Universal Studios for Dubai?

[BigAl]

It should have opened almost three years ago and quite a bit of work had been done to the site of the park before many thought it had become abandoned. However, it seems that the proposed Universal Studios park for Dubai might be back on track, according to Screamscape in their latest update:

New Theme Parks and Resorts - (11/27/12) According to this news article, Dubai’s new Mohammed Bin Rashid City project will have a theme park built as a collaboration with Universal Studios included in the first phase. Phase two will focus building the world’s new largest mall, to be called “Mall of the World”. The new “city” area will also be home to over 100 hotel facilities to accommodate the needs of the guests as well as a few golf-courses. The new city project will be developed by Dubai Holding and Emaar Properties.
“The new city will be located between Emirates Road, Al Khail Road and Sheikh Zayed Road, and will include Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens Project.” It will also be connected to Downtown Dubai and Businesss Bay through something called Cultural Crossing, which will include a number of art galleries.
Now that we have a basic rough location, does anyone know if the old Universal Studios Dubailand site that had previously begun early ground work construction falls into the site area of “Mohammed Bin Rashid City”, or will they be starting over somewhere else?

The article mentioned in that update from Zawya:

Dubai's Mohammed Bin Rashid City: Collaboration with Universal Studios, over 100 hotel facilities

Will also boast largest mall in the world and park bigger than London's Hyde Park
UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has announced the establishment of a new city within Dubai, setting new benchmarks in urban development in the region.

Comprising four key components, the new city, which will be called 'Mohammed Bin Rashid City', will feature world class leisure facilities and provide an integrated environment for the development of entrepreneurship and innovation.

The first component focuses on family tourism, and will include a park that is equipped to receive 35 million visitors and the largest family centre for leisure and entertainment in the Middle East, Africa Indian subcontinent and region.

This centre will be set up in collaboration with Universal Studios and include over 100 hotel facilities to meet the needs of visitors from the region.
The second component, focusing on retail, will feature the largest shopping mall in the world. The third component will include the largest area for arts galleries in Mena.

The fourth component will see the development of a unique area that will provide an integrated environment for entrepreneurship and innovation in the region.
Making the announcement, His Highness emphasised, "The current facilities available in Dubai need to be scaled up in line with the future ambitions for the city.

"Therefore we have to start work immediately on the third phase of development that is aligned to our Vision till 2030 and boost the UAE economy to enable it to enter a new era in which it will become the capital of entrepreneurship, arts, culture, and family tourism for over 2 billion people."

His Highness highlighted that the current accelerated growth rates require Dubai to start immediate preparations for the future because within just six years, the number of passengers passing through Dubai airport will reach more than 90 million people.

"Our development initiatives concerning infrastructure in all sectors should be aligned with this growth rate and we have the determination to reach our objectives and be the first in the region to achieve them," His Highness said.

The new city will be located between Emirates Road, Al Khail Road and Sheikh Zayed Road, and will include Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens Project.

It will be connected to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay through a crossing that will be named the "Cultural Crossing" which will include art galleries and create the largest area for arts in the region.

'Mohammed Bin Rashid City' will feature a massive park which will be 30 per cent bigger than Hyde Park in London. It will be surrounded by the largest mall in the world called 'Mall of the World', which will be capable of receiving 80 million visitors a year, and include over 100 hotel facilities to meet the requirement for accommodation.

'Mall of the World' will be connected to a family entertainment centre which will be developed in collaboration with Universal Studios International. This centre will be the largest in the region and is expected to attract 6 million visitors each year.

'Mohammed Bin Rashid City' will be designed keeping in mind global environmental standards, and will include a specialised area in creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

This area will provide an integrated environment to support entrepreneurship and attract talents looking for a platform to support their projects and innovations in various sectors, paving the way for a new economy based on knowledge, creativity and innovation.

The new city will include residential areas built on green building standards in terms of energy consumption, waste treatment and conservation of natural environment.

It will also feature a number of golf courses under well-known international names. The new city project will be implemented by Dubai Holding and Emaar Properties and will be marked as the biggest joint venture in real estate industry regionally.

The tourism sector in Dubai is growing by 13% annually; with growth in hotel revenue exceeding 22% to reach more than Dh16 billion.

The hotel occupancy rate was 82% in the year 2011, which was the highest globally, and the number of visitors to Dubai Mall reached 62 million in 2012, with 25% growth in retail sales in 2011.

The park has it's own Wikipedia Page with details about the park areas here.


