Ultimate Guide to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi
Following in the footsteps of our earlier Ultimate Guides to the new SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, the Attractions Magazine team is satisfying your need for speed with our detailed visitor’s guide Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the third major theme park on Yas Island.
Photos by Seth Kubersky
Introduction to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi
Like SeaWorld and Warner Bros. World, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is part of the Yas Island resort complex, which also includes a water park and numerous hotels. Whereas SeaWorld focuses on natural wonders, and Warner Bros. World concentrates on mild thrills for the whole family, Ferrari World is the destination for coaster-lovers seeking record-breaking thrills.
Like the other Yas Island attractions, the park is owned and operated by Miral, which licenses the Ferrari brand. Also like the resorts’ other theme parks, Ferrari World is almost entirely indoors, with only a handful of high-velocity experiences exiting the air-conditioned building.
However, unlike SeaWorld and Warner Bros. World, Ferrari World doesn’t really attempt (with a few exceptions) to create distinct immersive environments. Rather it seeks to awe you with the immense industrial architecture of the iconic undulating dome – which somewhat resembles the roof of a supersized football stadium – under which most of the park’s attractions are contained.
By the way, don’t be intimidated out of visiting Ferrari World if you aren’t a gear-head, or are adverse to high-speed thrills. While its signature scream machines are certainly a top reason to attend, there are also a decent number of dark rides and simulators suitable for all ages. And even if you can’t tell a Testarossa from a Tesla, most of the rides here are entertaining in their own right regardless of your interest in the brand.
Here’s a quick video briefing covering the basics at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi:
Arriving and Getting Oriented
Whereas SeaWorld Abu Dhabi stands alone, and Warner Bros. World is adjacent to a hotel, Ferrari World is directly attached to the massive Yas Mall, which serves as both a convenient transportation hub and a world-class shopping experience. The park and mall are both easily accessible via free buses from Dubai, Abu Dhabi City, and the other Yas Island attractions; or can be reached inexpensively by taxi or Uber.
One-day admission costs about $95 U.S.D. for adults, or $72 for juniors shorter than 1.1 meter (about 43”). A one-day ticket with a meal voucher costs about $13 more. Multi-day tickets that include visits to one or more of the other Yas Island parks within 14 days cost $130-$180, and annual passes to all four parks cost $350-$870, depending on blockouts and benefits. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi tickets purchased online are date-specific, so you’ll have to know the day of your first visit before buying. You don’t need a physical ticket if you opt into Yas parks’ Facepass, a facial-recognition system not unlike the one tested by Universal Orlando. “Quick Pass” is also available at an additional cost for bypassing the attraction queues, but it shouldn’t be necessary except during peak holiday periods.
As at the other Yas Island attractions, American visitors may rest assured that all signage, shows, and attractions are primarily in English, with some Arabic translations; and major American credit cards (including ApplePay) are readily accepted, with no need for currency exchange. Public displays of affection are discouraged, and dress codes request that guests wear “respectful clothing” covering your shoulders and thighs (no bathing suits allowed), but women are not required to cover their hair or faces.
Once visitors arrive at Ferrari World, they cross from the main mall into the park’s Welcome Zone. To the right are ticket booths; to the left is the world’s largest Ferrari Store, which straddles the park’s exit. Proceed through the center turnstiles into the park, and start your engines!
Racing Zone
Most guests at Ferrari World will turn left upon entering and head clockwise towards the Racing Zone, where the park’s record-breaking headliner can be found, along with several less extreme attractions.
Formula Rossa
(55″ minimum height, 77″ maximum height)
Undoubtedly the primary draw that put Ferrari World on all thrill fanatics’ bucket lists is Formula Rosa. It’s currently the fastest roller coaster on Earth, launching to its top speed of 149 miles per hour in only 4.9 seconds. After that initial face-melting acceleration, Formula Rossa reaches a height of 170 feet before a series of ground-hugging spirals that smush riders into their seats with 4.8 times the force of gravity, creating a fairly accurate simulation of what real Formula 1 racecar drivers experience.
This would be an intense ride in a temperate climate, but combine the blistering speed with the blazing heat of the desert, and by the end you’ll understand what a french fry in your air-frier feels like; thank goodness goggles are provided, because otherwise your eyeballs would be reduced to raisins. For extreme coaster credit collectors, Formula Rossa is well worth the long flight (not to mention park admission), but only the truly hardcore will be eager to take multiple laps on this monster; most ordinary mortals will find one time more than enough.
