You’ve got one day left to enjoy the sensory overload that is the Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC), taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre.
With hundreds of things to do, from celebrity meet and greets to gaming contests, shopping and live music, it can be a little overwhelming. On the event floor, there are a few things you simply can’t miss. Joseph Gedeon tracked them down. The con is open until 11pm on Saturday.
Ziplining over the MEFCC crowds
This weekend you don’t have to be close to the Marina or the Burj Khalifa if you want to go ziplining.
At the fifth annual MEFCC you can rip across the arena for fun or even just to avoid the crowds between each booth.
But for an adolescent Scorpion of Mortal Kombat who goes by Shawn Wesley in real life, there are other reasons to glide through comic con.
“It was my idea to go on the ride,” Wesley said while staring at his dad. “Danger is my middle name.”
Samsung’s virtual roller coaster
Who knew Samsung would have a roller coaster to the 2016 MEFCC?
Not a real roller coaster of course, but once you put on the gear you wouldn’t know the difference.
The initiative by Samsung is to promote its new V4 goggles, a 4D virtual experience that users with a Samsung S6, Galaxy Note or higher can get hold of.
“This is the new V4 virtual reality gear,” Basil Al Hasan, a promoter for Samsung’s new equipment, told Gulf News. “You put on the goggles and it’s basically powered by the phone.”
After waiting in line, participants are seated side by side and strapped in with seat belts and goggles.
And then you get ready for the 4D experience that you never thought you could have.
“You look around, left-right, up-down and people are there with you,” Al Hasan continued. “There are flips and twists and you feel them — it’s really something you have to do.”
Alien hunters in the arena
This year at MEFCC you only needed a helmet, plastic gun and virtual goggles to protect yourself from an alien horde.
That’s because Meeras, a Dubai-based holding company, has introduced one of their feature attractions, the Virtual Arena, much to the delight of avid alien hunters.
“This morning when we were setting up we only had one hour to make sure everything was working,” Meraas’s general manager Jean Marc Bled told Gulf News. “We’ve been fully lined up since then.”
Virtual Arena is just one of the many attractions that HubZero, Meraas’s fully-immersive indoor amusement park, has in store when it opens in Dubai’s City Walk this May.
Ammar Shraim, the superhero
He is a superhero in more ways than one.
Along with showcasing his intricate homemade Batman costume to fans at MEFCC, he and his team of superheroes visit hospitals, orphanages and special needs training centres around the UAE to bring joy to the kids who can’t come to such events.
“Dubai Superheroes is an initiative that is meant to bring hope and happiness to special needs kids around the UAE,” Shraim, the founder of the non-profit organisation told Gulf News. “We organise entertainment, educational and interactive events for children.”
“This is our first time here and we’re glad we see so many friendly faces.”
Along with Batman, the Dubai Superheroes have an Iron Man, Spiderman, Superman and several more good guys on their side.
Selfie with a gorilla
The MEFCC is the only place you can meet a life-like gorilla without worrying about being crushed.
That’s something that Remmie France, the creator of “the gorilla guy”, is proud of.
“Obviously you can’t get this close to a real gorilla,” France said. “So everyone loves to get in and take photos.”
The gorilla act is an animatronic performer with motions and emotions controlled by a remote control.
And the Sheffield, UK, based attraction has come a long way from home to impress new fans.
“We attend zoos, theme parks and other comic cons,” France said. “But this is the first event outside of the UK, and definitely the biggest.”
Catching a Spidey loop
Jade Elward and Francesca Carlson had nothing to fear as they donned their Spiderman and Superman costumes to perform an aerial hoop show high above the Virgin stand at this year’s MEFCC.
“This is actually our first comic con,” Elward said. “We had a few shows today and the crowd gets really into them.”
And as it turns out, their act of interpretive movements while 10 metres in the air had built a crowd that would not disperse.
But for Rumours Entertainment’s two experienced hoop stars, Elward and Carlson didn’t really know what to expect when they were booked to perform.
“We live in Dubai but didn’t think so many people come ” Carlson said. “We really love the vibe.”
— Joseph Gedeon is an intern at Gulf News.
