Cancelled - Dubailand

[@BrightSunFilms]

Use code BSF50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box plus 20% off your next month of orders at bit.ly/46a5QWn!

[@PringleKitsune]

Call it what it is, they're overly hyped TV dinners, and nobody wants overpriced, low quantity, low calorie food.

[@Viss_Valdyr]

@@PringleKitsune they also are bad quality quite often. I tried one of a friend of mine. I eat anything but that was hard. So salty. But I seem not the only one thinking of it. BSF just wants the money. I am pretty sure, he didn't test it.

[@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307]

chef - a person who prepares food!

[@chungkingcansuckit6345]

You wrote use code BSF50 and I thought it was an advertisement for sunscreen.. SPF50 recommended when you visit Dubailand.

[@dylanjimenez1952]

Trump organization cancelled projects and casinos

[@elizabethmctaggart6695]

One important fact I've learned from your cancelled videos: it always leads back to 2008 in one way or another.

[@AnvilSP]

The Michael Eisner of Cancelled

[@BubblePopping121]

@@AnvilSPAnd the Michael Eisner of Abandoned.

[@susanmiller4159]

2008 was NOT a fun time to be in any business, small or large. Because of 2008 we will never retire.

[@charliedalton1778]

So true

[@VIPEFFECT]

Facts

[@robswystun2766]

The 2008 economic crisis is easily the biggest villain in the Bright Sun Films universe.

[@DavidFB24]

and its thanks to it that he has a job lol😄😄

[@nickmoney]

Only second to Michael Eisner still.

[@AxelTheAussie]

@@nickmoneyEisner is the main villain of Defunctland

[@nickmoney]

@@AxelTheAussie Eisner is the villain of any cancelled or abandoned project series.

[@CastorRabbit]

A park opens his door and gets shot, and you think that's 2008? No. Dubai is the one who knocks!

[@lazersword66]

Dubai Land is the kind of idea school kids come up with during sleepovers. There’ll be dinosaurs, spaceships, and all the cake you can eat! Spiderman will be there too!

[@xxdesertstorm]

their Arabic Muslims they aren't the smrtest the only thing they are smart at is greed, the current inflation was all caused by them cutting oil production, if Biden and Trump had a pair they'd push for a resource war as OPEC+ nations can't survive a long term war

[@RayRayWasAGoodBoy]

Men in dresses can have sleepovers too!

[@DieNibelungenliad]

But that's what people like.

[@kellychuang8373]

That sounds about right on that.

[@doctormatthattan]

Men of culture

[@Ballin191]

As someone who lived and worked in Dubai for several moths. Outdoor theme parks, let alone outdoor anything, makes no sense. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 110F/43C. Don't even get me started with the overall heat index when you combine the humidity blowing in from the gulf. Even going to the beach provides little relief. Sea temperatures there can reach 96F/35C which is basically bathwater warm.

[@doujinflip]

Winter and spring are pleasant times to drop in, but then everyone would also be competing against the traffic of all the regular schools, trade shows, and other events that happen in the high season. It'd be complete gridlock without a mass transit system and pedestrian avenues that reach everywhere, as opposed to the irregular buses and half-baked pet project that became the Dubai Metro.

[@dianapennepacker6854]

Would you say the ocean helps more or less? Either the wind and cooling effect is good. Or the humidity it brings makes it hell, ya know? I can take dry heats okay. Once you add humidity though I am done.

[@sagefields]

@@dianapennepacker6854 As others said, the ocean doesn't help outside the winter peak tourist season. During the summer, the desert heat's combined with the humidity wafting in from the Gulf to create an insufferable bog-like humidity. You can't live without AC for well over 8 months of the year.

[@dickcoughlin8338]

What's the laws like there? Do you get Caned with 50 packs for accidentally dropping a gum wrapper on the ground ground?

[@zandreblondin8880]

who were these moths you worked for and what was their interest in dubai?

[@moteroargentino7944]

One thing that I learned in the Cancelled and Abandoned series, is that it's always preferable to start with a small and functional project, and only invest more if you see that there's demand. Bonus points if the infrastructure you build can be repurposed for various uses or the land is valuable. So worst case scenario you can quickly adapt or recover most of your investments.

[@DieNibelungenliad]

Planting a big tree in the middle of the desert will need lots of watering or else she will wither and fall. Sowing a small seed in fertile earth with regular watering will sprout a humble but fruitful crop

[@kellychuang8373]

You really have points there as well and also you can wonder about these businesses and what goes on in the higher ups heads. Really seems like something out of the Simpsons or South Park coming to life along with who knows what else.

[@RexGalilae]

Hindsight is 2020. Back then, while the world economy was booming, every month spent in inaction could contribute to the irrelevancy of Dubai on the stage of world tourism Every country was ramping up construction of megaprojects and Dubai had one shot at truly becoming a Miami in the East by making all of this happen and they took it. Can't blame them at all. Nobody saw this collapse coming

[@doujinflip]

I was wondering how the Dubai Metro was planned to extend into Dubailand, because every tourist having take a taxi or rent a car to the different parks would be disastrous. I'd wager there wasn't serious thought about mass transit, see as how only a couple months ago they finally approved a half-hearted inland Blue Line through Ras Al-Khor and International City, but still not reaching demand centers like Global Village and Dubai Autodrome/Miracle Garden.

