Saudi Arabia has opened a $1 billion theme park featuring record-breaking rides as part of a broader push to strengthen and diversify the country’s economy.
After four years of construction, Six Flags Qiddiya City opened its doors to thrill seekers on New Year’s Eve.
The park’s 28 attractions include Falcon’s Flight which is the longest, tallest and fastest rollercoaster in the world, with a height of 195m and a top speed of 155mph, according to Six Flags.
Also featured in the theme park are the world’s tallest pendulum ride Gyrospin, a triple launch rollercoaster Spitfire and the world’s tallest tilt rollercoaster, the Iron Rattler.
The theme park is the first US-based Six Flags’ first to open outside North America.
It is also the first operational part of Qiddiya, a large entertainment and sports complex located on a desert mountain cliff on the outskirts of Riyadh.
It has already been a hit with locals since its opening, with thousands of Saudis paying the 325 riyals ($87) adult ticket fee to enter.
Jonathan Ingham visited the new theme park due to its sheer number of record-breaking attractions and to visit a new country he had been curious about for a while.
He found the park’s staff ‘incredibly accommodating and friendly’ and the prices of food and drink reasonable.
He told Metro: ‘The park itself is absolutely beautiful and exceptionally clean too, even whilst areas around the park itself are still under heavy construction and development.
‘However, the operational success of most attractions during my visit was less than acceptable.
‘Over two days on park I managed to get on a total of 10 attractions – one ride on each.’
He said the ‘Go Faster’ passes were sold out and the queue times were ‘significantly long.’
Although the park has not encouraged Mr Ingham to visit Saudi Arabia again, he said the hospitality he received as a Westerner travelling solo will happily make him visit again.
Omar al-Arabi took his three children to the theme park last week and enjoyed how it was not ‘gimmicky’.
He told the Financial Times: ‘Everything they did from scratch.
‘It’s very culturally relevant. It fits the environment. It fits the culture.’
A Formula 1 racetrack, a World Cup stadium and a performing arts centre will also be eventually joining the site.
Qiddiya is owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has used the fund to drive an ambitious reform programme to diverse the country’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil revenues.
Saudi Arabia forces were forced to reconsider spending priorities when the country’s finances came under pressure in recent years due to lower oil prices.
The country is also under pressure to meet deadlines ahead of hosting major events, including Expo 2030 and the 2034 Fifa World Cup.
Managing director of Qiddiya Investment Company, Abdullah al-Dawood, said that the project was expected to generate 7,000 jobs and contribute 2.5 billion riyals ($686 million) to the country’s GDP.
Some of the gigaprojects faced delays and budget overruns.
The Qiddiya project was first unveiled in 2018 and the first phase was supposed to open in 2022.
Despite the delays, Saudi officials are optimistic the theme park’s opening will help attract tourists and convince citizens to spend their money inside the country rather than abroad.
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