What is Mr. Big Thankful for?

Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi

Since we are in Dubai and missing the wonderful smell of turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes...we decided to do something different  (that seems to be our theme this year). I decided that I was not going to try and find a substitute for turkey and cook up a meal that wouldn't taste like anything we remember from holidays past. Instead, when I asked Mr. Big what he was greatful for, he replied, "Well, I am greatful for Ferraris." So that said, after he got off work on Thursday, we headed to Abu Dhabi and its brand new Ferrari World! What better way to pay homage then to go to this new theme park!

Amazing interior of Ferrari Wold

Mr. Big and Big Buddy love fast cars!

Ferrari Kids town

Ferrari World I must say is an amazing experience. At first I had visions of a rinky-dink carnival like park for kids with the Ferrari logo on it. Well, I was completely wrong! First off, the building is an amazing thing to behold all on its own. Besides being humongous, the shape and layout just blows your mind (I bet you can see this thing from outerspace!). Inside, the construction is definitely something to behold. The dome like shape is very open and creates a Ferrari like city. Each ride is displayed in a nice flowing fashion with actual Ferrari cars sprinkled amoung them. Of course there are strategically placed kid stores with toys around every corner along with Ferrari merchandise ...but what can you expect! Right. LOL.

In a nut shell, this place is definitely a place for daddy's to take their little ones to just enjoy and reveal in all things Ferrari. From mini Ferrari towns for kids to drive around in to Formula 1 racing cars, Ferrari themed roller coasters (they have the worlds fastest roller coaster right now), driving simulators, and museums, you quickly become immursed (what a great way to market to the next generation). What I really appreciated about this place is that each ride/simulator is educating the public on Ferrari. We learned the history, how they make them, why they are so fast, all the awards they have won over the years, about their famous drivers and designers and you really build a deep appreciation for all that has gone into the making of the Ferrari (now don't we wish we could all afford one!)

Big Buddy in his element...driving a fast car.

Big Buddy's favorite ride was this little Ferrari kids town where you could pick a little Ferrari of your choice and actually drive around this very cool looking city. Of course they made all of the kiddies watch a driving video first, then they take their picture before turning them loose on the road. The picture was in case you wanted to buy them a Ferrari drivers license while you were there...and yes I could not pass this up. Big Buddy now has his Ferrari drivers license. He must of road on this ride like 10 times before the night was over. :)

Formula 1 simulator...get out of town!

Yes, I actually did drive a real Ferrari! I rocked it!

My favorite ride was the educational simulators. By far I have never experienced anything like these before. The very first one we sat in was amazing! You are strapped into a leather lazyboy type chair that can move from left to right, forward to backward, and can tilt you in any which direction. The movie starts and it is about this kid who dreams of working for the Ferrari company. During the sequence you are sitting next to one of Ferrari's top drivers speeding along in his red Ferrari, when all of a sudden he drives through a puddle. Right at that very moment, I felt water spray me in the face. Immediately, I thought...what the crap is this. It totally took me by surprise.  Next, we were dodging through a crowd of cows on the road when all of a sudden, no kidding...I could smell cow crap. Really. I looked over at Mr. Big and said, "I smell cow crap!" and we both started laughing. All in all we were sprayed a couple of more times and smelled some grass. Fantastic! We also quite enjoyed the Formula 1 simulator. Amazing how they could move the entire vehicle and make it feel like you are really racing one of these cars. Behind, this ride, sat 8 mini ones of these that 8 people could race against each other. Mr. Big really got a kick out of these. He came in third place! He was quite happy about that (the kid who came in first was like 12). I raced in this Ferrari car simulator which felt so real, I actually got sick while driving it! I also re-lived several car accidents as I would wreck into the simulators wall around the track. The car would tilt, jolt and move just like it would on the road as if you were really driving. Mr. Big also drove in this car and also felt sick afterwards (does this mean we are getting old! Yikes!)

Big Buddy enjoying the car puzzle with other kids.

One of the coolest kid things we found was this "Build a Ferrari" car in a kids play area. The kids had to put on the doors, wheels, hood, lights, mirros, tail fin...etc. Big Buddy really had a fun time with this. It was like putting together a 3D puzzle.

Walking around it was really neat to see Ferrari's from the different years and styles. One of my favorite was this blue one. It had the cutest little face on it. :)  It was really fun to see workers wiping the cars down every so often to keep the dust off of them. That might be a really interesting job...so what do you do...I keep the yellow Ferrari clean at Ferrari World. Nice!

Ain't she a cute car! Love the color!

I think that Mr. Big's favorite ride was the roller coaster. It is the world's fastest roller coaster ride right now. Mr. Big road on it three times, once in the front, middle and back of the coaster. Afterward, he could hardly breath due to the large amounts of adrenaline pumping through his veins! When I asked him how it went, he explained that the ride was the most exciting and scary thing all wrapped into one. Wow. I really wish I would of taken a ride on this coaster. I was way to afraid after I saw the look on Mr. Big's face afterward. Here is some info about the coaster.

Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso on the roller coaster.

Another beauty being wiped down by a museum janitor.

The thrill of Rosso
Strap yourself into the F1™ cockpit and hold  onto your soul as you blast away on the fastest roller coaster on the planet. You’ll accelerate up to 240km/h and see what 4.8 Gs really feels like. You’ll scream over the track and 52 meters into the sky before flying through the chicanes, inspired from some of the most famous race tracks in the world, and across the finish line, with an adrenaline kick worthy of the Grand Prix. Needless to say, you’ll have to wear safety goggles for the duration of the ride, just like every other racer that takes on Grand Prix speeds. It’s the world’s fastest roller coaster in all its F1™ glory. Here is a picture of Ferrari's top drivers on the coaster to give you an idea of it's coolness. Click here if you would like to see a video of the coaster in action.  As you can probably imagine, we were all super pooped by the time they closed at Midnight. Big Buddy had the time of his life and we definitely paid homage to the Ferrari. As we went to leave we thought it would be fun to buy some Ferrari hats and shirts for everyone. When we saw the price of such items, we about passed out. A Ferrari hat cost $40 a piece and the t-shirts started at $80 and went up from there. :( I guess if you can afford a Ferrari, then you can afford to wear the clothes! ;)

 

 

Father and son bonding