Thursday, April 19, 2012

New amusement park opens in Souq Waqif

Waqif Land, a new entertainment park located in Souq Waqif, opened yesterday with hundreds of people availing of various family and thrill rides, some of which are new to Doha.

With the opening of the fun park, Souq Waqif adds another reason for families to visit Doha’s cultural hub and having opened on a Friday, many families thronged the amusement park as early as 2pm.
One of the more exciting rides in the park is the Drop and Twist Tower which is different as it offers a ‘twist’ from the normal Drop Tower. It rotates either clockwise or counter clockwise as the gondola moves up and down, offering rider an exhilarating experience.

The Side Winder is another attraction at the newly opened park for thrill riders. It has a capacity of eight passengers, with each person strapped onto a rotating disc, which hangs at the bottom of a giant pendulum and as the disc rotates, the pendulum swings.

Set on a U-shaped track, the Mind Blaster rolls back and forth as circular carriages spin rapidly, a definite must for thrill seekers.

The park has also 6D cinema which takes the viewing pleasure to an entirely new dimension. Unlike 3D which offers visual depth or 4D which has special simulations including chair movement and effects such as wind blowing, water spraying, leg and back ticklers 6D exposes the audience to environmental elements such as rain, wind and smell, similar to what the characters in the movie experience.

Other rides include rollercoaster, mini drop tower, fun house and swing among others. In addition there is also a special indoor park where arcade games and those for children are available. Food stations are also accessible around the area.

With the way the park was constructed, it seemed it would stay there for quite sometime and sources said it would operate for three months initially but could stay there for up to two years based on the demand from the public.

To avail of the games, one has to purchase a card worth QR30 which is consumable for rides whose cost ranges from QR5 to QR50, the most expensive of which is the exciting Go Kart which is QR40 during weekdays and QR50 on weekends and requires an additional QR20 charge for helmets to ensure safety during the 10-minute ride.

The cards can be topped up and once the card owner has spent QR1,000 he becomes a VIP card holder which entitles him to discounts in the rides.

Source from The Peninsula/Raynald C Rivera

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