Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is the world’s largest indoor theme park with more than 20 Ferrari-inspired rides and attractions. Located in Yas Island, it is one spectacular air-conditioned space open all year round for the whole family. Since it was opened on Nov. 4, 2010, it has been a main attraction for Saudi families who visit the United Arab Emirates.

“Since the beginning of the year, the park has received a large number of visitors coming from Saudi Arabia, most of them families, who by far surpassed their counterparts from other countries,” said the manager of the park, Andy Keeling.

He said the number of visitors from Saudi Arabia hiked, especially during school spring break vacation two months ago.

“The deep-rooted name of Ferrari and the family ambience makes the park an exciting place to visit,” he added.

“This is a unique park. We loved it very much,” said Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, a Saudi tourist. He told Arab News that he came from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi specially to visit the park. “I read about the park in the newspapers then I visited it on the Internet. I bought the tickets online and came to the UAE with my family. We enjoyed our visit to the park.”

One of the numerous amusement games in the park is Scuderia Challenge, an art simulator, which gives you a true feeling of driving a Ferrari car. It gives the drivers a real taste of the Formula 1 racing experience. It also has the Fiorano GT Challenge. This exciting dueling coaster sends two trains of three Ferrari F430 Spider carriages careening along parallel tracks in a high-octane race to the finish line. It is one of the most favored games by Saudis.

One of the most thrilling games in the park is the G-Force, an enormous crystal funnel at the very heart of the park. Passengers are strapped into Ferrari-style seats and blasted through the roof to a height of 62 meters with the same g-force an F1 team driver feels at high speed on the track.

The Formula Rossa is the world’s fastest roller coaster. Passengers can take their seats in a Ferrari F1 carriage, which rockets along the tracks reaching 100 km/h in less than two seconds and accelerates to 240 km/h. It is one of the most famous games in the park.

“At the beginning, I was scared to ride Formula Rossa, but when the ride ended, I felt the urge to go and do it again. It is simply fabulous,” said Mahir Abdullah, another Saudi tourist.

According to Keeling, Saudi families who come with their kids are the greatest admirers of the park. “Many Saudi families come to the UAE specially to see Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, which has become a spectacular monument in the country. It is the first entertainment park for the whole family in the region and has games that are suitable for all ages,” he said. Keeling said visitors will have an opportunity to see the unique collection consisting of 30 classic and modern Ferrari cars in the Galleria Ferrari. They will also enjoy the “Italian Magic,” which suits all members of the family, he added.

Visitors will be spellbound by the state-of-the-art technology in the park. They will particularly admire the Speed Magic where passengers will travel through real-life extremes in temperature, moisture, light and movement that heighten the senses in an interactive journey through a fantasy ecosystem. The youngsters will follow suit of “Nello,” the mischievous animated Italian character from another world.

The Racing Legends is an inspiring journey that takes guests through great moments in Ferrari racing history.

Keeling said there are two Ferrari shops in the park for visitors who like to collect souvenirs. He added that there are also malls, restaurants and other facilities.

The enclosed area of the park accessible to the public is 86,000 square meters, which is equivalent to 2,500 hectares, can fit seven football fields, while the landscaped area around the main building is more than 450,000 sqm. The city, owned by the Abu Dhabi government, has been developed by the UAE ALDAR company, and is being managed by Farah Leisure parks Management, a joint venture between ALDAR Properties and ProFun Management Group. Construction work on the park started in November 2007 and took three years to complete.