Saudi Arabia has a pretentious plan to build the world’s largest theme park, claiming it would be three times larger than the famed Walt Disney World complex in Florida.
Qiddiya is destined for a multimillion-dollar destination in Riyadh, which will have more than three hundred facilities, in addition to the world’s largest roller coaster.
The commission promises theme parks, water parks, a sports city, as well as nature and adventure experiences, events and cultural attractions.
The developers of Qiddiya would house shops, food and drink venues, a performing arts theater, a multiplex, an aquatic center, and a motorsports facility.
“This is a super exciting project,” Disney veteran and former CEO of Qiddiya, Philippe Gas, told blooloop.
“It is the world’s biggest venture when it comes to entertainment, sport, arts, all together and integrated. This has never been done before. So the complexity of it is exciting,”
“That’s almost three times the length of Walt Disney World. It’s huge. It’s a position that, because of its length, will give other people days of fun. “
The Walt Disney World hotel spans 27,520 acres of land in Orlando, Florida.
The iconic theme park complex is approximately 43 square miles, the length of San Francisco, California.
Qiddiya will be home to Saudi Arabia’s Six Flags amusement park, which will be home to the world’s fastest roller coaster.
Falcon’s Flight is set to open this year and promises to reach a 156mph top speed and drop over a desert cliff.
Falcon’s Flight, dubbed the world’s first “Exa Coaster,” is expected to be the first to surpass 500 feet in height with a 640-foot drop.
The current height record holder at 456 feet is Kingda Ka, at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey.
The Saudi charm will be taller than the iconic London Eye, which stands 442 feet tall.
The super roller coaster will also be the longest ever created, with a record length of 2. 64 miles.
It will traverse more than 13,000 feet of track, or almost a mile longer than the current world record holder, Steel Dragon 2000 at Japan’s Nagashima Spa Land.
Flying over a Formula 1 race track, Falcon’s Flight will beat the current speed record holder.
Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi reaches a speed of 149 mph and requires drivers to wear goggles.
The train on Falcon’s Flight will seat 14 people, two in the front car and four each in the remaining three cars, with each row sporting its own windshield, removing the need to wear goggles.
Six Flags will also have the world’s largest free-standing shooting tower attraction, Sirocco Tower, and the world’s tallest pendulum swing, Gyrospin.
Spitfire will be the tallest inverted roller coaster in the world, while Iron Rattler will be the tallest tilting roller coaster.
Qiddiya is one of many projects in Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom spends £1 billion to try to wean itself off its dependence on oil.
Thanks to Saudi Arabia’s large investments in Vision 2030, the country has unveiled hugely ambitious projects funded by billions of dollars of oil at an unprecedented rate.
In line with the megalomania vision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi is desperate to be the centre of the world.
The value of the allocation is unknown, but Saudi Arabia is expected to spend a staggering $175 billion a year on mega-allocations between 2025 and 2028.
But this ostentatious façade hides a history of threats, forced evictions and bloodshed.
Many projects have faced fierce criticism over human rights abuses – including the $500billion Neom project where tribes were shoved out of their homeland, imprisoned or executed.
At least 20,000 members of the Huwaitat tribe are at risk of deportation, with no data on where they will be deported in the future.
Authorities in the port city of Jeddah have also demolished many homes to put Saudi progress plans into effect, and thousands of citizens have been illegally evicted.
One activist claimed that “Neom has Saudi blood. “
Jeed Basyouni, Middle East director of the human rights organization Reprieve, told DW: “We have observed time and again that anyone who disagrees with the crown prince or stands in his way risks being sentenced to criminal punishment or death. “
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