Motiongate
Theme Park Review
Earlier this year, Missy and I had the chance to visit a couple of theme parks in Dubai, UAE. It was something I had wanted to do since our last visit to the region back in 2019. At that time, I had only had the pleasure of visiting Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. So, after being totally blown away by that park, I was eager to give some other parks in the U.A.E. a try.
By now, you should know that I’m an avid fan of Disney and Universal parks around the globe. So far, Missy and I have been fortunate enough to have visited every single Disney park and every Universal one, except for Universal Studios Beijing. So, believe me when I say I was extremely hyped to check out Motiongate at Dubai Parks and Resorts. But, before we dive into that, if you’d like to know my thoughts on IMG Worlds of Adventure (another theme park in Dubai), be sure to read “IMG Worlds of Adventure Theme Park Review”.
Ticket Cost
Starting at price, Motiongate was a tad more than the tickets we purchased for IMG, but still a far better deal than the ones you’d find at a Disney or Universal resort in the States. During Amazon’s Prime Day, I was able to purchase discounted 1-day single-park tickets through Viator for $64 each, instead of the normal $80-89 ones sold on Dubai Parks and Resorts’ website. However, just be aware that there are plenty of other places to find discounted tickets for this resort which fall in the $70-75 price range like Klook, Agoda, TripLine and Attraction Tickets. Some of them even include an extra perk like an additional park.
Needless to say, ticket prices at Universal and Disney parks in the States can be a bit of a mixed bag, but typically, they’re downright expensive, especially for single-day admission. So, only having to pay $64 per person to visit Motiongate was a heck of a deal!
TRIP Details
To be fair, we had a little trouble figuring out where or how to access Motiongate, since other theme parks at Dubai Resorts share the same security checkpoint and main gate entrance. Just be aware, when you arrive, you’ll use your purchased ticket to scan through the main gate area. Then, you’ll walk over to Motiongate park, which is only about 5 minutes away. Once there, you’ll use your ticket again to scan through the park’s turnstiles and enter Motiongate. Easy-peasy, right?
Anyway, what did I think about Motiongate once we were finally inside the actual park?
Well, in a word…WOWSERS! Just like IMG Worlds of Adventure, I was truly blown away by how closely the park resembles a Disney or Universal resort. (More on this later.) From its separate themed zones, to the fact that it’s mostly an outdoor park like the ones here in the States, I just could not get over how well done it is or why it isn’t more well known outside the UAE region. Even the fact that this park is beautifully detailed and designed, offers so many cool IP- infused attractions and still wasn’t really crowded for some reason, left us stumped as to why. So many times throughout our visit, I caught myself saying “This ride needs to be in the States!” or “This place is great, so why isn’t it busier?” Obviously, I’m glad that it wasn’t, but I can’t help but feel a little worried that it may not stick around for long without enough money to sustain it.
Nevertheless, moving towards each of Motiongate’s individual zones, Missy and I decided to start with the Dreamworks Animation building, which is the indoor section of the park. This building houses mini-zones (or lands) based on Dreamworks animated film franchises like Kung-Fu Panda, Madagascar, Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon. It’s also where we spent the majority of our time at the park.
Going in, I wasn’t expecting much. I was used to the normal Dreamworks attractions found at Universal Orlando, Universal Studios Hollywood— even Universal Studios Japan. I mean, the Dreamworks attractions at each of these parks are serviceable at best, but far from groundbreaking or revolutionary. However, some of the ones we experienced at Motiongate truly are and completely caught us off guard— in a good way!
The first Dreamworks mini-zone we did was Kung-Fu Panda. It has loads of gorgeous detail and beauty. Plus, it has the added benefit of Mr. Ping’s Noodle Fling (think the Teacups ride at Disney) and the 3-D motion simulator attraction Kung- Fu Panda: Unstoppable Awesomeness (which seems like it’s a direct copy of the one found at Universal Studios Beijing or vice versa). The Unstoppable Awesomeness ride vehicles and setup reminded me a lot of the Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem ride found at most Universal parks. Overall, Missy and I thought Unstoppable Awesomeness was okay. Not exactly a game changer by any means, but it’s definitely worth a ride or two.
