Dubai Garden Glow – Roaring Good Fun!

“If you go down to Zabeel Park tonight, you won’t believe your eyes. If you go down to the park tonight, you’re in for a big surprise… No, it won’t be a teddy bears’ picnic that greets you but rather life sized, animatronic dinosaurs in The Dinosaur Park and breath-taking light displays at Dubai Garden Glow.

Back for its fourth year, Dubai Garden Glow is filled with awesome structures created by artists from across the world. We ventured down there with our 3 and 5 year-olds to see the sights. 

Entering through the Main Gate 6, a neon underwater paradise greeted us complete with jelly fish, wondrous sea creatures and sound effects. From magic tunnels, to cartoon fruit and even a whole animal kingdom – every corner you walked around was a new brightly-lit world just waiting to be discovered. 

In between fabulous photo opportunities, we stopped to get an ice cream. The ice-cream stall (opposite the giant tiger) was an experience in itself; dressed in traditional Turkish garb, the seller had great fun with the kids, whipping away their ice creams on his stick just as they were about to grab them and dancing and bell ringing whilst serving up great big dollops of pistachio and chocolate yumminess. Although we’d eaten before we arrived, there were lots of food stalls dotted around plus an indoor fast food place which was spotlessly clean. 

Turning right past the tiger, we entered the Dinosaur Park from the wrong end (although in hind sight this was a blessing.). Our first encounter with these amazing creatures was a friendly pair of Diplodocuses. Had we entered the correct way m, we would have come face to face with a terrifying T-Rex which would have had my 3 year-old running for his life! By the time we actually got to Mr T-Rex, he had built up enough courage to actually growl back! 

The Dinosaur Park was incredible – they are huge, life size, growling, moving dinos. For us older kids there’s a lot of information about each dinosaur and which period they lived in, so you can impress the children! In the middle of the park, you will find an area where for 30 AED you can ride around on a mechanical dinosaur, or smaller children (below three years) can take a ride on the Dino-Train for 10 AED.

We spent over two hours at the two parks and we saw just over half of what was on offer. We’ll definitely be visiting again to see the rest, and will arrive just before sunset to really make the most of our time. I can honestly say this was the best trip out we have had in a long time and at 65 AED a ticket, it’s brilliant value for money.

Here’s my top tip: Keep a set of pyjamas and wet wipes in the car; our kids had a quick wipe down, were in their bed clothes and fast asleep before we’d even left the car park!

Location: Zabeel Park Gate 6 & 7, Dubai
Timings: 4pm – Midnight
Cost: 70 AED per person for entry to both parks and Under 3 years go free.
Booking: Online at https://www.dubaigardenglow.com/ or pay at the gate
Parking: Available just outside the park. (Get there early to get a spot near the entrance).

By British Mum of two, Kate Kikano

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