Benno’s Great Race
(47″ minimum height unaccompanied)
If simply the sight of Formula Rossa’s tracks make you tremble, this interactive dark ride may be more up your alley. Six-passenger trackless cars move through colorful cartoon scenes – using a mix of projection screens and physical scenery – as guests help Benno the mouse defeat his road race rivals.
Although not as polished as the Ani-Mayhem interactive attraction at Warner Bros. World, this ride offers a clever twist on typical “shooter” rides. Instead of guns, guests are given “wrenches” that are used to solve different non-violent tasks, like cutting spider webs, collecting bees, and assembling automobile parts.
Viaggio in Italia
(39″ min. height; 51″ min. unaccompanied; 77″ max. height)
This flying theater simulator is supposed to let guests feel like they are soaring effortlessly above the Italian countryside, as their feet dangle high above a large projection dome.
Unfortunately, instead of the elegant counter-balanced system Disney’s Soarin’ uses to gently lift riders, this ride’s noisy hydraulics haul you upward with sheer brute force, and shake you about uncomfortably throughout the experience.
The visuals are equally disappointing, with blurry footage of cars driving in the distance, and little dramatic or geographic continuity. Skip this one unless you are an aficionado of janky simulators, or on an exceptionally leisurely schedule.
Driving With The Champion
(42″ min. height; 47″ min. unaccompanied)
This attraction is from an even older generation of simulators than Viaggio in Italia, with multiple individual motion-base chairs arranged in front of a large screen like Universal’s Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. A storyline involving an ambitious, but inexperienced young car designer is introduced during the preshow video, but it’s mostly an excuse to put riders in the passenger seat of various exotic cars alongside former F1 star Sebastian Vettel, as they zip around hairpin turns.
The technology here isn’t particularly sophisticated by today’s theme park standards, and the seat shaking is sometimes only loosely synchronized with the video. However, the first-person footage of street racing is viscerally thrilling, making this a better experience than the flying ride next door.
In addition to these E- and D-Ticket rides, the racing zone also has several minor attractions:
- Junior GP (43″ min. height; 55″ max height) Kid-sized go-karts shaped like Ferrari Formula 1 race cars.
- Nello’s Adventureland (40″ min. height; ages 3+) A playground with slides, tunnels, and soft surfaces for little children.
- Junior Training Camp (47″ min. height; ages 7+; 33-220 lbs.) A trio of climbing walls and ropes course obstacles, with overhead safety harnesses. Some low suspension bridges are available for kids too small for the bigger course.
- Galleria Ferrari A small walk-through exhibit about the “evolution of uniqueness” with a display of innovative Ferrari designs.
Family Zone
Near the heart of the park, you’ll find an area devoted to guests too small or timid for the Racing Zone’s big rides. Most of these are standard carnival rides gussied up with a Ferrari paint job, which can be easily bypassed if you’re short on time. And although several will also appeal to adults, be sure to note weight restrictions before lining up.
- Formula Rossa Junior (35″ min. height; 43″ min. unaccompanied; 330 lbs max.) This pint-sized version of its record-breaking neighbor is a 656-foot-long Zamperla junior steel coaster that reaches nearly 40 feet in the air, and hits a maximum speed of almost 24 m.p.h.
- Turbo Tower (41″ min. height; 47″ min. unaccompanied; 220 lbs max.) A 44-foot-tall family drop tower with a twist: guests rotate in a ring around the central pillar with their feet dangling, as their seats repeatedly rise and plummet.
- Speedway Race (35″ min. height; 47″ min. unaccompanied) A midway-style “whip” ride with two-seater cars that snap around sharp corners while circling a “race track.”
- Flying Wings (41″ min. height; 47″ min. unaccompanied; 220 lbs max.) A simple spinning ride similar to Dumbo, but with two-passenger seats shaped liked hang gliders; move the grab bar to climb and dive.
- Tyre Twist (42″ min height; 47″ min. unaccompanied) Another carnival staple, this is your basic spinning teacup ride, except that guests sit inside giant tires.
