In the 90's, you might have been convinced by certain bestsellers and major motion pictures that if someone created a theme park full of man-made dinosaurs, you'd probably get eaten. What no one could have predicted back then was that you wouldn't be getting eaten by a dinosaur... you'd be getting eaten by a
robot dinosaur. At least that's likely what you can expect when Dubai's $1 billion "Restless Planet" park opens in late 2008, a 500,000 square foot recreation of our planet at a time when dinosaurs roamed -- replete with giant, animatronic / robotic versions of over 40 extinct species. According to the park's managing director Mustafa Galadari, "The Restless Planet provides a visual, audio and tactile experience allowing visitors to experience some of the exciting things that have gone on in the Earth's history," adding that the effect will be, "Extremely realistic and scary – but at the same time, educational." The dinos will contain embedded potentiometers and motion sensors (amongst others), apparently allowing the reptilian re-creations to follow visitors with their eyes, track specific colors of clothing, regulate their own movements, and even lunge at viewers... then eat them. Don't say we didn't warn you.
posted Dec 18th 2007 4:37PM
makes sense. all that dino juice they're sitting on made them what they are today.
Not really. They don't have that much. Their crazy wealth is based off processing and extremely lax port laws that favor the oil companies. So all the companies run their pipes to Dubai, process it there, then ship it out. Dubai just takes a small cut for being the middle man. The second big $$$ generator--soon to No. 1--is their finance sector. Once again, their lax laws when it comes to finance draw all the banks there. Dubai, thanks to its forward looking monarch who instituted these changes beginning in the 70s when he saw the country's oil supply run low, is now one of the richest nations in the world despite being one of the smallest. They're like the Mideast Switzerland.
real dinosaurs > oil > money > robot dinosaurs
i too welcome our robot tyrannolords.
Petroleum doesn't come from dinosaurs!
GARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Although I'm sure a nice dinosaur stock might add something unique to a stew.
Dubai ceases to amaze me in terms of how much AWESOME SHIT they get. They are filthy rich with oil, but hey, I could just dream about what we could do in America with the money going to the war...
They don't amaze you anymore?
YEAH, Palooooooz! *Nitpicking high five*
Haha quick edit.. They NEVER CEASE to amaze me.
I'm horrible
Yea, if only we'd drill into our natural oil reserves in Alaska, and then gouge superpowered foreign economies to export those resources instead of relying on their own- maybe someday we could have a dinosaur-themed amusement park!
You're right- the money towards the war is the reason why we don't have "Awesome Shit" like Dubai.
@Righty
On hot days, i prefer to take small sips of my drink while all the others chug away at theirs, only to be very thirsty after their done, while I still had alot left.
Get my drift?
We are being very smart *NOT* to touch our natural reserves of oil.
@ Ruben
Go ahead and chug the drinks of everyone sitting around the table then, but don't be surprised when you have 10 pissed off, sweaty people standing around you with parched mouths while you're finally sipping away at your own drink.
Remember, pinky out!
@fistpittingnork
Well they will be standing around you pissed off, but really what are they gonna do if you have already invaded everything they own?
WANT
I understand they do not like Americans. YMMV.
They like our billions of dollars a year in oil money.
Who DO
Where did you dig up that old fossil?
Lovely! :) Good thing I live near Dubai, a car ride from down town :D
Love the city, love the atmosphere and definitely loving every project; gone are the days where I trade in my money for some dollars in order to go into "some" park at some state or city.
Now only if the Dinosaurs do look that real, I would live there! I will be super scared, but will love it to the max. :D
I just hope those dinos follow the first robot law :)
DODSON, DODSON, DODSON, WE GOT DODSON HERE!
Seriously though, I do hope something goes terribly wrong. It'd be so ironic.
Why do you want something bad to happen? Why would it be so ironic?
umm jurassic park... the movie (although if something bad happens i hope no one gets hurt)
@Ian
Ah...it seems we have at least 2 people that don't understand irony.
Trust me, whenever Dubai plans something, Doha plans something bigger and better to compete :P
like real dinosaurs...
pkpowerhouse, loved it, hahahahahahhahahaa :)
wth LAZORS tew!!
Nothing good can come of this.
Except perhaps PURE AWESOMENESS
I hope that raptors can't swim long distances...
