Bollywood Park

6 August 2018

After a long day at Motiongate, I decided to visit Bollywood Park Dubai in the evening as part of my 2-park package. It was nearly deserted by the time I got there at around sunset and some of the rides had already started closing. This didn’t bother me as most of the rides were the usual 3D/4D rubbish.

I was more interested in the shows and entertainment, so went straight to the stunning Rajmahal Theatre. I could have just stood for an hour looking at the external façade of the theatre, which was so beautiful as the lights changed colour under the night sky.

The Jaaan-e-Jigar show was brilliant, even though I really didn’t know what was going on! I think there was a love story, a missing twin brother, a death and a crazy witch, all set to some joyous music, dancing, costume and colour! I felt that the smaller shows out in the Boulevard with pretty lacklustre in comparison, but I also think that the lack of audience meant that the atmosphere, interaction and fun was not as good. The dancers still tried their best to get the few visitors remaining in to the spirit of Bollywood though.

 

I quite enjoy the game of cricket, so I did laugh at the cricket themed area of Lagaan. The little cricket ball ferris wheel (Bhuvan’s Wheel) was adorable, and the Thrill of Victory motion simulator ride was so bizarre it was entertaining. It was like going on a rollercoaster simulator mixed in with a game of cricket. This would be the first of many simulators at the park.

The Sholay: Hunt for Gabbar Singh dark ride/shoot em up was nothing special, and I was not sad that Don: the chase (another motion simulator) was already closed by the time I got there.

By this point I was feeling pretty queasy, but wanted to finish off all the rides, so continued on to RA.One: Unleashed (of the 4D variety.) I suspect that if you were really in to the Bollywood films and actors, you would get a kick out of seeing your idols in 4D, but most of the stuff went over my head.

The one exception was the final ride of the day – Krrish: Hero’s Flight, an auditorium style flying ride (Come on Dreamworld Australia – hurry up and open our first one here!!) Krrish is a pretty excellent superhero of the Bollywood world, and a perfect choice for the only decent ride at the park! I was looking forward to this ride, as they are the only motion simulator/3D/4D rides that I actually really like (quite possible because they are the only variety that don’t make me feel sick.) I was not disappointed by Krrish, unlike the rest of the park.

Bollywood felt like an afterthought, or a last minute addition to the resort which was certainly lacking in attractions compared to the other parks. I am not sure why there were no outdoor or thrill rides, and the over reliance on green screen technology and motion simulators was not great.

Bollywood is epic, and so the park really deserved much more attention to make it a great place to visit.

I was absolutely stuffed at the end of the day, with my feet and brain both aching. 2 fun parks and one zip line adventure later, I was in bed preparing for a very early start back to the airport. Germany here I come!!