[@smalltime0]

I don't know why they didn't just offer Disney a 99 year lease on land to build one of their ports (similar to what a few Caribbean countries do). They'd build the park and infrastructure to serve their cruise liners & UAE builds the infrastructure to the airports/cities. Much smaller and realistic, but it also encourages more organic growth of the entertainment/tourist area

[@RariettyC]

As someone who struggles to handle how hot Florida gets, just the climate alone makes the concept of marathoning a bunch of theme parks in Dubai sound unappealing

[@splintercell5551]

They probably have out door ac like Qatar

[@jaein91]

Most of our theme parks are indoors/covered. Even Dubai Parks, only certain parts were outdoors.

[@houstonhilton74]

It's also significantly drier, which can make a difference with passive shading mitigating wet bulb effects. Humid heat, not so much.

[@Chata-x2i]

@@houstonhilton74Dubai is very humid

[@nntflow7058]

@@houstonhilton74 Dubai is a beachtown. The humidity from the sea caused them to be very humid. Riyadh on the other hand, less humid since they are inland city.

[@nickmoney]

They still have 3 months to finish their 2025 goal.

[@buddysautomotiveSD]

True that, you never know!

[@nickmoney]

@@buddysautomotiveSD Some aliens could show up to complete in no time or Dubailand has a Wankanda like cloak over it and suddenly be there done and ready. What I was wrong they have 15 months since they just said 2025, not a certain month.

[@Farquad76.547]

A fellow optimist

[@nickmoney]

@@Farquad76.547We for 15 months after all.

[@LoCoAde87]

​@@Farquad76.547Think of how much migrant slaves, sorry, workers working for pittance could die in those 3 months 😍

[@F0rtuneLT]

I love how every one of these videos has a turning point, a point where you can reliably go "ok, this is where it all went to shit" and every single time its either 2001, 2008, or 2020 or if its prefaced with "then-ceo Michael Eisner"

[@RickSanchez_85]

Soon you will be able to add 2025 to that list

[@LeanderEve]

Why 2025?

[@kevikiru]

Michael Eisner did more for Disney that either Bob.

[@RickSanchez_85]

@@LeanderEve a lot of people estimate a big crash coming in 2025

[@aviduser1961]

Remember, this "series" is made by an amateur.

[@Subliminalmessage78]

I used to live out there, and drive by this place every single day. No one wants to visit a park and turn into a baked potato 🥔 simultaneously. 🥵 It gets up to 120°F out there.

[@kimbye1]

Yeah it just goes to show how little these leaders are in contact with reality.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Exactly what I was thinking. It's hot as hell there, what tourists would want to visit a sweltering area like that? And that sun will do an absolute number on the rides and attractions as well. For as much as it cost to initially build everything, kt will be a massive task to upkeep it all as well.

[@raafmaat]

Hey with that money they could easily install a bunch of sunroofs etc

[@ydne]

Hot summers and outdoor adventures are not a draw for families.

[@nojuanatall3281]

But no humidity. It gets over 100 degrees where I live with 90% humidity. Makes the desert feel cool. My coworker moved from Louisiana and got knocked down by his first summer here in Houston TX.

[@joshuadaniel4613]

As a kid who grew up in Dubai, I still remember full page Dubailand newspaper ads with Marvel characters on them, as well reading about the constant delays that the project had. Another memory is seeing the huge bikers and race car statues when driving through the area.

[@jijodobbas]

Same, I was 3 or so when I first saw that biker on the rollercoaster track and I think it took me years to understand what it even was 😅

[@Amm17ar]

Did you also see heat-exhausted migrant workers being held in modern slavery camps dying on the streets because they weren't paid enough, forced to live in slum buildings built to house 5 people but were actually stuffed with 50?

[@Tardisntimbits]

​@@Amm17arThey...are recalling memories from childhood. Even if they has been allowed to see such things (and I can't imagine they would have been), they were...children. What part do children have to play in such things?

[@Amm17ar]

@@Tardisntimbits None at all. I was just curious.

[@Tardisntimbits]

@@Amm17ar All good then. I know stuff like that being swept under the rug is a standard rather than an oddity, unfortunately. Maybe one day humanity will collectively slap itself and just be nice to each other...but I sadly doubt it. I wish you well!

[@tatertots210]

i have no clue why this idea would fail, whenever ive been to disneyland i have always thought "you know what would make this place better? if they got rid of the alcohol and made it 110 degrees outside" Dubai would have solved both of those issues

[@Abdullah-wf5tf]

dubai is literally muslim. accept the rules or don’t visit

[@PeterParker-xv9mo]

😂😂😂😂

[@melovetorun]

@@Abdullah-wf5tfThey try so hard to look like a Western city but can’t drop their ridiculous rules. Good luck attracting tourists.

[@seliamila1005]

​@@Abdullah-wf5tfthen they will always fail attracting tourist lol

[@Eloraurora]

Wasn't there an 'economic zone' thing proposed where they'd lighten up on the religious laws in tourist areas?

[@michaelsaxman]

"Welcome to Ozymandiland, Park of Parks: Look on my rides, ye Marks, and despair!" No thing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

[@rileyrenger2795]

I am become fun, destroyer of boredom.

[@darcymoon2109]

This is brilliant!

[@aregee7121]

Perfectly described, Michael. With ridiculous amounts of available money, common sense becomes irrelevant.

[@RisottoNero-z1w]

There is little consumers when you dont have a middle class. SHOCKER

[@EricPetersen2922]

Middle class is a failure. Was a post war fantasy. Good luck

[@VaunShiz]

Facts

[@JTA1961]

An often overlooked reality in the "trickle down" mentality

[@Croz89]

To be fair, they kind of do, but it's quite small.

