Explore the 5 best things to do in Dubai with kids. Dubai is a dream holiday destination for most families and this was true for my family as well. From desert safaris to indoor snow parks, this post about the ultimate Dubai Family Experience highlights the top 5 activities that guarantee fun and excitement for both kids and parents. Dubai is a dream holiday destination for most families and this was true for my family as well.
The Ultimate Dubai Family Experience: 5 Kid-Friendly Activities You Can’t-Miss,
Are you on the hunt for the ultimate family adventure? Look no further than the dazzling city of Dubai. From enchanting gardens to heart-pumping thrills, this Middle Eastern gem offers an array of kid-friendly activities that will leave both children and parents wide-eyed with wonder. Get ready to embark on an unforgettable journey as we dive into the top five must-visit destinations that will make your family’s time in Dubai truly magical. Whether you’re seeking to explore an enchanting garden or experience the wonders of an underwater zoo, this article will guide you through it all. So fasten your seatbelts, because we’re about to discover a world of excitement that awaits in the stunning city of Dubai.,
From the hotel stay at the finest luxury resort – Atlantis the Palm, to exploring Aquaventure Waterpark (the water park) which came as a complimentary when you stay at the hotel, creating treasured and mad memories in the 12 days we had allowed our children to be thoroughly engaged in exploring new cultures.
5 Best things to do in Dubai with Kids.
5 Best Things to do in Dubai with kids – #1 Visit Aquaventure Waterpark
The first thing out of the 5 best things to do in Dubai with kids is to visit Aquaventure Waterpark. If you are staying at Atlantis The Palm, you will get a complimentary visit but if you decide to stay elsewhere, get a ticket online and experience all Aquaventure Waterpark has to offer.
It is great with kids of all ages and adventurous family men will particularly like this place. The rides are unique in their ways. There is Posehttps://13weekstravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/perfect-ceramics-for-plates.jpg’s Revenge – My husband’s favourite where you step into a capsule that is equipped with terrifying trapdoors, then you wait for the floor to fall from beneath your feet and plummet you at speeds of about 40 mph before you’re turned upside down.
There is Zoomerango – A less intense family ride that sits 6 people in a raft. It also has various mega drops and vertical zooms. It’s the gentle highlight of the park.
The Tower of Neptune has more adrenaline-pumping rides including the Leap of Faith’s ride which hurls you vertically down a clear water slide surrounded by Sharks at crazy rapid speeds.
There’s also Shark Attack, a calm ride through dark tunnels and then suddenly, you make it into a huge tank filled with Sharks.
There is The Stringer, The Falls, The Plunge, and The Surge. All these ring rides are set at varying levels with excruciating joy, gasps, and heart-pounding moments at each ride.
To have maximum satisfaction, we spent three days at Atlantis, the Palm, and Aquaventure Waterpark, and yet, we didn’t have enough time to enjoy the fine white sand man-made beach which is exclusively for the use of the residents at the hotel.
The Atlantis Aquaventure is everything – the trills, the screams, the gasps, the fun. It is completely magical and that is why it is the first thing on our list of the 5 best things to do: Dubai with kids.
5 Best Things to Do in Dubai with Kids – #2 Experience the luxury of the Mall of Emirates
The next thing from the 5 best things to do in Dubai with kids is to experience the luxury, the culture, and the restaurants at The Mall of Emirate. The Mall of Emirates is located along the popular Sheikh Zayed Rd, Al Barsha. It has a Metro /monorail stop – the Dubai Metro is new, sophisticated, and well-run. It connects most of the major sights and comes with a specially designed carriage for families and women. Children under five travel free on public transport. Alternatively, you can get to the Mall of Emirates by Taxi. Taxis are comfortable, efficient, and affordable. There is a huge amount of supply and respect amongst the drivers in the Taxi ranks. Hence, it was easy to move around.
The Mall of Emirates is also home to five hotels which confused us when we arrived there because each entrance we saw was through one of the hotels so we thought we were at the wrong place.
We first visited the Magic Planet – which is a massive arcade with mind-blowing racing simulators, trampolines, video games, rides, bowling, amazing attractions, in fact, everything to keep children aged 4 to 16 and adults alike entertained for hours. We got a card on site which we loaded with 525 AED and we got 950 AED on it. It was a bargain for all the activities we were able to do. The card is then swiped at the entrance of each attraction. This made it easier for us to choose what we wanted to do amid a lot of choices. We spent the entire morning at the Magic Planet then we headed to Ski Dubai after lunch.