I believe this is totally appropriate: http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/search_history.png
Doesn't anyone remember what happened at at itchy and scratchy land??? No good will come of this...and for god sakes...dont forget to cary the one...
just make sure to carry a camera with a flash and you're set
Will electric fences keep the dinosaurs in?
....or just make them stronger, smarter and faster?
So this isn't exactly like Jurassic Park, more like a combination of Westworld and Jurassic Park? It still means Michael Crichton will doom us all!!!
Seriously, how much are tickets?
"Seriously, how much are tickets?"
Who cares? These animals are for everyone to enjoy. They'll probably have a "Coupon Day" or someting...
Your petrodollars at work. Nice also that we've got our military deployed over there to prop up the royals.
Yeah, but when Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't EAT the tourists!
/obligatory
Oh good; Jurassic park and Westworld brought together in one place.
Not sure I want to get the golden ticket for that opening day*
*I need a new hobby. 3 film references in one post.
Maybe Doha will try to top this by constructing Itchy & Scratchy Land!
ah ah ah you didnt say the magic word...
first they get a building in the shape of an iPod, then they get an indoor skying facility, now they can have their criminals get eaten by dinosaurs! What the hell America, we gotta step it up!
God creates dinosaurs, god destroys dinosaurs, god creates man, man destroys god, man creates robot dinosaurs...dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the earth! Why did we destroy god!!!
Not quite DinoPark Tycoon, but I guess I'll take it anyway.
20 bucks says the Jewasaurus isn't represented.
I hope they put them in the indoor ski slope!
can't they use their cash for more productive uses? like maybe advancing the human race and investing in technology?
these idiots spend their money like spoiled children.
Yeah - maybe they can put their money to good use like the US and buy tons of weapons and invade other countries.
guess the first place you're gonna come crying to when your country gets invaded?
Right.
The United States of America.
Huh? I live in the US, dick.
Well tom, you definitely are not living in the UAE or Dubai, and you definitely are basing your talk on pure CNN and BBC political-hour crap.
Here are some projects that are being developed in a serious manner:
1. Dubai Energy: Controlling and managing power in a new future-based technologies.
2. Dubai Healthcare City: Fully equipped medical "City" for the poor and the rich and stupid and smart. Also for health research and development. (Medical plans in the UAE are cheap and useful, unlike other countries).
3. Dubai Industrial City: Fully equipped city for industrial research and development, and one of the main issues they have in their agenda is the problem with the Chinese humiliation done by some large "successful" companies.
4. Dubai Knowledge Village: Just wiki this one, you will be amazed by the amount of effort spent on education for all the levels of people.
5. Dubai International Academic City: Another great place to "learn" for real. Google this.
6. Dubiotech: Wiki this one too.
This is only by one holding company! Listen, Dubai as you know it from news is the money spending spoiled girl from across the street, but the reality is that part of Dubai's plans is to establish a "knowledge-based economy" within 2010, which seems completely normal and on track.
Dubai is not following what you guys learn in books and apply every single year, instead, Dubai is "writing" a book in history, I would call this book: "Cut the crap, you so called smart-ass book readers and followers". 100 years ago, building a city in 4 years was impossible, so "analyses and smart-people" called such process "crazy", and people until now think that we still live in 1907! We are in 2007, where a new technology is being developed in every friction of a second, this is reality and not only done by Dubai, but by other "great" countries and businesses, it's only what I call "Jealousy" that burns the brains of people and make them say some BS to make them sound "Smart". I mean seriously, a Professor who has been teaching at a fine University about the economy and how to develop it will never agree with what Dubai is doing, because he will sound "Stupid", he will sound "Not" like a real professor, and the same goes for politicians, newscasters and news readers.
I hope that you are getting the big picture, and to make it even more simple here is how I can explain it:
Dubai right now is like a New York 100 years ago, but with more control, more religion, wiser leaders and lots of money!
Imagine the outcome. :)
Google stuff up, and go to trusted websites only, also check this link out, lots of useful information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Holding
Saad, you've spent too much time with your comment. Frankly, I could care less about you think because you don't know what I know.
Behind the smokescreen that the UAE tries to put up by being "progessive", they're really just children playing with their money. From ski resorts, man-made islands, "world's largest skyscraper", the UAE is just playing with toys.