[@donise8406]

Some thing to consider is abandoned Olympic Parks. All were built with the idea it would become housing and sports complexes. I wonder how many are just Abandoned

[@cwill2127]

Most lol

[@Game_Hero]

@@cwill2127 surprisingly no

[@ZGryphon]

To be fair, Sarajevo's Winter Olympics facilities weren't abandoned by _choice._

[@vitoc8454]

Have heard an idea that there should just be one single Olympic mega-venue that all countries agree on

[@Game_Hero]

@@vitoc8454 ain't gonna happen, would be an immense burden for one city all the time, plus it'd be boring.

[@LoyMachedo]

Having lived in Dubai for 40 years with my parents living there for their entire lives, I've seen Dubai's rise from a Desert to what it is today. Everything was perfect until Sheikh Mohammed decided to make Dubai into some kind of Superlative Ego-Driven Biggest, Largest & Greatest City in the world without thinking of the consequences of sustainability & longevity. Which is why almost all the projects from Palm Island, The World, Dubai District, Falcon City, Dubai Logistics City, Dubai Central, Dubai Floating City everything flopped one by one. And though when I predicted all these would fail, people laughed and criticized me, today, every single prediction came true. Now all Dubai has is its bad habit of predicting the sun, moon and stars and giving bold pronouncements about the future. But nothing comes to fruition other than its temporary hype. Like I've always said - Dubai is a business hub. Just make your money and get out. That's as far as it goes. LM

[@sahajp11]

dubai doesnt look like a failure to me...

[@infinitetanner]

Would you say its safe for women there, American mouthy women?

[@infinitetanner]

​@@sahajp11do you read the news?

[@LoCoAde87]

I remember travelling to Dhaka via Dubai, and we stayed there for 3 days on our way back home to Ireland in 1999. I would have been 12 years old then. I have good memories of Dubai at that age. We also did that route in 1996, too, but we didn't stay in Dubai then. Every time I go there since, for whatever reason, it just leaves me more numb each time, well, on top of social media posts glorifying it too. Whether it from Western or more local people. It is genuinely sad what it has become over the last two decades. I hope nearby Oman, with their ambitious plans, doesn't lose it's soul in the pursuit of more. It seems the people are at least adamant in not wanting to go the Dubai route. And the plans there are on the more sensible side. Edit - spelling

[@MustraOrdo]

@@LoCoAde87 Oman looks 100 times more authentic than United Business Cities.

[@thatonepersonuh]

Hey Bright Sun Films, I live currently in Dubai and I am begging for you to cover Global Village Mall. It is expansive and huge but completely…empty.

[@BrightSunFilms]

I’ll take a look!

[@VSCPIays]

@@BrightSunFilms Cityland Mall was used as an substitute as the Global Village mall... [I live in the UAE, but I am in Abu Dhabi]

[@Greg.83]

It’s closed in the summer. Open and packed all winter.

[@JTA1961]

​@@Greg.83all three months of it ?

[@AishaKK_]

@@JTA1961all 6 months of it. The investment there is crazy. My friend rents a small shop every season, they pay 60K AED every season for renting the shop space, but their revenue is usually 4 times the amount.

[@2000jago]

"So we want to build something like Disneyland but in Dubai. Any name suggestions?" "Dubailand?" "Genius! Pay that man!" 🤔

[@user-bn9pq5wv3o]

And?

[@SirZeck]

Saudi Arabia is producing decades of contents for this man with their projects.

[@Wnick1996]

It's the UAE 🇦🇪

[@felixk4275]

I think SirZeck is referring to Saudi Arabias current giga projects. And I must agree.

[@bababababababa6124]

@@Wnick1996yeah obviously, but Saudi Arabia is also doing it too

[@TheSkcube]

​@@felixk4275 Not really, it will shock you how many people do not know the difference between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

[@raymondmartin6737]

2008 was MAN 👨 MADE. 😅

[@patsysolatzzo2962]

I was supposed to work in Dubai on a project in 2016-2018 and was going to live there. no dates were given from the development company from Dubai and they kept telling us to stand by, despite many people working weren’t in a position to just get up and leave at any moment. The response was increasing the monetary incentive but nobody actually sent any money. A few people including myself were invited to the UAE where they showed us the current state of the projects. even when some places were fairly new, things didn’t seem maintained. I believe my company paid for everything on that trip and I’m not sure if that was supposed to be. In the end I was told that company did a bait and switch on how companies they invited in for projects make money. I believe today that project was broken ground by a different company but the project remains in pieces in the desert

[@Muninnnr]

Ever notice how all the concept art for these desert mega-projects have a lot of foliage and greenery to make them look appealing, yet the "finished" construction always end up looking like a bunch of buildings surrounded by sand and dead grass? It's almost like green plants don't find deserts to be an ideal growing place.

[@eily_b]

Yap, I noticed it. I wondered where they want to get the water for all these massive parks and fountains or whatever that would be. I struggle to water my triny allotement garden in the cityin summer because it gets hotter in Central Europe every year...

[@MattBellzminion]

Just a strikingly colorful, or garish, desert mirage...

[@joesharbach3883]

Yep, it would require vast amounts of resources to keep vegetation *that* green.

