New VR Park in Dubai

Dubai has another attraction: Emaar Entertainment opened the new "VR Park" in the Dubai Mall on 1 March 2018. Covering an area of more than 7,000 square metres, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are combined to create eight exciting games and experiences for all ages.

Opened in 2008, the Dubai Mall is located in Downtown Dubai and is considered one of the largest shopping centres in the world with a sales area of 350,000 square metres and 1,200 shops. In addition to more than 120 food outlets, it also houses the world's largest gold souk with 220 shops, an ice rink and a multiplex cinema with 22 screens. The absolute highlight is a huge aquarium that extends over three floors. In the 10,000 cubic metres of seawater, 33,000 sea creatures can be marvelled at. The Dubai Mall also provides access to the viewing platform of the Burj Khalifa, which towers into the sky right next door.

But that's not enough! Now the virtual wave is hitting: The new VR Park is located on the second level between Reel Cinemas and KidZania Dubai.

Lots of action and a high creep factor included

Through partnerships with some of the leading VR developers, Emaar Entertainment aims to deliver "unprecedented, innovative and lifelike experiences", according to a media release. The technology developer Starbreeze is responsible for the content, which partly uses the Hi-Fi virtual reality HMD StarVR for this purpose. For example, it will be possible in the VR Park to plunge into the depths of the Burj Khalifa during the "Burj Drop" or to go on a roller coaster adventure through Dubai in a drone taxi. A parachute jump, a balloon ride and dune bashing are also part of the programme. The direct encounters with spiders, scorpions and other creatures provide a high creep factor.

Visitors can also interact with each other and thus experience the adventures together: In the game "The Raft", for example, they grab their VR guns and defend themselves against supernatural forces - or they try to survive in a hospital infected by zombies in the apocalyptic "The Walking Dead Outbreak". Younger visitors will particularly enjoy "Geminose", where they can explore magic, music and dance on a VR carousel in a mystical world. Space explorers, on the other hand, man their own spaceship in "RobocomVR" and use it to explore a mysterious world full of aliens.

Entry to the VR Park is free of charge. For the VR experiences, however, you have to buy credits online or on site. Those who want to try out several experiences at once are well served with a Silver or Gold Pass, which entice with discounts.

Source: travel4news / VR Park