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NYE in Dubai: Some residents are camping at Global Village to welcome 2023
Hundreds of families turn up early to find favourable spots at entertainment park
Several residents have ditched their plans to camp out in their favourite spots around the country to celebrate New Year's Eve and have opted to pitch their tents in Dubai Global Village this year.
Hundreds of families thronged the entertainment park as it opened at 4 pm on Saturday to reserve a spot in the gardens and seating areas, from where they will be enjoying the fireworks, shows and welcoming the New Year.
Families brought along mats and other camping items, including chairs. Some of them even carried picnic flasks and baskets to keep their food and beverages warm and fresh.
“Weekends during winters are for camping. However, my children wanted to visit their favourite entertainment park and we did not wanted to upset them nor miss out on our camping. So we packed our camping equipment, drove to the park and set our camp there,” said Maksud Naoman, a Labanese expat from Sharjah.
“My kids are excited to watch the fireworks and try out the rides at the park,” he added.
Long queues were seen at the entrance, as families turned up early to find favourable spots. “We came here as soon as the park opened. For us, gaining entry was easy as we have a season pass,” said Omair Shakil, who was accompanied by his wife and children.
“My children's favourites are the clown show and horse rides, but today they have decided to try out some of the new rides in the park," said Shakil, who is planning to spend some quality time with the family.
Residents from other emirates had to leave their homes earlier, by noon. Mohammed Qutub departed from Fujairah at about 1 pm. "Global Village is the best place for children to celebrate. My kids are very excited to watch the fireworks and enjoy the rides, and they been pestering me for a week to go to the park. Hence we decided to celebrate our NYE there," said Qutub.
Shivaraj Mani, a resident of Al Dhaid, is visiting the entertainment venue for the first time. "My friends convinced me that we could have a great time at the Global Village, and it's true, I am having much more fun than what I expected,” he said.
The venue has a number of eateries serving variety cuisine. However, authentic Thai, Turkish and Arabic dishes are in demand. Many food stalls recorded high volume of orders even before 5.30 pm. Some residents said that they had to wait for about 20 minutes to place their order and another 20 minutes to pick up the food. “We stood in the queue at about 5.20 pm and its 5.38 now. The wait time to get our order is about 25 minutes,” said Aaliya Hashmi, a Jordanian expat.
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