[@XxSniper32]

they always ends up with trees btw

[@chrislongbeard]

They are forgetting the first rule of real estate. Location, location, location

[@Hiro_Trevelyan]

Dubai believed too much in "build it and they will come". It only works if you already have something going on. Just look at Disneyland Paris. Paris is already the #1 tourist destination in the world, yet Disneyland Paris struggled for decades. Imagining Dubai filling all those parks with millions of visitors is, at best day-dreaming, at worst ludicrously stupid. Dubai wanted to become the Orlando of the world, it became Middle East Las Vegas but without casinos and even more tackier (didn't know it was possible but they somehow managed).

[@IronDiva]

You mean you don’t take business advice from motion pictures?

[@LadyLakeMusic]

Always so interesting Jake!!! Big congrats on the 1.5M 💯🥂🍾🎉🎊🎈

[@BrightSunFilms]

Thank you!

[@mrjeremydizon]

Its because Dubai (and the rest of the GCC Saudi, Qatar etc) are hot deserts who get upwards of 40C temps in the summer so the theme parks would have be indoors or only open in the fall through spring plus the dust! It covers everything, i worked in Doha for a few years and found a lot of high end luxury cars (Lambos, Ferraris, Bentleys etc) parked on the street covered in dust, imagine riding a roller coaster with a huge dust storm coming through you lol. In short the construction and maintenance would he crazy expensive and attendance would be dismal since its hot as fuck.

[@dnnythms]

I can hear the metal on metal screeching starting up a ride every day. A place where metal lubricants simply boils off from just sitting there.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

That would be terrifying, being high up on a ride as the winds from a sandstorm batter you around...

[@sparthyslaysstuff2405]

Getting sandblasted on a rollercoaster means at least you end the ride polished 😂

[@JeanClaudeCOCO]

@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValleyor getting stuck up there due to a malfunction. 100+ F heat and sand.

[@winter_wolf3284]

I feel like they should focus on things outside of tourism. Didn’t Dubai have a bunch of flooding because the infrastructure wasn’t built to handle rain?

[@ib7566]

or not using slave labor

[@-mayedalshamsi]

You're talking as if your cities don't get destroyed every year from storms and there are cities that are still flooded from a decade old storm so you're just worse than us with a GDP of 23 trillion (i assume you're from US) oh and i just saw the same thing happen in Moscow, Switzerland and somewhere in italy and they were all worse than dubai

[@AL-lh2ht]

@@ib7566 dudes so racist he thinks 90% of their population are literal slaves.

[@AL-lh2ht]

Dubai does have industries outside of tourrism. A bit of everything, even a tech industry where they make parts for space industry.

[@jasonheckenlively1172]

Damn, these little Talibanis get really upset when you suggest thier paper city isnt quite ready for primetime

[@reggiebenes2916]

These ideas were so incredibly stupid, that it's mind boggling. Dubai is located in a place that virtually nobody would live, if they hadn't found oil underneath it. No amount of theme parks will make people want to endure that heat

[@ydne]

No oil in Dubai. It's wealth had historically been made, before the oil regions, from pearl diving. Cultured pearls gaining popularity damaged the Dubai economy. The current building rush started with using Dubai as a home base for USA President Bush Sr's 1990 Desert Storm War against Iraq when Saddam invaded Kuwait. 2003 brought America war contractors back when USA President Bush Jr came back to finish what his father started. 2008 and the election of USA President Obama, even more so than the Financial Crisis that was well underway before the election, may have hurt Dubai's prospects for having the USA stay in the Iraq conflict long. Dubai's wealth, since the decline of pearl diving in the 1980s, has been getting Americans involved in wars with their neighbors over oil. Oil being an industry that doesn't concern them directly.

[@Gino_567]

its kind of tainted with the whole 'slave labour' and "no touching girls" kinda shit. i have zero interest to visit a country like that

[@TrangleC]

I often heard that there is basically nothing to do in Dubai. All the people there do is hang out in air conditioned shopping malls all day, like teens in the 1980s in some backwater city. And like Gino_567 said, the restrictive laws and culture don't help either. I think all those plans of places like Dubai, Saudi Arabia or the other Emirates to transition from being oil producers to being tourism and trading hubs are doomed to fail. There is just no good reason to go to those places unless you are working in the oil industry or being paid to do some other odd job for some oil sheikh. (For example, I once worked for a German company that often sent water pump technicians to the Middle East to install Koi fish ponds and aquariums and stuff like that and I once met a German Faulkner who made most of his money selling hawks/falcons to rich Arabs or training them.) Once the oil dries up, all they will be able to do is invest in stuff outside the Middle East and unless you are some Warren Buffet like genius who is always a step ahead of the market and its crashes, such investments have the tendency to get wiped out sooner or later, meaning over a long enough time the Middle East will probably have to return to how it was before the oil boom.

[@refillpan]

@@ydneit all comes back to 2008 or oil

[@eliterun6214]

Dubai is more or less the trade and transit hub for the Middle East. It's the biggest financial center in any direction until you get to Zurich. It will continue to get tons of attention due to its global positioning, not its local geography. As an equivalent, in the USA, plenty of people basically live in the desert in California / Arizona / Texas.