Experience the magic of Ski Dubai
Experience the magic of Ski Dubai, where you can enjoy a snowy wonderland in the middle of the desert.
Located in the Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East. Step into this winter wonderland and let your kids immerse themselves in the joy of snow. Whether they are seasoned skiers or absolute beginners, Ski Dubai offers something for everyone.
Start by donning your skiing gear, provided by the resort, and glide down the slopes of the 85-meter-high indoor mountain. Feel the rush of adrenaline as you navigate the twists and turns, or simply take in the breathtaking view of the surrounding snow-covered landscape.
For little ones who are not yet ready to hit the slopes, the resort offers a dedicated Snow Park area. Let your children build snowmen, have snowball fights, or slide down the slopes in specially designed tubes. It’s a winter playground that will have their faces lit up with pure joy.
If skiing or snow play isn’t your thing, Ski Dubai also offers the opportunity to meet and interact with adorable penguins. Watch their playful antics as they waddle around in the specially designed-penguin enclosure. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance for your children to get up close and personal with these fascinating creatures. The basic ticket entry for Ski Dubai comes with a full snowsuit, socks, and snow boots which is all the snow clothing you’ll need except for gloves. It has a huge slope, chair lift, bobsledding, zorbing, and snow tubing amongst many other activities, we felt like we were in the middle of The French Alps. We were beginners so we found an area where we could take some gentle turns and tumbles harmlessly. We also saw budding ski champs like the ones that perform during the Winter Games ski the 400 m and perform some amazing stunts.
The play area for children was super fun as well and my girls enjoyed the bumper cars the most.
The facilities at the Mall of Emirates are world-class. The mother’s room was special. It was such a big space with comfy sofas, drinking water, baby changing facilities, baby food warming facilities, and a diaper machine if you wanted to buy one.
5 Best Things to do in Dubai with kids – #3 Get Adventurous at Dubai Parks and Resorts
The third thing from the 5 best things to do in Dubai with kids is to get adventurous at the Dubai Parks and Resorts. The Dubai Parks and Resort are located on the famous Sheikh Zayed Road again and is also the largest theme park in the Middle East.
It consists of three theme parks and a water park:
Motiongate
Bollywood Parks Dubai
Legoland Dubai
Legoland Water Parks
and Riverland Dubai, which connects the four parks.
It is easily accessible by taxi, bus, or the Metro. We took a taxi down with a prepaid ticket which gave us entrance to three of the four parks. We opted not to visit Legoland water parks because we had the complimentary unlimited entry into Aquaventure Waterpark anyway.
The three parks we visited are
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Bollywood Parks Dubai
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Motiongate
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Legoland Dubai.
Bollywood Parks Dubai
If you grew up just like me watching movies from Bollywood then Bollywood Parks Dubai will resonate really well with you. It bought back childhood memories where we would watch Bollywood movies without English translation and still enjoy the amazing storytelling.
Bollywood Parks is enchanting and it draws you closer to understand the colorfulness and vibrancy of its culture. It brings to life the magic of India’s temples and palaces.
There are stunt-shows and 4D rides which we enjoyed but the dozens of live performances with music glaring was definitely the highlight here.
There was ‘Stars on Steps’ which is a live song-and-dance show to a backdrop image from elaborate LED screens.
There was ‘Show Me Your Jalwa‘ which offers a chance for the whole family to work on their Bollywood dance steps.
There was the ‘Kids Korner‘ which concentrated on choreography for children and it was led beautifully.
Bollywood Parks Dubai also offers beautiful replicas of the Taj Mahal ( a building in India that I’m still in awe of).
Motiongate
Motiongate Dubai
Image Credit:@13weekstravel
Even though I was familiar with movies from the Hollywood studios of DreamWorks Animation, Columbia Pictures, and Lionsgate, I wasn’t aware that there was actually a theme park that so beautifully transformed your mind to feel as part of all the movies.
As you enter Motiongate, you will find Studio Central. Studio central has various restaurants and souvenir shops.
Tip: Buy a refill bottle here and as you walk around, you’ll be able to refill drinks for free throughout the theme park.
Motiongate is split into different theme lands –
There is Liongate studio – The home of Hunger Games. If you’re a fan of Hunger Games, you’ll feel right at home here.
My husband had several repeat rides on the Capitol Bullet train ride (as there were no queues) and enjoyed the Panem Aerial Tour with the girls (aged 9 and 7).
