New rides make fun fairs popular

Street-side fun fair zones are hubs of DSF festivity and excitement, with huge numbers of families enjoying the rides and participating in competitions. They are crowded not just on weekends but on weekdays as well.

Yousif Mubarak, administration director of Dubai Shopping Festival, said: "The zones feature the newest rides, from different parts of the world for DSF. They have been chosen very carefully and the safety of the structures is assured. The rides have been installed to cater to many age groups.

"The fun-fair zones are considered to be one of the main activities that attract a large number of families," added Yousif.

The number of visitors fun-fair zones receive are rising every day. Last week, Al Riqqa Street attracted 600,000 people and the visitors to Al Muraqqabat were around 250,000, while Al Seef Street got 200,000.

Yousif added that the Global Village Fun Fair zone has the biggest attendance from visitors. At least 70 per cent of families visiting the village make it a point to participate in the fun fair activities.

The Global Village zone is one of the largest in the world and have been expanded to over 30,000 square metres.

It has 120 big rides, giving audience the chance to enjoy the different ones for the first time. Some rides have even been made just for the Dubai Shopping Festival.

A new ride this year at the Global Village are the Extreme Kangaroo, a fast ride for adults and children and this has been brought here from Spain. Others are the Eurostar, Motorshow, Frisbee and Typhoon, all famous abroad.

These games are made to certain criteria, especially for DSF. There is the Giant Ferris Wheel, which attracts visitors and is now one of the main features of the Global Village fun fair. Its capacity is 400 people per ride, and the wheel itself is 70 metres high. A huge slide for children is the only one in all fun fairs in the Middle East.

The number of rides on Al Seef Street has crossed 30 and are suitable for all ages. The rides on Al Riqqa Street are different from those featured in previous years. There are more games for all ages.

The number of games on Al Muraqabbat Street is over 40 and are suitable for all ages.