I would only that hope they grow up and become a real country and participate in world affairs. Instead, they taking it easy and riding the backs of the countries that are trying to make a difference.
Hahaha, with all do respect to your opinion tom, I just had to laugh at your reply. (No offense man)
I can tell you this: They are growing up, so fast that your brain can't handle it, and they are "a real country", so real that lies for you make more since at this point. :)
tom, pay Dubai a visit, please do.
Aww, somebody has a problem with a country using its wealth to build creative projects that don't kill people. :( Maybe you need to do some growing up.
Judging by how they are becoming a hub for the global economy it seems to me like they are doing a very good job of participating in world affairs (hence the incredible wealth). And they didn't even need to frame up any countries to invade.
Those plans that Dubai Holdings have...while they're great, they don't negate the disgusting playground for the rich that Dubai is about to come (actually it's already a huge tourist attraction for the rich).
Medical center for the rich and poor you say? Perhaps poor as in the people who work in all of these hotels?
Wonderful that the elite will have their spectacular getaway.
Please, this is a statement about our vanity and our obsession with the material. While Dubai Holdings may be doing some good things, what Dubai is going to become is not.
If you live in the US "Hardcore" .. maybe you shouldn't run your mouth about the weapons that provide the blanket of freedom you sleep so peacefully under.
Weapons provide freedom? Really? I always thought it was things like free speech and the right to vote; silly me. So Iran is trying to free their people by allegedly pursuing Nukes?
your sarcasm is a feeble attempt to cover up your lack of knowledge in world-affairs and our nation's history.
you know nothing.
Weapons provide freedom?? Perhaps we should be encouraging Iran to weaponize their nuke program. Subsidies anyone?
dubai is for camels... who would want to go there....
I am so jealous... :(
"Dubai right now is like a New York 100 years ago, but with more control, more religion, wiser leaders and lots of money!"
Now I am *really* scared.
Its interesting to hear the opinions of both the sides. Having lived in the US as well as in Dubai at the moment, let me try to shed my opinions.
Firstly, Dubai is just a city, not a country. The country is UAE nd the capital Abu Dhabi is filthy rich with oil money. However, Dubai doesnt have much oil left and thus they keep announcing these out of this world projects to make TOURISM their main source of income. Who wouldnt want to see all these "wonders" in the region- tourism has gone up at an unimaginable rate is Dubai.
I say thats a smart thing. They're spending money to make money for the longer run. It's called investing. It appears as "showing off" to many but how else do you attract tourism? By making news about something. As simple as that.
Having said that, Dubai is still decades away from becoming a city like New York or Chicago or LA. At the moment, Dubai is stuck between being extremely modern and losing its cultural values- even though a lot of projects in the region are trying to focus on heritage. It will take a long time for Dubai to find its comfort zone.
Ahhh but, Dubai Cares...
http://www.dubaicares.ae/eng/default.asp
I am living in Dubai and came after many years of planning. For at least 5 years of hearing the comments from both sides and visiting earlier I came to the concluion that Dubai and its surrounding cities are for REAL and these people are one of the most serious in almost all countries.
This is the only city I know which has some of the best quality roads and at ZERO taxes. That along with the existence of real and active industrial zones surrounding the city convinced me of the long term future of the city.
Slowly indirect payments like parking and road tolls are being increased but not to make money but to curb single people from driving above 3500 CC SUVs congesting the streets which are temporarily narrowed due to the building of the metro network.
In a year or two Inshallah (god willing) the metro shall be complete and the 1-3 lanes occupied by the road partitions for construction shall be removed and hopefully more people shall be taking the shiny new dual 70 seater buses and more lanes shall be open and the metro shall be on.
This shall speed up things a lot in preparation for 2010. Single currency like the Euro and more concentration on the tourism and educated economy.
Regards,
Khawar
Too bad anyone who has an Israeli stamp on there passport will be denied at the border, even though I am sure they are using plenty of Israeli technology in their theme park.
Ah, nothing makes me cackle like a good ol' Dubai thread. I can just see the jealously and frustration on some of these commentator's faces, angry and or dismissive over such success and wealth coming to a place that doesn't sit under the stars and stripes or union jack.