Next was the Columbia pictures studio – Home to Cloudy with a chance of meatball, Hotel Transylvania, Green Hornet, Zombieland underworld and Ghostbusters.
The Cloudy with a chance of meatball had Flint and Sam’s water adventure – expect to get wet here!
The Green Hornet is a rollercoaster ride that is made up of sudden up and down stops. It was a bit scary for my 7 years old but great fun.
The Ghostbusters is a calm ride through a dark alley where you’re given a laser gun to attack ghosts and creepy crawlers for points.
It was super thrilling and my girls can still recount their experiences on these rides word for word.
We stopped for dinner at the Baby Brent’s – A Chance of Meatball restaurant.
We briefly stop at Smurf’s village – surprisingly, it had the longest wait time to go on the ride. The wait was about 35 minutes and my girls weren’t so pleased.
Finally, we visited DreamWorks Animation studio which had different favorites like Madagascar, Shrek, How to train your dragon and Kung fu Panda. It was like we saved the best for the last!
Next was one of my favorite movies of all time Shrek. A puppeteer told the very emotional story of Shrek and Fiona which shows the Fairy tale story with all the characters of the story like Donkey, Donkey’s Dragon wife, their babies, Puss in Boots, and other characters.
Then, there was Kung Fu Panda dancing and teaching my girls his moves, there was a full theatrical performance with the cast of Madagascar, it was mind-blowing!
Legoland Dubai
Legoland Dubai has no competitors, I believe! It is absolutely fantastic! It has Lego City, Imagination, Kingdoms, Adventures, and Miniland.
Lego City
We started at Lego city and I would say it is excellent for younger children (below 8 years) the attractions here included a driving school where the children learned how to drive and obtained a Legoland driving license, a firefighter station, a boat ride, and gentle plane ride.
Imagination, Kingdom and Adventure land
These areas had amazing rides and roller coasters. We particularly enjoyed Imagination because it offered Lego Robotics which my girls enjoy at school.
Miniland
I was fascinated by Miniland as an Architect and believe me I could spend the entire day at Miniland. It was a display of Architecture, design, and creativity at its best. It had Lego models of a number of amazing skies scarpers and iconic buildings around the world. The information on the buildings was all detailed and it could easily pass as a sort of museum. There was a workspace where children could build anything they wanted to build with Lego.
Lego Robotics was on show here as well. All the iconic buildings had a robotic aspect to it. If you have a budding architect, IT engineer, robotic specialist developing in your family then you must visit Miniland at Legoland Dubai.
5 Best Things to do in Dubai with kids – #4 See Miracles at the Dubai Miracle Garden
The fourth thing from the 5 best things to do in Dubai with kids is to see Miracles at Dubai Miracle Garden.
The Dubai Miracle Garden is actually a miracle as the name indicates, you won’t expect such a breathtaking natural flower garden in the midst of a desert. Would you?
The Dubai Miracle garden is large, I mean very large. It covers an area of about 72,000 square meters of land. It is the largest natural flower garden decked with an awe-inspiring assortment of flowers – most of which are rare and thriving for the first time in the Middle East.
The garden was launched on Valentine’s Day in 2013. I don’t quite see the link because you’re not allowed to display any form of physical contact here. I was told off for resting on my husband’s shoulder as he tried to take a selfie of us.
The landscaping is exceptional and words can’t describe the beauty of the garden. The garden was well thought out as there was something for everyone.
The Disney Theme character will keep your children entertained, an award-winning airplane made of flowers complete with its engine. Japanese gardens, water fountains, and wonderful scenery for the adults.
You will easily spend a couple of hours wandering around the garden and exploring the various structures that have been creatively crafted.
If you love flowers and plants as much as I do, you need to visit @dubaimiraclegarden, it’s truly magical.
5 Best things to do in Dubai with kids – #5 Embark on a Thrilling Desert Desert.
Dubai is known for its awe-inspiring desert landscape, and a desert safari is the perfect way to immerse yourself in this unique environment. Step away from the bustling city and into a world of golden dunes that stretch as far as the eye can see. As the sun begins to set, you and your family will climb aboard a 4×4 vehicle and buckle up for an exhilarating ride through the desert.
Feel the adrenaline rush as your expert driver navigates the challenging terrain, maneuvering up and down the tall dunes with expert precision. With each thrilling ascent and heart-pounding descent, you’ll experience the true thrill of off-roading in the Dubai desert.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. Your desert safari will also include a stop at a traditional Bedouin camp, where you’ll get a glimpse into the rich cultural heritage of the region. From camel rides to henna painting, there are plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained. Don’t miss the opportunity to try sandboarding, a popular desert sport that involves gliding down the dunes on a board – it’s a thrilling experience that the kids will love.
