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If given the opportunity, would you go to Six Flags Qiddiya to ride Falcon’s Flight?

If given the opportunity, would you go to Six Flags Qiddiya and ride Falcon’s Flight?


  • Total voters
    69
I'd say whilst I am on two minds about it - Six Flags Qiddiya and Saudi Arabia isn't very high up on my theme park bucket list.

The country's LGBT rights issues are part of the issue for me being part of the community (despite being reasonably straight passing).

I wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable going to a country where you'd be on tip toes with your identity. It would be a lot harder for someone who fits closer to the stereotypes.

I know Poland isn't anywhere near as bad as Saudi however that country has been known for it's anti LGBT views in recent years although it's legal. My point being would Energylandia, Legendia or the upcoming Hossoland potentially be a sticking point.

It's probably different because of the scale of their anti-LGBT policies and views of the governments at those countries are at different scales.
 
Yes.

Lots of even supposedly "civilised" countries have disgusting laws. Even here in our "advanced" country, gay people couldn't get married until recently (in the grand scheme of laws) and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't go on it. I'm hoping to go to the USA, which is backwards and has places banning abortions. Do I support the laws? No.

Nobody seems to mention the clear damage to the planet by taking such a ridiculously long journey to go on a single ride in already burning heat.
Not been on a plane now in over a decade...so no thanks, it is a ridiculous land journey for a five minute ride.
Naa...Stuff the planet for future generations, get me on that coaster now.

Having children is the largest source of carbon emissions and planetary damage. I'll do my bit for the world by not having them, and do my bit against it travelling around. Quid pro quo.
 
I wouldn't go, but not just because the country has some questionable laws and customs I don't agree with. Like @Poisson said many of us wouldn't hesitate to go to the USA despite its maverick leader and misogynistic laws. I've also lived in Russia which has a terrible record for LGBT+ rights and is also systemically racist. To avoid Saudi Arabia on moral grounds would be pretty hypocritical.

I must admit I do have reservations about visiting a country where women are expected to defer to men in all respects - sorry but that just isn't happening. There's only so far I would go in terms of 'respecting local customs' as an empowered, independent woman who is used to travelling with men I'm not related to. Even if additional freedoms are granted to western visitors than local women I still think it would all be really uncomfortable and irritating to have to deal with such contrasting attitudes to what I'm used to.

It also just doesn't really appeal as a travel destination. Everything is brown and dry - there is no greenery. I don't really find deserts to be particularly beautiful or interesting places to visit, and as others have said there just isn't enough else to do in the area to make a proper trip out of it.

There's also the sense that these giant parks with seemingly limitless budgets aren't being built for the benefit of local people and it's only foreign tourists they're trying to attract. That doesn't seem like a good reason to build an attraction and even if I'm visiting a country with customs I don't agree with, I do try to travel responsibly and spend money in areas where the economic benefits will be felt by normal people. Pretty sure spending money at Six Flags Qiddiya will just be lining the pockets of the already stinkingly wealthy. Maybe they should just stick to oil?
 
I must admit I do have reservations about visiting a country where women are expected to defer to men in all respects - sorry but that just isn't happening. There's only so far I would go in terms of 'respecting local customs' as an empowered, independent woman who is used to travelling with men I'm not related to. Even if additional freedoms are granted to western visitors than local women I still think it would all be really uncomfortable and irritating to have to deal with such contrasting attitudes to what I'm used to.
In fairness, MbS’s reforms have stripped the Mutaween of all their powers now even when it comes to Saudi citizens - specifically to try and make the country much more friendly to tourism, and he’s made it very clear that any “enforcement” they attempt is limited exclusively to Sunni Muslims (and even then they can’t actually do a lot beyond some shouting - which usually gets ignored even by them these days).

I think besides the no alcohol thing it’s not really that different to the UAE now to be honest.
 
Politics, morals and ethics aside, I'm really not arsed about anything they're building. Like the Dubai and UAE parks, which I also have very little desire to visit, it all just seems so... soulless. Sure they're building the biggest coaster in the world but that doesn't mean it'll be hands-down the best (although I'm sure several of those that do end up going will proclaim it as such just because they've ridden it and you haven't).
 
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Yes.

Lots of even supposedly "civilised" countries have disgusting laws. Even here in our "advanced" country, gay people couldn't get married until recently (in the grand scheme of laws) and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't go on it. I'm hoping to go to the USA, which is backwards and has places banning abortions. Do I support the laws? No.



Having children is the largest source of carbon emissions and planetary damage. I'll do my bit for the world by not having them, and do my bit against it travelling around. Quid pro quo.
I haven't got children, and don't fly.
But it would be nice if the planet was inhabitable for other people's future generations...
 
I haven't got children, and don't fly.
But it would be nice if the planet was inhabitable for other people's future generations...
Whether or not you choose to have children, and whether or not you choose to fly regularly, is a personal choice. Not sure it's that helpful to judge others for their life choices, especially on a forum dedicated to theme parks and theme park related travel. It's probably also the sort of thing (like veganism) that should be discussed in dedicated threads where people can choose to or choose not to engage.
 