Adventure Zone
Located in the far side of Ferrari World’s dome from the entrance, this area contains a hodgepodge of included attractions and upcharge experiences that are available for an additional cost.
Turbo Track
(51″ min. height; 77″ max. height)
Adventure Zone’s main attraction is Turbo Track, an Intamin LSM launched shuttle coaster that offers a brief, but invigorating blast up and out through the center of Ferrari World’s dome, and then straight back down again.
At almost 64 m.p.h., you’ll reach the 210-foot peak and be off again before you know it, so you might as well ride twice: once facing forward, and again in reverse.
After Turbo Track, Adventure Zone’s other included attractions are:
- Tyre Change Experience: Ever watch a professional pit crew change a set of tires on television and think, “I could do better?” Now’s your chance to prove it! Better yet, sit back and watch the park employees demonstrate how it’s done.
- Cinema Maranello A standard movie theater showing Ferrari themed documentaries; closed during our visit for refurbishment.
- Red Theatre Multipurpose stage that hosts special events.
Adventure Zone is also home to several scheduled experiences offered to adrenaline junkies for an extra fee. Capacity for all these adventures is limited, so sign up for your reserved slot as soon as the park opens.
- Advanced Scuderia Challenge ($14 per race; 51″ min. height; 59″ min. for advanced simulators) A trio of high-tech race car simulators, with dynamic motion bases and ultra-wide video displays, gives guests a taste of how professional drivers train when they aren’t on an actual track. The virtual race lasts about eight minutes, and there are both basic and advanced versions of the Formula 1 simulators, plus a Ferrari F430 GT simulator for experts.
- Karting Academy (59″ min. height; 83″ max. height; ages 13+) Slap on a full-face helmet, strap into a souped-up electric go-kart, and get ready for a white-knuckle race around the twisting 950+ foot track. Elevated viewing areas are available if you just want to watch the racing from above.
- Roof Walk (47″ min. height; 79″ max. height; 309 lbs. max) Take a guided stroll – safely harnessed, of course – along the building’s iconic red roofline in this 60 minute experience. Closed seasonally from May through October.
- Zipline (63″ min. height; 75″ max. height; 132-254 lbs.) Soar face-first like Superman through the center of the Flying Aces coaster’s loop on a 30-minute adventure. Closed seasonally from May through October.
Italian Zone
The final area at Ferrari World is the only one that makes an effort at creating an immersive theme, and the charming Italian alleyways that make up the park’s right rear quadrant exhibit some Epcot-quality scenic design. Fittingly, this area also hold the park’s elaborately themed (and also most problematic) attractions.
Flying Aces
(51″ min. height; 77″ max. height)
Formula Rossa may receive the lion’s share of attention, but for our money Flying Aces may just be the better overall attraction. For starters, it begins with the most richly detailed roller coaster queue outside of Universal’s Wizarding Worlds, as guests navigate an authentic World War I airbase. Once you board the Intamin wing coaster, the steep 51-degree initial ascent is so swift it almost feels like a launch. You ‘ll hit almost 75 m.p.h. while flying down the 206-foot first drop, before twisting through a 170-foot-tall non-inverting loop.
Its top speed may pale in comparison with its more famous neighbor, but with a maximum force of 5 Gs, Flying Aces is nothing to scoff out, especially if your feet are dangling from one of the outside seats. Thankfully, the restraints are less bruising that the ones that Hersheypark’s Skyrush debuted with, making this coaster relatively reridable despite its intensity.
Fiorano GT Challenge
(51″ min. height; 77″ max. height)
A long tunnel lined with midway games leads to the last and least of Ferrari World’s big outdoor coasters. It’s supposed to evoke the experience of racing against your friends in a F430 Spider. Unfortunately they typically only use one of the two parallel tracks at a time, eliminating the dueling element that was key to the ride’s design.
Without the side-by-side racing, you’re left with a somewhat awkward hybrid of a Maurer high-speed launch coaster, with multiple magnetic boosts along the 3280 foot long tracks; and a Wild Mouse, with sharp unbanked turns and lap-bar restraints. As a result, rider hit speeds of almost 60 miles per hour, before quickly hitting curves that crunch you uncomfortably against the sides of your bucket seat. Unless both tracks happen to be running, this one is probably only worth a brief wait.