As the night falls, settle down under the starry sky for a sumptuous barbecue dinner. Feast on a delicious spread of Arabic delicacies while enjoying mesmerizing belly dance performances and traditional music. The magical ambiance of the desert will transport you and your family to a whole new world. This is the fifth and last thing from our list of the 5 best things to do: Dubai with kids is to meet a camel at the Dubai Desert. One of the most authentic ways to experience the culture of the Emiratis ( the people of Emirates) is to escape to the desert.
The classic Dubai desert safari will include several activities in a day or half-day safari desert tour. The Desert tours vary and the package they offer varies in the experience you will get. Some activities include camel riding – best experienced in the sunset for stunning pictures, henna painting and dressing up, the golden dune bashing either in a 4-wheel drive car or on a motorbike (for families, it is best to use the 4WD vehicles), quad biking for the adventurous, soaring over the desert in a hot air balloon, holding clever Falcons, camping under the stars with entertainment from Belly Dancers and Fire Trickers. The kids will be fascinated at seeing a real camel, dining in the desert, and sand bashing across the vast desert. It is truly an experience not to be missed.
Bonus Things to Do in Dubai With Kids
Dive into the wonders of Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo
Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo is an incredible attraction that will leave your entire family in awe. Located in the Dubai Mall, it boasts one of the world’s largest acrylic panel viewing areas, giving you a mesmerizing glimpse into the aquatic world. As you step inside, you’ll feel like you’ve entered a whole new realm, surrounded by a breathtaking display of marine life.
The main highlight of the aquarium is its 10-million-liter tank, which houses over 33,000 mesmerizing marine animals. From graceful stingrays to vibrant coral reefs, there is something for everyone to marvel at. Watching the underwater inhabitants glide through the water is a truly enchanting experience that will captivate both young and old.
But the wonders of Dubai Aquarium don’t stop at the tank alone. Venture further into the Underwater Zoo, and you’ll find an array of fascinating exhibits and interactive experiences. Your children can walk through a tunnel surrounded by aquatic life, making them feel as if they are submerged in the ocean themselves. They can also explore the Rainforest, where they’ll encounter exotic reptiles, playful otters, and even a sloth.
For the more adventurous members of your family, a dive or a shark encounter experience is also available. Imagine being face to face with these majestic creatures, feeling the rush of excitement as they gracefully swim by. It’s an experience that will create memories to last a lifetime.
Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo truly offers an immersive and educational experience for the whole family. The combination of breathtaking displays, interactive exhibits, and thrilling encounters make it a must-visit destination during your Dubai family adventure.
So, get ready to embark on an underwater journey like no other as you explore the wonders of Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.,
5 Best things to do in Dubai with kids – Final thoughts
This post on the 5 best things to do in Dubai with kids is a comprehensive guide to the best family holiday in Dubai. Dubai is best visited in the winter months which is between October and March. To truly enjoy all that Dubai has to offer, it is best to stay in Dubai for a minimum of seven days.
In conclusion, Dubai truly lives up to its reputation as the ultimate destination for a memorable family experience. From exploring the enchanting Dubai Miracle Garden to having a blast at IMG Worlds of Adventure, embarking on a thrilling desert safari, experiencing the magic of Ski Dubai, and diving into the wonders of Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, this captivating city offers an array of kid-friendly activities that will leave both children and parents in awe. As you plan your trip, get ready to create lifelong memories with your children in this mesmerizing city.
Dubai’s top 5 kid-friendly activities guarantee an unforgettable adventure. So, why wait? Start your journey to Dubai and let your family indulge in the wonders of this extraordinary city. There is no doubt that your time in Dubai will be filled with joy, excitement, and a sense of wonder that will stay with your family forever.
As you explore these remarkable attractions, remember the words of Walt Disney: “Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age and dreams are forever.” Dubai offers the perfect setting for your family to dream, imagine, and laugh together. Embrace the magic and create memories that will last a lifetime.
So, pack your bags, bring your sense of adventure, and get ready for an experience like no other. Dubai awaits, and it promises to exceed your expectations. The enchantment, the thrills, and the awe-inspiring moments are just a plane ride away. Start planning your ultimate Dubai family experience today and embark on a journey that will forever be etched in your hearts.
Let me know in the comments, what you will enjoy the most on a family holiday to Dubai and how you will experience Dubai with kids.