[@Iliketochopwood]

All of these mega theme park constructions projects never take into account why Universal and Disney are successful in FL and CA. It is because the US economy supports a middle class. Yes is there is super expensive trips to Disney and universal to be had but the majority of guests are not staying in the 2k a night hotel and eating $500 dollar dinners. It is people who save for a few years and spend 6 to 10k total on a trip. Yes there are people from outside the US that do frequently go but every time I have been to Disney and universal in FL it is primarily people from the US (I have not been to anything in CA so I cannot speak on that one for who goes). To do the same trip to Dubai I would spend an extra 1500 to 2k just on flights then also have a 13 hour plane ride from where I am in the US. So on each side of my vacation it is an entire day of travel that I also have to take work off for. Europe is closer but even in Berlin where there is a strong economy supporting a robust middle class it is an 8 hour flight. Most people will not travel that far to get to those places unless they are a travel vlogger. At this point China which has a large middle class on the eastern side of the country has their own mega theme parks they don't need to go to the middle east for them. Also the flight from Beijing to Dubai is 9 hours. These giant mega projects in the middle of the deserts in the middle east only are for the ultra wealthy but there is not enough people coming to justify the existence. I once saw an interview from a guy who's family got rich selling pillows to hotels and to paraphrase him he said as a rich person I only buy maybe 8 pillows every few years where as 500 people who combined make in a year what I do buy 1 to 2 thousand pillows every few years. Without an healthy and large middle class society you cannot support grand theme park areas and be that far from everyone who can support it. There just isn't the number of middle to lower upper class people who support these places to justify them.

[@m1lk0meda]

I met a traveler from a place quite grand Who said: such vast and bulldozed foundations of land Lie out in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered building lies, who’d advertise And promised rides, and endless dreams of profit realized. Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: “DUBAILAND, land of adventure, be our guest!: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and invest!” No thing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

[@darrenrunning5415]

Every time I see a model mockup of a mega project, I picture Godzilla tearing through and destroying everything.

[@jaein91]

As someone that grew up and still lives in the UAE, I remember seeing the abandoned sign everytime we passed by it on the highway. Now of course we have theme parks scattered across the country (Atlantis, Dubai Parks, Warner Bros, SeaWorld, IMG, Ferrari, the upcoming Harry Potter World, etc) that do really well but it's crazy to remember life before all of the entertainment and fun.

[@ArsonRaboot]

There's a SeaWorld in Dhabi?! With the heat over there, those Blackfish film makers could have run the whole company out of business with their documentary!!

[@jaein91]

@@ArsonRaboot It's in Abu Dhabi and it's fully indoors and temperature controlled and it's fully ministry and ethics controlled. Those animals aren't suffering like the un-supervised American SeaWorlds.

[@Giblitzky]

Thank you for all the research and hard work that you put into your videos. All of the information paired with videos and images that you dig up really makes viewing them an educating experience

[@BrightSunFilms]

That means a lot, thank you so much!

[@daemonspudguy]

Early 2000s? This is gonna go swimmingly. /s

[@_EVANERV_]

I would wager the same fate awaits Neom line city. Can't wait for a mini doc from BSF when the line city saga sees its end.

[@Bustermachine]

Pretty sure the Line is already seeing it's end. At this point we might get an unusually shaped skyscraper out of it.

[@eleghari]

NEOM is already a complete and utter failure as I predicted the day it was announced. Was a bonkers idea. It's scale has already been reduced from 170 km to a mere 2.5 km and that is still 2.5 km too long. Same will happen to The Cube announced for Riyadh, and every other such project of MBS. He is a nincompoop of the highest order! (Having failed at building a 1 km high tower, what type of ***** announces a 2 km high tower? Only one foolish enough to spent $450 million on a fake painting 🤭)

[@kelygrl]

Wife and Mom who plans the family vacations here 🙋🏽‍♀️ You could NEVER convince me to take myself or my kids to Dubai. The low attendance isn't really that surprising.

[@Jenesaisquoi44]

Yes i must agree and ditto - unless you build it with a Canadian Embassy at the gate I am out.

[@eily_b]

Despite trying to deliver a modern picture, it is a radical muslimic country. I would never go there either

[@HoJSimpson]

The thing is...who flys to dubai to visit a carbon copy of a themepark that is probably pretty close to you already? Again it's in the fucking desert. People already melt in the Orlando heat...

[@DEATHTRUTH]

Maybe the vast majority of people that don't live in or near to the USA??

[@HoJSimpson]

@@DEATHTRUTH bro. We have themeparks in Europe too. And guess what. There are even ones in Asia.

[@eleghari]

With much better weather too...

[@Caarajack]

One example of Gulf countries' megalomaniacal projects that are more akin to a kid playing SimCity with infinite money cheat code until he gets bored and gets distracted by another silly project.

[@MattBellzminion]

And not even the good SimCity editions.

[@intothevideoverse]

“If you build it, they will come.” If only it was that easy.

[@arribaficationwineho32]

If it is in the right place!

[@disliked1390]

Dubai thinks it's some destination that the world cannot wait to visit when it's not the case at all and no one that isn't a tech bro cares. It sucks as a vacation destination.

[@phoenixfritzinger9185]

Like did they just forget that heat stroke is a thing

[@chrisslater9514]

woah woah dont forget arms manufacturers

[@sportsMike87]

Dubai wanting to be a destination spot is like Utah trying to be a tourist destination. Too many rules and dry places

[@WestCoastWheelman]

Except Utah isn't trying, it IS a huge tourist destination. Something on the order of 30 million per year, 7 million skiers alone. Moab and Bryce are packed with people year round.

[@Fay7666]

Yeah, Moab / Zion / Bryce make Utah a legit tourist destination, I'd add in the freeway to Denver as well.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

All that MLM/Morman money.

