Middle East Fun in the Sun

Already the unlikely home to the world's first indoor ski resort, the desert oasis of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, is posed to welcome an explosion of new theme parks over the next few years. According to ArabianBusiness.com, $3 trillion (yes, trillion) worth of park and tourism projects are in the pipeline for Dubai and throughout the Middle East region. That sounds like an impossibly high figure. But there are a number of high-profile parks, including:

• Universal Studios Dubailand
• Aquaventure Waterpark in Dubai
• A Marvel Entertainment theme park in Dubai
• A DreamWorks Animation theme park in Dubai
• A Paramount Pictures theme park in Dubai
• A Warner Bros theme park in Abu Dhabi
• Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi

Six Flags has talked about joining the fray as well. Will Western-style theme park entertainment play well in the Arab world? A lot of developers are betting an incredible sum of money on it.

• Find Theme Parks Beyond the U.S.
• Aquaventure Water Park at Atlantis in the Bahamas Overview