I'm not judging anyone, as you say, it is all down to personal individual choice.
I responded politely to the original post, and responded with humour.
The discussion extended, others voiced there own personal opinions, and further points were made, all following a dialogue drawn out from the original post.
All light, little heat...exactly what forums are for.
If I have a different opinion to others, I won't be brow beaten into not giving my opinion freely.
That is what thoosie forums are for.
 
In fairness, MbS’s reforms have stripped the Mutaween of all their powers now even when it comes to Saudi citizens - specifically to try and make the country much more friendly to tourism, and he’s made it very clear that any “enforcement” they attempt is limited exclusively to Sunni Muslims (and even then they can’t actually do a lot beyond some shouting - which usually gets ignored even by them these days).

I think besides the no alcohol thing it’s not really that different to the UAE now to be honest.
Getting back on topic, I do think it's easier to travel there as a woman than it used to be. However you do tend to find that culture lags behind policy - so there's still a high probability of coming up against outdated attitudes or people having an expectation that you'll behave in a certain way just because you are female. Before I moved to Russia I was given the opportunity to spend my year abroad in Kazakhstan instead - however it was made clear to me that as a young woman travelling by herself I would probably find myself overprotected by the sponsoring university and unable to live as freely as I'd choose. Even in Russia it was frustrating to deal with attitudes such as women shouldn't carry heavy items or women can't sit on the ground for fear of us damaging our reproductive organs. I guess it's something you can make yourself resilient to, but when I'm spending my hard earned cash to travel somewhere, I don't want to be made to feel irritated and patronised just because of my gender.
 
I think besides the no alcohol thing it’s not really that different to the UAE now to be honest.

Whilst they are similar in more ways than most other countries in the world, Saudis human rights record is somewhat worse than the UAE. If you’re going as a Western tourist to designated areas though you’re probably right, or it’s at least where they are heading.
Like @Poisson said many of us wouldn't hesitate to go to the USA despite its maverick leader and misogynistic laws

I can understand why people will draw a line between visiting countries where people have the freedom to protest and democratically change the laws they disagree with versus an unelected authority who directly funds a theme park for political means.

I suppose you could even argue the former is worse as those policies actively represent a sizeable portion of the population though it’s hard to compare without getting into a difficult religious/cultural conversation.
 
I've been to plenty of countries around the world with dubious ethics as part of being a tourist. This would just be one more to add to the list; however the entire park that is being built and indeed whole Middle East region just seems like a veneer without any character to me so it would possibly not be a very fulfilling trip and more of a box ticking "look where I've been" exercise, similar to how people treat Dubai.
 
I wouldn’t go a) because of the well known ethical position of the country but also because I just don’t think spending time in Saudi Arabia sounds particularly fun?

Of course the theme park looks great but beyond that, you go back to your hotel, where you’re not allowed a beer, if you have a partner you’re not allowed any public showing of affection (and god forgot you’re gay,) etc.

Just not sure that that theme park, or any theme park, is worth the cost of travel when spending time in the country outside of the park sounds so bleak.

Plenty of places to go that actually sound like places I want to visit.
 
I'm bisexual and my partner is a trans woman - despite my partner's history of visiting disney and universal as a child, and my personal love of rollercoasters, neither of us are willing to go to Florida! I don't particularly enjoy holidays when they come with a side of feeling anxious and nervous the whole time, so I just tend to visit countries that have more lax laws.

So it's unsurprising to note that I also am uninterested in travelling to Six Flag Qiddiya for the same reason.
 
I think this has been excellently articulated here already, but I think people can make their own choice as to where they draw the line on decisions like this, it’s by no means a black or white choice, and there’s plenty of reprehensible things that most countries have done.

What is hilarious (and I’m not talking about anyone here), are certain sections of people who are the first to extol their own personal virtues and be the first to criticise anyone who doesn’t fit into their moral compass, but then it all goes out of the window when there’s a NEW CRED.

Personally, I don’t feel comfortable visiting countries in this region, not primarily through any moral outrage, but because I don’t want to spend my holiday feeling nervous or uncomfortable.
 
Slavery, political assassinations and genocide tend to be pretty decent hard lines.

I also wouldn't have visited Nazi Germany for the Olympics in 1936 either, had I been born.
If that’s your take, that’s fair enough. It’s an entirely personal choice.

My point, however, is that these things aren’t black and white, and there’s an awful lot of grey in this kind of area. As others in the thread have said, there are other countries that have done/are doing questionable things from a human rights standpoint, including some “developed” Western nations. When you think of it like that, I think it does go beyond a simple black and white of “good country” vs “bad country”, and “how much human rights infraction am I willing to accept?” becomes a difficult question that different people will have very different answers to. You may draw your red line in one place, whereas another person may draw theirs in another.
 
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