Heading over to the Madagascar mini-land, we decided to try a lighter attraction next, so we went on Madagascar: Mad Pursuit— which, at the time and during our whole time in the queue, we had absolutely no idea was a high-speed roller coaster ride! To say we were surprised when it suddenly launched at a speed of 52 mph…would be an understatement. We just kept thinking the whole time, ‘Why is this ride in a kiddie land?!’ That being said, I really enjoyed it. Mostly because, I wasn’t expecting it and it definitely got me and Missy to laugh at how out of place it seemed in the Dreamworks Animation building.
Next, we hit up the Shrek mini-zone area which showcases the slow-moving ride Swamp Celebration. This ride basically recounts the major events from the first Shrek film and how Shrek and Fiona ended up together (think Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid at Magic Kingdom in Florida, but 8 minutes long!). Honestly, going in, I really hadn’t been looking forward to Shrek or anything this attraction had to offer. I mean, when did the first Shrek film come out…2001? It just sounded so dated to me. However, I’m so happy to be wrong here. Not only did this land and attraction exceed my expectations, but it has a really cool queue and was our outright favorite attraction at Motiongate! This is one of the rides I wish was coming to Universal Orlando as the current Dreamworks Land just doesn’t do the franchise justice, IMO. What Motiongate (and who I assume might’ve been Universal Creative) accomplished—halfway across the world—shows how well this aging franchise can be executed inside a theme park setting. Somehow, Motiongate is able to breathe new life into the world of Shrek and make it feel fresh and new. Now, if we could only get Universal onboard to do the same stateside!
After Shrek, we popped over to the last mini-zone in the Dreamworks Animation building, How to Train Your Dragon. This area looks incredible and boasts such attractions as Camp Viking, The Swinging Viking and the exhilarating but fun ride known as Dragon Gliders, which felt like a much cooler and ambitious version of the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal. This whole mini-land makes me really excited for the new HTTYD land opening at Epic Universe in Orlando. If Universal Creative sticks the landing, that is. I just find it funny that such a land already exists but is not really talked about or widely known in the States.
Exiting the Dreamworks Animation building, Missy and I headed back outdoors to Motiongate’s next zone area, Smurfs Village. I’m not gonna lie, I really dig the cheery, childlike vibe of this land. It is very bright and colorful. Plus, the perpetual 8-year-old kid who lives inside of me and used to watch The Smurfs every Saturday morning couldn’t help but smile walking into this imaginary world. So much so, I started to hum the show’s theme song, which was conveniently playing in the background anyway. The only bad thing about this area is there really isn’t a lot for adults to do. Sure, it hosts a kid-friendly rollercoaster ride called Smurf Village Express (which looked a lot like Trolls: Trollercoaster at Universal Orlando and had a posted 20-minute wait time), but outside of this attraction, everything else is basically play areas for children. I would really love to see Motiongate invest in this Smurfs zone a little further and add a couple more family-friendly rides to its roster. I mean, how cool would it be to go on an adventure through Smurf Village or to escape from Gargamel’s house or the clutches of his evil pet cat, Azrael?
After our brief visit to Smurf Village, Missy and I made a beeline for Colombia Pictures zone.
This is the zone I had been secretly looking forward to the most. It contains an actual Ghostbusters attraction called Ghostbusters – Battle for New York (think Men in Black: Alien Attack ride at Universal Orlando).
It also includes other attractions like Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs: River Expedition (a river raft ride), The Green Hornet: High Speed Chase (a high-speed rollercoaster), Hotel Transylvania (a cute family-friendly dark ride that takes you through various rooms inside the hotel), Underworld 4D (a 4-D theater show) and Zombieland: Blast-Off, which is based on the first Zombieland film and features a space shot ride like Doctor Doom’s Fearfall at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando.