[@PrezVeto]

I see what you attempted to do there. Sorry Utah's tourism industry didn't cooperate. Cheers! 🍻

[@WYO_Dirtbag]

Except Utah has beautiful natural features. Can't be said about UAE or Saudi Arabia

[@AcornElectron]

So funny seeing water parks in a country where a bikini can get your head chopped off 😂

[@Sashazur]

Bikinis are legal, but frowned upon in public. Even so I would never visit Dubai or anywhere else in UAE for many reasons. One is that they don’t have any modern form of government, it’s still a medieval absolute monarchy.

[@frefai]

That doesn't happen, racist

[@PrezVeto]

​@@frefai Islam isn't a race.

[@rods6741]

@@frefaimaybe not but goats are VERY popular (wink wink)

[@frefai]

@@PrezVeto no shit. Talking about Arab racist tropes like this one.

[@emmanuelfrechette5498]

Jake please do an abandoned episode on Mirabel airport. A significant part of canadian infrastructure history

[@Global_MegaProjects]

That's an interesting observation! It's crazy how many significant events in recent history seem to trace back to 2008. That year was a major turning point for so many industries.

[@werquantum]

Given the myriad world options, I can’t see Dubai sustaining interest on any significant scale as a tourist destination.

[@CastorRabbit]

People will go like they... sometimes like to visit Amish country or take pictures of Detroit

[@MatecaCorp]

Dubai has no inherent draw for tourism or any other industry. It exists solely as a playground for the wealthy and the extremely wealthy

[@11bornrich]

The crazy part is, Dubai literally had the blueprint on how to develop this project. The issue is, they wanted to accomplish everything overnight. Dubai wasn't built in just a few years, it took decades to get to where it is. The saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" still applies to today. They say under promise and over deliver. They had no business announcing such a timeline & building all of that at once didn't make sense. They should've slowly built everything out over decades not all at once. You can't force demand. It would've been a ghost town within 5 or so years after the hype.

[@Magic-gt4pl]

Yes it took decades. And lots of actual slave labor.

[@AL-lh2ht]

@@Magic-gt4pl dude so racist he thinks expats, 90% of the population, are literal slaves.

[@AL-lh2ht]

The main failure of the project was due to the global recession.

[@MustraOrdo]

Patience and long term visions are not profitable to majority of current investors unfortunately.

[@11bornrich]

@@Magic-gt4pl But the issue is, they should've slowly built up certain aspects of the project and have people actually moving in and investing before just trying to build EVERYTHING at once and hope people will just rush in. Look at Dubai, I had friends moving there in the development stages in the 2000s and early 2010s, it didn't look anything like it doesn't now but slowly they built that demand. Would it be as successful if they said "wait let's just build everything first and then hope people come rushing in"? It probably doesn't have the same level of success. Things should always be a gradual progression when you're looking to build something on this scale. Not even Vegas main attractions were all built at once.

[@ko-ve7mi]

2008 really is the cursed year

[@martinedwards4522]

one word : obama

[@johnmilovich2195]

Some of Dubai's many human rights violations : Arbitrary detention, forced labor, restrictions on freedom of expression, restrictions on freedom of movement, restrictions on political participation, restrictions on academic freedom, restrictions on LBGTQ rights, restrictions on women's rights, failure to tackle climate crisis.

[@jillhoffman9179]

Yeah fuck that place as a tourist destination. I am constantly aghast at the oppression and virtual of slavery women and literal slavery of immigrants.

[@westrim]

So, how does your condition work? When you see a trigger names and regurgitate some perspective on them, are you aware in that moment that it doesn't actually have anything to do with the context at hand, or is it like a blackout and you don't have any memory of doing so until you see the evidence of your impulsivity?

[@airplanegod]

Oh yeah because the UAE (Dubai is a city like NYC) is so horrible compared to Iran or Afghanistan or Hamas.

[@Sashazur]

@@airplanegodyeah I guess I’ll let this rapist live in my house since at least he’s not a murderer.

[@Sashazur]

@@airplanegodSure those places are worse. But that doesn’t mean we should give less worse - but still bad - places a pass.

[@michaelc2656]

Fallout 5 Dubai

[@nekomarulupin]

Can't wait for the canceled/abandoned episode on Dubai itself.

[@ErikTheAndroid]

Man that Dubailand logo is a real blast from the past. I have gone past that sales building many, many times and I have even been inside it. It was fun to think of all the things that were about to be built, but which never were.

[@scottgrieb8095]

The only thing of note to come out of this entire project was that sweet miniature scale model.

[@LN_P]

BSF Feeding on the 2008 Economic Crisis like a vampire

[@ImARealHumanPerson]

They're finally realizing that nobody wants to vacation in that part of the world 😅

[@CastorRabbit]

The infidel dollar is a fickle, elusive one 🤣I'll give them some hints - we like beer and tend to not hang out in deserts

[@MatecaCorp]

Tourists love booze, comfy temperatures, and bikinis. If you don’t have at least two of those you’re screwed.

[@PrezVeto]

They won't concede that until they turn to offshore banking as a replacement means of surviving beyond petroleum.

[@tbillington]

The only thing it's good for these days is providing somewhere for Russians to hide.

[@TimothiusRycard]

UAE is place where people have layover and enjoy their world class airports experience but that's it

[@thrillbilly2]

Everything about Dubai reminds me of playing Simcity as a kid - going all out to build wild cities/projects without any care or knowledge about taxes, budgets, constraints, etc. 😅

[@Aw3some98]

I used to go to the school next to Dubai land and watched out the window of my classroom as they demolished the remains of it

[@calvin7330]

Somalia has Somaliland, why can't Dubai make Dubailand work?

