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On this day 29 years ago, UAE witnessed the opening of what was billed as the world’s largest water park at that time. It was on June 12 that the first Dh95 million phase of Dreamland Aqua Park in Umm Al Quwain was inaugurated by the late Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmed Al Mualla, then Ruler of the emirate.

In his inauguration speech, read out by Shaker Al Zayani, Director General of the UAQ Economic Department, Sheikh Rashid said the project aligned with the UAE Founding Father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's policy to diversify the national income through tourism development.

Sheikh Rashid pressed a button, triggering a rainbow-coloured fireworks display that lit up the skies. He then toured the park, pausing at each ride where children demonstrated slides and water attractions.

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The late Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmed Al Mualla officially inaugurating Dreamland Aqua Park

At the time of opening, the park had several popular rides. Visitors enjoyed walking, rafting and swimming in the Lazy River while the more adventurous ones enjoyed the rapids of the Crazy River. Water slides included Twin Twister, Black Hole and the high-speed Kamikaze. The Multislide, which allowed groups to slide down simultaneously, became especially popular among families.

Today, the park still has over 30 rides, five of which were added in later years.

Week-long celebration

On the day of the inauguration, the car park, with space for 2,200 vehicles, overflowed. Thousands of guests and ticket holders of various nationalities thronged the venue despite the summer heat.

There was a week-long celebration for the opening—one that according to Ziad Ahmad, vice-president of Dreamland, cost around Dh6 million to organise. Prominent Bollywood stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Chunky Pandey were among those who attended at the event.

Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan were among the notable Bollywood celebrities who graced the venue

A three-and-a-half-hour live concert featuring film hits of Indian composers Nadeem-Shravan was held and some of India’s most popular playback singers performed.

 Public opening

Covering an area of 250,000 square metres, Dreamland Aqua Park was at the time billed the largest water park in the world. The park’s designers, Action Park of Spain, sent in the park’s details to the Guinness committee for entry into Guinness Book of Records.

Children having fun at Dreamland Aqua Park

Dreamland also claimed that it would offer visitors all the water-based rides available anywhere in the world. “The people of Action Park are concerned that having already put in all the latest water rides available worldwide, there isn’t much left to add on in the remaining phases of development of the park,” Ziad Ahmed told Khaleej Times at the time.

Twenty-nine years after the opening, the UAE is now home to several waterparks including the Aquaventure in Dubai and Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi. But the Dreamland Aquapark, which opened at a time when water parks were far and few between in the country, still stands the test of time as a popular location for UAE residents.

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