Overall, we enjoyed the Ghostbusters ride! I really like the ride’s queue even more. Plus, it was cool to drive around different scenes from the movie and shoot at ghosts. It just would’ve been even better if the guns in the ride looked more like the ones from the movie and their targeting capabilities were more accurate and pronounced. Still, it was good to be able to do this ride and I’d definitely love to see it added to Universal Orlando at some point. I guess time will tell though.
Moving on to Lionsgate, the last zone at Motiongate with rides and attractions. We found that it features various ones from such film series as The Hunger Games, Now You See Me and John Wick.
Many of these rides look outright terrifying and were complete non-starters for us. However, for the sake of fairness and research, I’ll include them here. Just know, there was no way Missy or I was going on the John Wick ride.
Starting with The Hunger Games, the Lionsgate zone offers Panem Aerial Tour— which I rode, but Missy didn’t. In terms of experience, it’s a ride that feels very similar to Star Tours at Disney. I actually enjoyed it a lot. Even though I have never watched a Hunger Games film nor read the book series. I was also surprised to see so many actors from the movie make cameos during the ride. I thought it was a nice touch and really made it feel like a Disney/Universal-level attraction to me.
Anyway, besides this ride, The Hunger Games area also has the Capitol Bullet Train, which is a straight up ridiculous-looking rollercoaster.
Heading on to the John Wick area, there’s one ride aptly named John Wick: Open Contract, which is an over the top, bonkers-looking rollercoaster.
Again, neither of us were brave enough to go on it, but the entrance to the ride resembles the hotel lobby of The Continental Hotel from the film series. We thought this was very cool and we loved the little details here and there that were subtle nods to the movie.
Last but not least, in the Now You See Me park area is the Now You See Me: High Roller.
As you can probably guess from its name, it is a high-speed rollercoaster. However, there were some cool-looking shops nearby that seemed to mesh well with the Vegas-style movie theme of this attraction.
Sadly, this entire Lionsgate zone was far from our favorite one at Motiongate— given all the over-the-top, insane, adrenaline-fueled rollercoasters it houses. Of course, to ultimate thrill seekers, this may sound appealing. But to us, this land was nice to take photos of and nothing more.
Park Food
Turning to food, Motiongate does offer themed dining options for each of its zones. However, much like some of the parks here in the States, we found that the menu and food choices are a little lacking in some areas. During our time in the Dreamworks Animation building, we opted to eat at Dragon Flame Grill in the How to Train Your Dragon mini-zone. Unfortunately, the cost for a combo meal for two people and an order of mozzarella sticks was somewhat on the pricey side at around $39 total. The food was also pretty standard theme park fare and nothing really to write home about. So, I guess it really depends on whether or not you wanna splurge on a meal white you’re at the park or just eat before or afterwards. Honestly, I’d go with the latter.
Merchandise
Regarding theme park apparel, we did find Motiongate’s pricing and shirt sizes on available merchandise to be on par with most U.S. theme parks— meaning it’s very pricey and seems to be made for smaller-sized humans (think Asians or Europeans). From our limited research that day, they didn’t tend to carry anything larger than an XL in shirts and even that was very difficult to find at many shops around the park. We also didn’t find any shops that allow you to customize or add anything to merchandise either.
Was it worth it?
Yes! Once you enter Motiongate, the park looks and feels like something out of Universal Studios or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I’m sure this is all done intentionally. However, once you walk through its numerous zones, you get a sense that Motiongate has really upped the guest experience with its cutting edge attractions and separates itself from what you’d typically find at most major U.S. theme parks. Much like IMG Worlds of Adventure in Dubai, Motiongate needs to be taken seriously as a legitimate theme park destination. Arguably, even more so than any other park in the UAE. Still, I’d recommend not eating there— unless you have to. But either way, visit soon, if you can!
