Dubai+Mall

Dubai Mall Jordan Springer When it comes to Dubai’s tourist attractions, the Dubai Mall can’t be overlooked. It is the world’s largest mall, as it is about twelve million square miles and approximately twelve thousand stores. If you can name it, the Dubai Mall has it. The Dubai Mall also contains an aquarium and zoo, an ice rink, a children’s area, a movie theater, and a theme park. The aquarium is known as the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, and it has about thirty thousand animals, some of which are stored in a two million and six hundred thousand gallon tank. Entrance to this costs seventy dirham. The Dubai Ice Rink is Olympic-sized, and although it offers many different types of skating experiences, a standard, public skating session costs sixty dirham. SEGA Republic is the theme park in the Dubai Mall. As the name suggests, the park was developed in association with the Japanese game company SEGA, and as such, mainly focuses on the character of Sonic the Hedgehog. It features fourteen rides and over one hundred and seventy games. For one hundred and seventy-five dirham, it is possible to enter the park and go on all attractions, or individual passes can be purchased for prices ranging from fifteen to thirty dirham. The children’s area is known as KidZania and its theme is a miniature city where children can choose from over eighty jobs or roles. Entry can be obtained for one hundred and forty dirham. The Reel Cinemas in the mall is the largest cinema complex in the United Arab Emirates, boasting twenty-two movie screens. The Dubai Mall opened on November 4, 2008, but it was originally planned to open in 2006 and, later, on October 30, 2008. As this is only a shopping mall, no noteworthy historical events occurred there other than a few accidents. The aquarium developed a crack and eventually leaked in February of 2009, but this problem was fixed. There was also a suspected gas leak on March 31, 2012, but it was minor and had no lasting effects. There were also protests and riots in March 2015 by construction workers who were against their low wages.