[@arribaficationwineho32]

Because no one will go there

[@Game_Hero]

lol

[@ziadelhadidi14]

I actually live in Dubai, Sports City to be exact. You got everything perfectly right. Such a disappointment when I saw all these projects slowly get cancelled. Sports City is a heartbreaking reminder of what could have been but ultimately was completed to such a poor standard. Motiongate is by far my favourite park in the area but I admit, it is obvious the park is struggling with little to no queues and constant discounts on tickets. Great video though

[@LysiHalkides]

I disagree completely... We are still getting everything, with lagoons and residential areas and we don't need more theme parks. Also, even in July 2024, motion gate had tons of lines.... I prefer IMG. I live in Al Barari and own a few apartments in Remraam just down from you soooo. Everything will still come, it will just take time and we need more places to live, especially with rents increasing.

[@recklessgarage3314]

So you have cancelled, abandoned, and bankrupt. But I wonder if there are any interesting success stories. Places that were abandoned, nearly cancelled, but were eventually redeemed.

[@bengreedy1088]

When you think about it so much money has been wasted in Dubai on nothing.. Yeah they made money but the developer's got nothing back..

[@haplon33]

a bunch of well paid consultants laughing their asses off as they hurry out of town like the simpsons monorail guy

[@michaelleslieviola5743]

I’ve been following your channel for years. If I had a complaint, it would be that you don’t post new videos as often as I’d like. Keep u the great work Jake!

[@DragonPhlegm]

To have fun in Dubai you either need to be inside or at a water park. An outdoor dry theme park sounds rancid

[@sarahlevine776]

I think the money would be better spent as a sovereign wealth fund or something else that's practical.

[@Juanxlink]

you cant have family resorts in non family friendly countries, should be easy to figure out...

[@CMillineum]

And how would uae not be a family friendly country?

[@aanntthhoonnyy]

Love your stuff. I’ll rewatch your film on Amazon this weekend

[@BrightSunFilms]

Thank you so much!

[@ald1144]

Why waste millions when you can waste... billions.

[@amyslowikgrossman835]

Aww, Jake! I'm so happy that you got sponsored by Factor. That's a genuine score. I'm a subscriber to them already. They are pricey, but quite nice for pre-made lunches. I love their drink variety pack.

[@lo2740]

lol, you can't cook a meal? After the corporate drones, the youtube sponsor drones. I guess marketing heavily alters mental faculties;

[@quinnzykir]

Get the land. But start small. That’s how lost island Waterpark started. Now it’s huge

[@goofyrulez7914]

Dubai is like a one-legged man who wants to become a world-class runner. There's a fundamental problem that they are ignoring. (I can't mention what it is but we all know.)

[@simonhayes-uv6ci]

give us a clue

[@ricko2301]

​@@simonhayes-uv6ciMuslim

[@jedlikestrains7599]

@@simonhayes-uv6cimy guess is the fact that it is hot as fuck there

[@CastorRabbit]

@@simonhayes-uv6ci Allahu Akbar

[@naturalcambion3747]

Unfortunately that issue is part and parcel for that region.

[@katherinealvarez9216]

They really counted their chickens before they hatched.

[@eleghari]

They forgot their incubators temperature is too high and can't be lowered 🤭

[@veggieboyultimate]

This makes me wonder, if the 2008 financial crisis never happened, we could have gotten all the projects that were cancelled.

[@Seagaltalk]

I was working at a design consulting company and my boss brought the pamphlets for all this nonesense from one of his trips. As a company we were very excited by the prospect of working on these. However I remained very very skeptical that anyone would want to come to the middle of the desert for theme parks, alone be built.

[@kolonarulez5222]

Every time I see Dubaj mega projects and tourism attempts I keep thinking "I just wouldn't feel safe traveling there as a woman." Love learning about them though!

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Not juat as a woman, I don't support their whole government and wouldn't visit just off of that.

[@frefai]

On the contrary, women are much more protected there. I've been there several times and it's normal to see women and children out in the streets at midnight

[@themessageman2463]

Like what are you talking about, the Middle East is the safest place you could be as a woman. It's too safe for women that's what people are complaining about, y'know that they're treated juvenile. But not unsafe in.. y'know that sorta way...

[@themessageman2463]

Sorry it's just annoying because you're not making any sense

[@infinitetanner]

Smart woman!!!

[@RednekGamurz]

Yeah Dubailand was never going to happen, and if it did, it was going to fail. It was a flawed concept right from the start, and I have no idea why so many major companies even humored the idea.

[@tcbgarage2845]

If Jake made a live stream where his narrated videos just played on a loop I would be listening all day at work.

[@ilyasboudad]

As someone who literally passes by this everyday for school, i can confirm literally nothing about it has changed.

[@MoldieAnimations]

My goat is back with a brand new video 💯 God bless 2008 and private equity firms 🗣️🔥

[@paoloibayan7055]

People thought that money is wasted when government cancels projects. Those billions becomes wages for workers / contractors / suppliers. The only wasted here was the potential income it could generate.

[@raedwulf61]

The big question about things like this is, to whom are these parks targeted? The Chinese? The Indians? Certainly not the Americans who will not go there due to the distance, the huge jet lag of 9 hours or more, and that, except for a handful of adventurous types, they will not go to the Middle East as it is perceived as scary and filled with scary, even dangerous, people.

