Visitor's guide to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi

May 30, 2023, 1:22 PM · Located next to the Yas Marina Circuit Formula 1 track, Ferrari World was the first theme park to open on Yas Island, on November 4, 2010. Ferrari World celebrates one of the world's most iconic carmakers, sports teams, and luxury brands with record-setting roller coasters and family attractions.

As is the case with Warner Bros. World across the street, you don't need a strategy to do everything in this park in one day. Crowds are rarely large enough to push wait times above half an hour and many attractions are typically walk ons. Do what you want, when you want to.

Let's start our day with a walking tour around this indoor park.

What to do

A park called "Ferrari World" needs to deliver speed and thrills, so roller coasters are, of course, the headliners here, led by the world's fastest roller coaster, Formula Rossa. The 0-149mph launch on this Intamin production is so intense that you must wear a pair of park-provided goggles when you ride. Minimum height: 55 inches. Maximum height: 77 inches

But the best ride in the park might be Flying Aces, an Intamin Wing Coaster. A brisk ride up the lift hill leads you into a 170.6-foot non-inverting loop to kick off this 4,921-foot-long, 74.6 mph adventure honoring the Italian air ace whose family crest became Ferrari's iconic "prancing horse" logo. Minimum height: 51 inches. Maximum height: 77 inches

In early 2023, the park opened its long-awaited Mission Ferrari, an SFX Coaster from Dynamic Attractions. The attraction features a features a launch, several media-driven dark ride scenes, a motion arm, and a sideways drop, immersing riders in a mission to deliver an experimental spy supercar. Mission Ferrari's troubled development helped lead to the bankruptcy of Dynamic Attractions, and the ride closed within a couple of months of its debut, though it is expected to reopen later this year. Minimum height: 51 inches. Maximum height: 79 inches

Turbo Track is another Intamin launch coaster, this one heading up a spike track through the middle of the park's iconic roof. Minimum height: 51 inches. Maximum height: 77 inches

Fiorano GT Challenge is a Maurer Rides launched racing coaster that almost never races, as crowd levels are such that the park typically only operates one side at a time. Minimum height: 51 inches. Maximum height: 77 inches

For younger riders, the park also offers Formula Rossa Junior, a Zamperla Junior Coaster. Here are the other attractions available at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

Racing Zone

Benno's Great Race is an interactive dark ride where you must use your wrench to help Benno build his car and clear obstacles along the course to win his race.

Driving With the Champion - movie with motion-base seats, featuring former Ferrari F1 driver Sebastian Vettel.

Viaggio in Italia - flying theater ride. Minimum height: 39 inches

Galleria Ferrari - exhibition space featuring F1 and road Ferrari cars

Junior GP - drive scaled F1 cars around a kiddie car track, for kids with height between 43-55 inches.

Junior Training Camp - climbing attractions for kids ages 7+

Nello's Adventureland - soft play area for kids ages 3+

Family Zone

Featuring the Turbo Tower drop ride, Tyre Twist spinner, Flying Wings hang glider spinner, and Speedway Race track cars, as well as Formula Rossa Junior.

Adventure Zone

Tyre Change Experience - see how long it would take you to change a tire on an F1 car.

Cinema Maranello - movie theater showcasing Ferrari history

This is also where you will find the park's upcharge Ferrari Driving Experience, Karting Academy, and Scuderia Challenge simulators.

Italian Zone

Bell'Italia is an Autopia-style drive around a miniature Italian countryside in a scaled down Ferrari California.

Made in Maranello - screen-based dark ride about the creation of a Ferrari GT

Speed of Magic - 3D motion base dark ride. Minimum height: 39 inches

What to eat

Mamma Rossella serves classic Italian dishes in the park's Italian Zone, with Il Podio in the Racing Zone serving international selections. However, you enter Ferrari World through the 2.5 million square-foot Yas Mall, which offers abundant dining opportunities if you want to head in there.

Tickets

Get discounted tickets to the park via our partner's Ferrari World Abu Dhabi tickets page.

And you can learn more about the creation of Ferrari World in our podcast episode, Getting in the game with sports-themed attractions, with project director Randy Smith and Shawn McCoy, vice president at JRA.

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Replies (5)

May 30, 2023 at 3:04 PM

This park seems fantastic. Formula Rossi gets all the headlines and then Mission Ferrari but there is much more to do as well. Plus I really like the do what you want, when you want approach for a theme park. I visited Hong Kong Disneyland at the height of the anti-China protests in Hong Kong, so the park was especially empty, and it was one of if not the best Disney day I've had. But back to Ferrari it was tough not clicking on the videos (don't want to spoil it for myself) but based on the descriptions there is quite a bit to do here.

May 31, 2023 at 10:58 AM

Definitely more to do there than I expected. Thanks for putting this together, interesting read.

May 31, 2023 at 10:04 PM

Thank you for the excellent article! What is the practical set to screen ratio? The ride appears to make extensive use of physical surroundings, but are there any action beats that do not rely exclusively on screens?

Also, how does this ride compare to Disney/Universal's regular high-theme coasters (Mummy, Hagrids, Everest, and so on)? In terms of overall enjoyment as well as execution.

June 1, 2023 at 11:59 AM

I only went to Ferrari World because it was part of a Yas Island package deal. I had low expectations going in because: what does a car brand know about theme parks? I thought the only thing it had was Formula Rossa. Well, it was surprisingly a lot of fun and a beautiful park, although it's just a half-day park. It's part race car-themed (looks futuristic and Ferrari colors run throughout) and part old Italy, drawing on the origins of Ferrari. They had a few bigger coasters that were fun, and my boys went on Formula Rossa probably 5-6 times in one hour. Speaking of that ride, I didn't get a lot out of it. It seems that most things built to be the extreme (e.g., biggest, fastest, longest) are let-downs. Formula Rossa's highlight is just the fast start - there's nothing else interesting in terms of the coaster design or theming. Nonetheless, if you go to Yas Island, it's worth seeing.

June 2, 2023 at 5:40 AM

Thanks for sharing these vidoes.

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