Made In Maranello
(47″ min. unaccompanied)
If the original 1990s version of Epcot’s Test Track had a baby with Hershey Chocolate World’s factory tour, you’d might get something a lot like this educational dark ride through Ferrari’s car crafting process. Omnimover-style vehicles take guests through an abstract recreation of Ferrari’s factory, following the development of a vehicle from concept and design through construction.
Unlike those aforementioned classics, this attraction relies largely on video screens and other projected media surrounded by black walls, with only a few full-sized physical scenes featuring moving props. The ending is especially anti-climatic, with another big boring screen exactly where an impressive display of real-life cars should go.
Speed of Magic
(38″ min. height; 47″ unaccompanied)
Combining the Ferrari brand with a Spider-Man-style 4-D dark ride should have been a slam dunk, but Speed of Magic is one of Ferrari World’s bigger disappointments. The videogamey visuals are murky; the physical sets are simplistic; and the transitions between them are jarring. Worst of all, paper-thin plot about a set of stolen car keys features an annoying cartoon antagonist who chatters throughout the ride. Mercifully, Speed of Magic seems to close for technical difficulties on a frequent basis.
Bell’ Italia
(47″ min. unaccompanied; 79″ max. height)
This gentle joy ride past miniature models of Italian landmarks in a scaled-down Ferrari 250 California doesn’t look like much from afar, but it unexpectedly turned out to be one of our favorite family-friendly attractions in the park.
If you appreciate scenic rides like Disneyland’s Autopia and Storybook Land Canal Boats, this one will be right up your alley.
Mission Ferrari
(51″ min. height; 79″ max. height)
Finally, we have to address the non-operational elephant in the room. Billed as the world’s most technically advanced themed coaster, Mission Ferrari finally opened in early 2023 after years of delays and cost overruns that ultimately bankrupted its builder, Dynamic Attractions.
With forwards and backwards launches, simulator-style tilt tracks, and a first-of-its-kind sideways sliding element – all integrated with espionage-inspired animatronics and effects – this ride looks like Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts amped up to 11.
The ride has been praised as “world class” by the lucky few who have experienced it, but Mission Ferrari closed down for “annual maintenance” mere months after its debut, and was unavailable during our visit. It reopened briefly in summer 2023, but was closed again at press time through mid-October.
Ferrari World Tips and Final Thoughts
Out of the three Miral theme parks in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World occupied the least amount of our time and interest, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook it when visiting the region. Coaster enthusiasts will find the park’s top two or three thrills worth the trip alone, and if you are already a certified car connoisseur, this place is the next best thing to Maranello.
Families uninterested in face-peeling speeds or automotive propaganda will still be able to fill several hours here, but would be better served splitting a multi-day pass here with SeaWorld and Warner Bros. World, or should at least plan on spending part of the day at the Yas Mall.
Ferrari World opens at 11 a.m. or noon, and typically stays open until 8 p.m. Even with relatively short operating hours, you can easily see everything in a day.
Ferarri World Touring Plan Tips
- Arrive shortly before opening, and sign up for any scheduled upcharge experience you are interested in.
- Ride Mission Ferrari as soon as it opens (if operating).
- Continue to the rear of the park and ride Turbo Track. Ride twice (one in each direction) if the line is short.
- Walk clockwise around the park’s perimeter until you reach Flying Aces. You’ll have to stow loose articles in a locker.
- Continue through the Italian Zone to Fiorano GT Challenge.
- Ride Speed of Magic and/or Made in Maranello, depending on your taste for mediocre dark rides.
- Cross through the middle of the park to the Racing Zone and ride Benno’s Great Race.
- Ride the Driving with the Champion simulator, but skip Viaggio in Italia unless the wait is nonexistent.
- If you have kids, set them loose on the Racing Zone playgrounds and Family Zone kiddie rides.
- Ride Bell’ Italia, even if you don’t have kids.
- When you get hungry, try Il Podio for Middle Eastern and Indian, or Mamma Rossella for pasta and pizza. Better yet, exit the park and head into Yas Mall, where you can find a meal in the food court for under $10.
- Visit any live shows or exhibits, revisit any favorites, and check out the park’s gift shops.
- Formula Rossa is best experienced after the brightest, hottest part of the day has passed, so save it for as late in the day as possible.
Have you already visited Ferrari World, or do you have plans to visit the U.A.E. in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