So why did work on the park stop? Well here's an article I found that may answer that question (and also provide a few images of what the park should have looked like):

Universal Studios Dubailand: A Case Study on the Rise and Fall of Dubai

BY ZACHARY WILSON | AUGUST 23, 2009
They had everything they needed: Space, money, time, workers, tourists, big brands, and, perhaps most importantly, hype. Just a few years ago, the developers of Dubailand--an enormous $64 billion, 107-square-mile mega-theme park--thought they were onto something. And considering Dubai's status as the world's fastest growing destination, why wouldn't they? The daring plans included hotels, shopping, restaurants, residential space, planetariums, art, sports arenas, golf courses, resorts, spas, a beach, you name it. It was a planned city just outside a city.

And, of course, there were the theme parks. At least ten were planned, including Six Flags, Legoland, Dreamworks Animation Park, Paramount Pictures Park, and one of the most promising, Universal Studios Dubailand. From inception to its current state, Universal Studios is a perfect example of the dream that was Dubai.

April 30, 2007, Project announced
Status: Almost set in stone
Universal announces its $1.2 billion, 7-million-square-foot theme park as part of the larger Dubailand. Scheduled to open in December 2010, Universal Studios Dubailand will include five different areas, each with several rides: Surf City Boardwalk, Epic Adventures, the Land of Legendary Heroes, Hollywood, and New York City.

July 27, 2008, Groundbreaking
Status: Hopeful and positive
More than a year after the announcement, the CEO of Dubailand and the VP of Universal Studios Dubailand break ground on the park in the company of Woody and Winnie Woodpecker, a raptor from Jurassic Park and two large Nubian Guards from The Mummy movies.

September 2008, Office building built
Status: Progress!
An office building in the shape of the classic Universal Studios archway is constructed, giving hope that rides and other attractions are on their way. But the 2010 completion date is looming, and there have been no real advancements. Hmm...

January 19, 2009, Opening postponed at least to 2012
Status: Uh oh...
Two years didn't seem like enough time to build an entire park when announced, but when no significant construction took place (oh, and there was that global recession thing. Have you heard about it?), a postponement was inevitable. As is common in Dubai, execs are mum on details and the press is given "no comment" responses. Reports claim more than 50 people are laid off from the project.

June 2009, Deadzone
Status: Comatose
Various reports from Dubailand say nothing is happening at the Universal Studios site. No employees go in or out, no construction is happening, nothing stands but an office building and a few empty roads. In the city of Dubai, things are not looking good as expats flee and construction halts. The six years of boom seem to be coming to a slow end.

Aug. 3, 2009, Contracts under review
Status: Frightened. Very frightened.
Tatweer, the developer behind Dubailand and Universal Studios, is looking over its contracts very closely to try to cut costs. The fall in tourism and a general lack of financing slows the project significantly. "Progress on the theme park continues and we will announce an opening date to the market in line with project milestones," Tatweer says in a statement.

Today, Rumors of movement
Status: Unknown
Though unreliable sources claim the rumblings of construction at Dubailand, like most information coming out of Dubai, nothing is certain.

Photographer Lauren Greenfield documented the fall of Dubai in a photo essay in the September issue of Fast Company.

And finally, a link to the Universal Studios Dubailand website.

 

[Sam]

Dubai seems like such a horrible place in every way.

An endless expanse of soulless charmless capitalist consumerism, taken to its logical extreme. I can't think of a single redeeming feature of Dubai whatsoever.

 

[BigAl]

I think it'd be a much better if they just scrapped the plans and built their Universal Park over here instead!

 

[TheMan]

Dubai seems like such a horrible place in every way.

An endless expanse of soulless charmless capitalist consumerism, taken to its logical extreme. I can't think of a single redeeming feature of Dubai whatsoever.

I agree with you Sam on this one, you can't even use messaging services over there! If anyone I know goes there (which they do from time to time), to use Skype for example, they have to carefully use proxy servers just to contact their friends/family.

It is completely removed from the sparkly and gold aura that you get shown from here.

All that glitters...

I think it'd be a much better if they just scrapped the plans and built their Universal Park over here instead!

Was in not Universal who released those plans for a park over here on the Thames?

 

[Ted]

I think it'd be a much better if they just scrapped the plans and built their Universal Park over here instead!

Was in not Universal who released those plans for a park over here on the Thames?

No that was Paramount.

 

[BigAl]

Though Universal were apparently interested in the UK for a theme park many years ago. I don't know anything about that old project though.

 

[BigAl]

Looks like this project might be back on track, according to sources on The Theme Park Guy.

 

[BigAl]

Screamscape has spotted an article which shows that the park is still in talks, but Meraas Holding is sorting out Merlin Entertainments' Legoland park first.