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Motiongate

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

“High-quality theme park in the Arabian desert”

Thanks to its three theme parks, multiple hotel accommodations and large retail area, Dubai Parks & Resorts counts as one of the world’s largest theme park destinations. The resort is home to Real Madrid World, Legoland Dubai and Motiongate, a major movie-themed amusement park that features many well-known film franchises. The park is home to areas based on The Hunger Games, Ghost Busters, John Wick, How To Train Your Dragon and many others. Unlike the big theme parks in Abu Dhabi, a large part of Motiongate is located outdoors. This makes Motiongate a perfect park to visit during autumn and winter, but it’s far from ideal if you’re here during warmer months. The desert heat is almost unbearable during summer, so be sure to consider this while planning a trip to the United Arab Emirates. November until April seems to be an ideal period for a visit to Motiongate.

ROLLER COASTERS

The Lionsgate area of Motiongate is the place to be for thrill seekers. This section of the park is home to three credits, including a launched coaster manufactured by Mack Rides. Capitol Bullet Train is themed after The Hunger Games and simulates a high-speed train ride between District 12 and the Capitol. Unfortunately, the ride starts in an underwhelming way. Capital Bullet Train’s triple launch is actually one of the weakest accelerations I’ve ever experienced on a roller coaster. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a boring coaster, though. The ride runs blissfully smooth, it contains some powerful curves and both inversions are fun. So despite its powerless start and relatively short layout, Capitol Bullet Train turns out to be a fine coaster.

According to the original plans, Dubai Parks & Resorts was supposed to have four theme parks. Six Flags Dubai was slated to open in 2019, but the project was cancelled at the last minute. As some of the ordered attractions had already been delivered, the resort decided to build these rides at the existing parks. Real Madrid World (or Bollywood Parks, as it was called until 2023) received the world’s tallest Star Flyer and a large wooden coaster, while Motiongate got a spinning coaster and an S&S 4D Free Spin. The latter is currently known as John Wick – Open Contract. The ride features an incredibly well-themed queue, but the actual ride doesn’t differ from its unthemed siblings in the USA and Japan. I’ve never appreciated those sudden twists and turns on 4D Free Spin Coasters, so I’m actually happy that the ride experience doesn’t last much longer than 20 seconds.

The spinning coaster opened as Now You See Me – High Roller, based on a film series full of illusions and magic. It’s cool that Motiongate recreated a part of Las Vegas for this coaster. The ride can be accessed by walking through a replica of Fremont Street and the queue is located inside the fictional Golden Mirage Casino. It seems as if they ran out of money after building these features, though. The actual ride has no theming whatsoever. Still, High Roller delivers an enjoyable experience. Notable elements are the 17-metre first drop and something that’s considered as a ‘non-inverting loop’ by the Roller Coaster Database.

The most impressive part of Motiongate is, without any doubt, the DreamWorks section. This indoor area features attractions and characters from Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, How To Train Your Dragon and Shrek. The most thrilling rides in this area are Madagascar Mad Pursuit and Dragon Gliders. Dragon Gliders is Motiongate’s answer to Arthur at Europa-Park, since it uses the same ride system. I’ve always admired Arthur for its very smooth movements and variable speeds. Since its opening, it was obvious that other parks were going to discover this awesome attraction type. And indeed: Dragon Gliders opened about three years after the original in Germany. I sincerely apologize to Europa-Park, but Dragon Gliders is better than Arthur in every way. The dragon theme is a perfect fit for this coaster type and the ride includes some pretty solid dark ride scenes. Besides, Dragon Gliders makes perfect use of the varying speeds to build up tension.

Madagascar Mad Pursuit is the main reason to visit the Madagascar section. First of all, the queue is stunning: the circus-like setting looks nothing less than brilliant. It was also totally empty, so we immediately took our seats in one of the comfortable vehicles. The actual roller coaster ride was a huge surprise to me. Mad Pursuit contains a short dark ride section, a powerful launch and some very intense curves. I expected a rather tame family attraction, but it actually turned out to be a major thrill ride. The experience was characterized by smoothly-running trains, a surprisingly long layout and some hilarious theming elements. This may be one of the world’s best Gerstlauer creations.

Motiongate’s coaster lineup is completed by a Smurfs-themed kiddie coaster and a Gerstlauer family coaster that’s based on The Green Hornet.

DARK RIDES

The roller coasters at Motiongate are superb, but there’s more. The park obviously has all the carousels and kiddie rides you’d expect at a modern-day theme park. Besides, Motiongate offers a surprising amount of dark rides. One of the hidden gems in this segment is Shrek’s Merry Fairy Tale Journey, a trackless dark ride. If you’ve seen the Shrek films, you probably know what to expect: a fairy-tale world with some hints of sarcasm. Shrek is hilarious thanks to its subtle details and that’s not any different in this attraction. In this dark ride, the main characters are retelling their story through a puppet show and the result is very amusing. The ride is also surprisingly long and the trackless system is cleverly used in quite a few scenes. Other dark rides are themed to Hotel Transylvania, The Smurfs and Ghostbusters. The quality of these rides is very impressive, so dark ride lovers should definitely put Motiongate on their must do lists.

Motiongate is also a perfect park if you’re into 3D attractions. The most spectacular one is Unstoppable Awesomeness in the Kung Fu Panda section. The entrance to this attraction is beautiful and the queue, which winds through a Chinese garden, is even more stunning. This created some high expectations, but the ride did not disappoint. I usually don’t like 3D experiences that much, but Unstoppable Awesomeness had such a refreshing story line that it put a giant smile on my face. I wish I could tell the same about Panem Aerial Tour, but that’s not the case. This Hunger Games-themed attraction’s facade and queue are pretty, but I was quite disappointed when I discovered that it was just an Immersive Tunnel. Panem Aerial Tour turned out to be one of the weakest attractions at Motiongate, so please skip it if there’s a queue.

WATER RIDES

Dubai is one of the hottest holiday destinations on Earth. Therefore, it’s quite bizarre to notice that very few parks in the region offer a fully fledged water ride. Fortunately, Motiongate is one of the exceptions. The park has a rapid river called Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – River Expedition. The theming of this attraction will certainly appeal to foodies, as it consists of huge hamburgers, pancakes and fries. And although I loved this original idea, those decorative elements were clearly suffering from Dubai’s burning sun. The colours were faded and it looked as if some water effects didn’t function properly. The ride’s wetness was also underwhelming, by the way. I wouldn’t mind getting soaked in Dubai’s warm climate, but most riders stepped out of the raft completely dry.

WORTH A VISIT?

Yes, Motiongate is absolutely worth a visit. This park actually feels like it’s been designed by Universal or Disney creatives. The park is stunning, staff members are professional, we had a delicious lunch in the park’s main street and the ride lineup is amazing. The best attractions can be found inside the DreamWorks section, which easily surpasses the theming level of most European theme parks. So please… don’t miss Motiongate if you’re travelling to the United Arab Emirates.

Have you been able to visit this stunning theme park yet? Did you encounter crowds or was the park virtually empty? And did you enjoy the DreamWorks area just as much as I did? Share your thought in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at Motiongate during a visit in February 2025.