worried. He made a comment how the ride
> manufacturer didn’t take the heat into consideration as much as they
> should have.
LOL.
> The guy I rode with was there too, and he asked about the seemingly
> different launch speeds. The FR guy said they more weight on the
> train, the faster the launch.
> I then got to the Made in Maranello ride, which is an Epcot type ride
> that shows how Ferraris are made. It had a few neat visual effects,
> but was pretty lame. I was surprised it was in English, as was
> everything there. There really wasn’t much Arabic anywhere.
I think they're looking for as universal a language as possible given
the breadth of people they're trying to pull from. English fits the
bill.
> I then got to Speed of Magic, touted as a Spider-man like ride. You
> start with a preshow of a kid playing a video game when a guy named
> Trickster pops out and takes the keys. You then follow him through 5
> or 6 scenes, a jungle, a dessert, an ice area, and you chase him
> through. The ride isn’t nearly as advanced as Spidey. Each scene is
> on a 180 arc screen, and you vehicle slows moves past it. I don’t
> think there was any changing reference points in the 3-D, you simply
> moved past the screen. Between each movie, you went through a
> slightly themed area with some physical props. At the end, you get
> the Ferrari keys, and go to the unload. It’s a cute ride, but is
> advertised as a family ride, not a thrill ride, and that’s correct.
Ugh. That sounds...unappealing.
Yeah, Ferrari World sounds a lot like a destination that makes sense
if you happen to be in the area, which from a coaster enthusiast stand
point is frankly unlikely. I think I'll save my money and wait for the
inevitable Chinese attempt to beat the record at an equally
economically unfeasible state owned amusement park.
rob...@bellsouth.net
> From the discussion we had with the park during our visit, it didn't
> sound like they were too thrilled with V12 and were looking for a
> replacement option. If you want to see what the ride was like, check
> out the video we shot. It certainly wasn't very good:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSrYWGKVDso
Thanks for the video link, but I agree with everyone else. That ride
blows. And notice you DIDN'T want to get wet.
I have no desire to go on a water ride if it's going to soak me.
Especially if I can't take my shoes and socks off. If my shoes get
wet, then my feet are squishy the rest of the day. A wet shirt
causes a guys tits to become sore.
For example, I have absolutely no desire to go on the water rides at
CP, unless it's near the end of the day and I'm going back to the
hotel to get drunk. When riding Popeye or the raft ride at AK,
you're allowed to put shoes and a t-shirt in the middle compartment.
That's good, but on a ride like Journey To Atlantis in the front row,
those people get soaked, including the shoes. I ride in the back
and lift my feet up. Don't even care for that one any more. I
don't care for any water rides, except maybe splash mountain at
Disney.