[@nuijax]

maybe the british? though, seeing how they treat the romani, i don't think they'd be interested

[@Thatannoyingtgirl]

they expect the entire world to have enough money to visit them every month or something considering just how much that project costed

[@nannerz1994]

Remember when these people tried to make a bunch of little islands in the ocean and there are all like abandoned now?

[@Zaabi]

Not abandoned any more, development has restarted

[@eily_b]

@@Zaabi Of course... 😄

[@Zaabi]

@@eily_b it is

[@traciecombs7030]

Soooo... the people who visit the wealthiest country in the world aren't really interested in theme parks. Shocking...

[@lo2740]

Wealthiest country in the world is luxembourg, no dubai, lol. And their "wealth" is just petrol which is running off, fast. Other than that they have nothing, no culture, no technology, no brains, no class, and live on 5 year old kids dreams projects.

[@stuckinparadise9676]

Lived and worked in Dubai for 13 years. It was really one of the best and worst experiences of my life.

[@thatguywesmaranan]

an amusement park? in the desert? that's gonna turn out great... 😂😂😂

[@nkosijwara2940]

I worked at IMG Worlds of Adventure from pre opening til 2021. The building next to it was used for company accommodation for 2 years and then everyone left for company accommodation somewhere else. I also worked at Dubai parks and resorts as well (for Bollywood parks and motiongate) poor attendance is a real thing . The economy is not strong enough to support the attendance

[@JamesLawner]

I remember seeing ads for Dubailand back in the day and I was really looking forward to the idea of a Marvel theme park at the time. Seeing all these renderings and concept art seems truly outrageous now, like we can’t even get theme parks like this in Europe! 😂

[@MindCraftChannel]

Dubai land has now turned into full of luxury villas. I also remember the universal studios theme park gate near Outlet Mall which is in Dubailand but now only the gate is remaining but they made it into a shooting training ground

[@houstonhilton74]

I mean they could've built all they want, but they would've never been able to compete with Disney and Universal's customer numbers, as at least those two parks are in areas that don't treat women and minorities terribly by literal law...

[@wyganter]

Don’t worry, Florida is working hard to be on parity with Dubai on human rights.

[@justint984]

The one thing that will never be "Cancelled" is my subscription to this channel.

[@aresmoscow3209]

my school is right next to the 'entrance' to the dubailand, i see all of the old things every day on the way to unniversity

[@Choralone422]

Whenever I hear much about Dubai I'm reminded of dialogue from the 2001 Ocean's Eleven movie. Reuben: [to Rusty and Danny present during lunch at Ruben's home] You guys are pros. The best. I'm sure you can make it out of the casino. Of course, lest we forget, once you're out the front door, you're still in the middle of the f*cking desert! Seems that in a number of ways Las Vegas (the setting of Ocean's Eleven) and Dubai have a lot of similarities. Both areas that rely very heavily on tourists and are both in the middle of the freaking desert! lol

[@apeters5339]

The cost (financial, environmental, ecological) of having to desalinate the ocean water needed for all these parks would be catastrophic. All those lawns, the water parks, actual drinking water…

[@AA-db9cb]

Why don't they build structures for manufacturing? They should be a manufacturing base considering they are very close to the oil.

[@Infernal_Elf]

One of the first things Dubai did back in the 1970's was to make port jebel Ali. Dubai drydocks and Dubai aluminum. Then they started on emirates airlines and Dubai Airport in the 1980's then tourism 1997 onwards and becoming a financial hub.

[@Bustermachine]

Because generally oil is a feedstock for many other processes, but it's also SUPER easy to transport vast distances to other countries that already have very competent and proven manufacturing bases. There's relatively little advantage to setting up shop right next door.

[@jdizzy90]

I've been living in Dubai for a good part of 18 years now, and remember very well all these theme park ideas that failed. Whats surprising now is to see Saudi attempting the same exact thing, only this time minus the humidity - just the excruciating dry heat of the Riyadh desert.

[@nizam5568]

Saudi Arabia is going through a similar building boom to what Dubai did back then, probably not going to end well for them.

[@simonwaffleman]

I was in Dubai pre-(virus of unspecified origin). The percentage of empty office and living space was and continues to be absolutely insane. They expanded so fast and with such reckless abandon that the ability to sustain the PEOPLE growth in cooperation with just the sheer amount of building they were doing was just not realistic. I can't imagine that it's getting better right now.

[@ydne]

The Dubai Miracle Garden was a good idea for a spot like that. If you can get water too them, plants sure like the heat of the Dubai desert sun.

[@renatacastro9909]

That's why my neighborhood in Dubai is called Dubailand! The parks were gonna be here nearby! I had no idea!

[@deadpan2866]

All these Arabian oil states remind me of everyone's first unlimited money playthroughs of sims city or cities skylines where you build with only the most expensive roads and place down all the most expensive structures but because its not organically grown there is no demand for anything so you end up with a village of like 300 people with the infrastructure of a small city

[@chipcook5346]

I can't imagine a greater travesty -- that Dubailand getting built in the first place.

[@eleghari]

How about NEOM? 🤭

[@Ckom-Tunes]

The ancient world gave us wonders like The Hanging Gardens of Babylon! The modern world gives us indoor skiing in the middle of the desert... Brilliant!

[@ThatOnePat]

Imagine what could have been done with the money spent on the stuff canceled and abandoned