This is probably the most advertised water park in Dubai. I visited it before the wonderful Wild Wadi water park, so I considered it the best in Dubai. But everything is relative. Of course, this park has many advantages.
Firstly, it is located on the famous artificial palm island, at the top of it, which means it is actually in the middle of the sea, quite far from the mainland.
Secondly, it is located at the foot of the world’s largest (in terms of number of rooms) and one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, Atlantis. The water park is attached to the hotel, which means that guests of this grand, beautiful hotel can visit the water park for free, and the organisers have gone to great lengths to make the park a memorable experience for such guests.
Thirdly, the water park has slides designed so that you swim through a hollow tube inside an aquarium with sharks and stingrays, which are literally a metre away from you; if it weren’t for the glass, you could reach out and touch them.
Fourthly, in addition to riding the slides, you can visit a wonderful aquarium, swim with dolphins in the pool, feed huge stingrays from your hands and even swim in a pool with sharks (it sounds scary, but of course, the sharks that live there are so small that they are afraid of people to death).
Fifthly, there is an elevated robotic (completely driverless) metro station right in the park, which means that you can get there not only by bus or taxi, but also by metro, which is very convenient considering the frequent traffic jams at the entrance to Palm Island.
Of course, there is also a ‘kamikaze’ slide with a slope that allows you to accelerate to speeds close to 80 km/h for the most experienced thrill seekers. There are also automatic cameras that will take pictures of you while you enjoy the attractions, so that you can buy the photos when you leave the park. There is also a wonderful children’s playground with two huge barrels and water cannons. There is also access to a beautiful beach.
All this is true, but usually many important negative aspects and details are left out, and unfortunately, there are plenty of them.
Firstly, the height restriction for children due to the depth of the pools or some other considerations is not 110 cm, but 120 cm, which immediately excludes a whole age group of children. I have been to six different water parks and have never seen such a strict restriction anywhere else. And it would be fine if the slides were incredibly dangerous, but they are no different from the slides at other water parks where the height requirements are not so strict.
Secondly, although the water park covers an area of four hectares, there are only seven slides on its territory. Yes, yes, that’s not a mistake, exactly seven. And this is despite the fact that five minutes away (without traffic, of course) is the amazing Wild Wadi, where for the same price of admission you get access to not seven, but thirty different slides! Now you can imagine the queues there and here. I visited both parks on consecutive days, at the same time of day, and both on weekdays. I can assure you that the queues are inversely proportional to the number of slides, i.e. they are three times longer here. It’s just awful. To ride one slide, you have to wait literally an hour, no less. And the entrance ticket is valid for one day and costs (the cheapest, without the aquarium and other delights of interacting with sea creatures, just for the slides) 1,640 roubles. Think for yourself if you are willing to pay this money to have time to slide down five or six times before closing time in the evening. However, there are only seven slides, so maybe there won’t be anything else to do there.
Personally, when I found out that my son wasn’t allowed anywhere else except the children’s playground, I spent almost the whole day with him there, so I don’t have any photos of the most exotic slides. At least my daughter managed to ride a couple of attractions. I forgot to add that for the best slides, you have to stand in damp, dark caves called Ziggurats, rather than in ventilated towers with beautiful views, as is the case in Wadi.
Thirdly, the prices are, of course, beyond praise. How do you like photos for 500 roubles each? Paper ones, of course. There’s no point in haggling, it’s a fixed price. Although, of course, there are sometimes all kinds of promotions, and you can come across more affordable prices. I didn’t even bother to find out the prices for swimming in a pool with sharks or feeding stingrays. The prices for fast food and photos were enough for me to realise that I probably don’t earn enough for such entertainment.
Add to this the wonderful tradition that almost all tour operators and travel agencies adhere to, namely: since the road to this park passes by the equally popular Wild Wadi water park, tourists are put on the bus immediately, and then the bus stops at Wadi, then drives through traffic jams to Atlantis. And, of course, they will pick you up in reverse order. So, in practice, if you go to the park by bus with a guide, you will spend an hour and a half to two hours less in the park than if you went to Wadi. Alternatively, take a taxi and pay extra.
I recommend this water park only with a caveat. Only for those who are madly in love with sharks, dolphins and stingrays, those who are willing to pay 500 roubles for a photo on a water slide, those who are not afraid of huge queues and those who are going to go to this park on their own, rather than buying a tour. Personally, I won’t be going back there, but I will definitely visit Wadi again. I understand that my opinion is very subjective. If it weren’t for the queues, if I had a bigger budget and if my children were older, I’m sure my impression would have been completely different, because the park is, on the whole, very beautiful, well thought out, high quality and safe.