On a recent trip to UAE, Allison and I decided to take a little road trip to Abu Dhabi. We had several reasons to make the trip, one of them being to visit the world's largest indoor amusement park, Warner Brothers World. In the UAE they're really known for two things, the dessert, and making things bigger than anyone else. They also have a lot of money to spend, and are willing to make things to the extreme. That's probably the best way to describe this massive indoor theme park. The park is split up into different themed lands, with a general city square in the middle. There's Metropolis, Gotham, Cartoon Junction, Dynamite Gulch, and Bedrock.
This is not just a mall dressed up with a few themed elements, this is a full on indoor theme park. While there are many attractions that are crunched into small spaces, there are also full sized attractions in huge rooms. I was pretty impressed at how immersive every single land was. Just walking around and taking in the atmosphere was really great. That's not to discredit the rides as many were state of the art and very entertaining. As far as if you should visit, my answer is this, if it sounds like something you'd want to check out, and you're in the area, it's well worth it.
There was however one part that really didn't live up to the hype, and that's the food. There were a few highlights, but for the most part I was kind of disappointed. The quality was all okay, and everything we ate satisfied our hunger, but I feel like there was something missing, and that's theming. Considering you have the entire Warner Brothers, Hanna Barbera and DC comics library to choose from, I was really surprised at how little themed food was available.
There were a few nods to famous foods in the theming of parks, but when it came down to actual themed foods, there was very little. Most of the food was just basic theme park treats, with a few restaurants scattered around. Most of the stores, even the ones that looked like they might have fun themed treats, where just fronts for general merchandise (t-shirts, mugs and that sort of thing). The restaurants had some nice looking and tasting food, but nothing to theme the food except a few logos thrown on.
There was one store that was a little better, and it actually had more than just a façade of a candy store. In the Gotham section there's a candy store based on Harley Quinn. Visually it was beautiful, well designed and fit the theme of the land perfectly. Having not read too many Harley Quinn comics lately, I'm not sure if she actually has a sweet tooth, but her esthetic does work well for a candy store. The candy inside was nothing amazing, but at least it looked cool.
For all my complaining about the food, there was one exception, and it was the one place that was a must visit for lunch. When we planned this trip, I noticed on the map that the Bedrock section of the park had a restaurant, and the first thing I did was check for Bronto Burgers. Fortunately they totally had them, they also offered ribs and other barbeque, which is perfect when it comes to theming a restaurant for a Flintstones themed land.
I can't say it was the best burger, or barbeque, but it was really fun to eat a Bronto Burger and barbeque in this well decorated restaurant, surrounded by Flintstones stuff.
The food at Warner Brothers World is fine, it's just not that creative, with one exception. As a writer, artist and food lover, I feel like there's so much more they could have done, particularly on the snacks and candy front. As it stands, the most common themed treats are just chocolate bars and lollipops with images of various characters. Don't let this harsh criticism change your mind about visiting this huge indoor theme park. The food is fine, and just be sure to have lunch in Bedrock.
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