A Visit to Dubai's Haunted Hotel

December 4, 2016 23 Culture An actor portraying a bellhop tries to draw in guests to the Haunted Hotel at the IMG Worlds of Adventure amusement park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP) A visit to Dubai’s Haunted Hotel Jennifer Bell eerie environment. However, after “We saw that there was a gap in and the script was written,” said Haunted Hotel adds an extra touch three years of intricate planning, the market for the Haunted Hotel as Otto. of realism by enlisting live actors to they say they are confident it will nothing on this scale existed in the “From the brainstorming phases, greet — or terrify — guests as they Dubai have the desired effect of blending region,” Otto said. “It is our most we continued with the video and brave its corridors. fun with fear. terrifying and popular attraction, projection element, such as when “We’ve already been over- t promises “a long nightmare inviting people to navigate a maze Jack and Scott Donovan — the whelmed by its success at both na- of distress and despair”. It is The Haunted Hotel is of corridors and seek to escape its brothers who manage the Haunted tional and international level,” Otto designed to be hair-raising the most spine- petrifying guests. As a fully immer- Hotel — are talking to the guests. said, “but we must emphasise that rather than somewhere to let sive experience, it is like stepping We are always striving to exceed the Haunted Hotel is currently a your hair down. And it is bring- tingling addition to into the world of the worst horror the expectations of our guests, so key attraction only — there are no Iing a new dimension to the UAE the IMG Worlds of movie — one that you will be dying we worked with a team of experts overnight stays yet.” theme-park landscape by tapping Adventure in Dubai. to escape.” from all over the world to create the Unveiled to the public in August, into the human penchant to enjoy The terror is, as Otto said, “the unique set and had the costumes IMG Worlds of Adventure’s zones being petrified. ultimate appeal” of the Haunted specially designed by a company in — Marvel, Cartoon Network, Lost It is the Haunted Hotel, the most “When we started creating IMG Hotel, from the sickly stench in the Hong Kong.” Valley and IMG Boulevard — feature spine-tingling addition to the IMG Worlds of Adventure, we wanted to air to the unnerving soundtrack of a super-fast roller coaster weav- Worlds of Adventure in Dubai, an set a new standard of theme-park screams and, of course, the charac- The hotel adds an ing outside the building, with even attraction where the family-friend- experience, offering our guests an ters who emerge from its fabric. De- extra touch of more twists and turns than Formula ly ethos of the world’s largest in- unparalleled mix of record-break- signed for those aged 15 and older, realism by enlisting Rossa at Abu Dhabi’s Ferrari World, door theme park takes a scary de- ing and original rides and attrac- its creation has always been central live actors to greet as well as 25 retail stores, 28 food tour. tions,” said Lennard Otto, chief to IMG Worlds of Adventure and and beverage outlets and space for The Haunted Hotel was con- executive officer of IMG Worlds of an array of attractions that repre- — or terrify — guests. 4,500 cars. ceived as a key element of the park Adventure, which covers 140,000 sent the realisation of “a childhood Tickets cost about $82 for adults by its owners, UAE-based Ilyas and sq. metres in Dubailand, has four dream and a lifelong vision” of its and $68 for children and can be pur- Mustafa Galadari Group, so the zones based on characters from owners. Differing from rival ghostly at- chased online at IMGworlds.com. team behind it is keen not to give Marvel comics and the Cartoon “Planning the Haunted Hotel be- tractions such as the hotel in Dis- They provide all-day access to too much away about what awaits Network and is twice the size of gan from the conception of the en- ney’s Twilight Zone Tower of Ter- more than 20 rides and attrac- “our ‘victims’… sorry, we mean our every Disneyland and Disney World tire theme park itself in mid-2013, ror in that it is a walk-through tions, live shows and a 5D cinema ‘guests’” when they step into its resort combined. when we made the first sketches experience, rather than a ride, the experience. An investigation of European Islam sheds light on a complex identity London grandparents did in their home- Social Research, calls the law of is some chapters do not develop Books lands. Many young Muslims em- the handicap of a head start, enough analysis worth taking ermany has banned phasise leading a “true” Islamic a term coined in 1937 by Jan away. Although the intention of a group calling itself lifestyle according to the Quran Romein, a Dutch journalist the book is important, the True Religion for and Hadith, rather than following and historian. Women do not translation of everyday recruiting jihadists a more “cultural” interpretation. have more space to make topics into important to fight in Iraq and Jevtic’s point is important mistakes on the marriage analysis is not always Syria and the because, while the new genera- market for trial and error satisfactory. However, the GHuffington Post has questioned tion may challenge the older one’s than before. book does provide a good whether Muslims in Europe were cultural understanding of Islam Sterckx’s idea made me introduction for those who Dunia the new scapegoats after the and the common stereotypes that think about the way Mus- are not familiar with the Jews during the Holocaust. come with it, there are lessons lims might view non-Mus- Muslim lifestyle. El-Zobaidi Studying the lives of these learned through generations lims. For girls and women What is important to learn people is essential to under- about which interpretations and who do want more sexual from the book is that even standing Muslim ideology. implementations have worked or liberties, is the barrier though the more literal Islam- Everyday Life Practices of Mus- not worked in daily life. between them and their ic way of life may seem more lims in Europe does that with 11 Another chapter in the book Muslim peers with dif- appealing by removing the research papers about their exist- explores how there is no longer a ferent views on sexual- negative cultural interpreta- ence in seven European coun- need for some Muslims to have a ity going to cause major tions passed on by generations, tries. The editor, Erkan Toguslu, long-term relationship as long as problems? what is at risk are the lessons a researcher at the University of the potential partner has similar If those supposedly gained from older generations. Leuven in Belgium, sought to attitudes towards Islam. Previ- morally superior Mus- How can such interpretations of focus on familiar topics such as ously, parents would choose the lims judge those they Islam work to integrate Muslims Some food, art, sexuality and court- bride or groom for their children. think are not as Islam- in Western society at the same ship. The collected works provide More Muslims now are choosing ic as they should be, time? Are Muslims prepared to chapters do an analysis beyond surveys and their partners according to Islamic this leaves lesbian, gay, bisexual Everyday Life start a new trial and error phase not develop questionnaires. values, making it hard for parents and transsexual Muslims isolated, Practices of of implementing this Islam in enough Jana Jevtic, of Budapest’s Cen- who call themselves Muslim to as they cannot speak about their Muslims in Europe daily life? Can they deal with the tral European University, points reject their child’s choice. sexuality to some of their Muslim edited by Erkan consequences if that fails? analysis out a new generation of Muslims However, the downside to this peers in Europe. Toguslu, Leuven worth taking in the West are practising Islam practice is what Leen Sterckx, The main drawback of Everyday University Press, Dunia El-Zobaidi is a regular Arab away. differently than their parents and of the Netherlands Institute for Life Practices of Muslims in Europe 234 pages. Weekly contributor in London..

Load more