Global Village

One of our new neighbors mentioned to me that we might enjoy checking out Dubai Global Village while the weather is nice this time of year. I hadn't heard of it before, but she described it as a huge destination where you can "visit" all of the countries and cultures from around the world. We couldn't wait to check it out.

When I looked it up for more information, I learned that Global Village is basically a huge outdoor entertainment venue/park for shopping, dining, and family fun. The park is divided into dozens of sections, each that are decorated to represent a different country. In each country, you can experience a bit of the "local" culture, shop the country's wares, sample some native meals or treats, and even enjoy live entertainment from that country's performers.

During the ongoing Dubai Shopping Festival, Global Village opens its gates at 2:00 pm on Fridays instead of the usual 4:00 pm. We decided to show up right at 2:00 to check it out. There were MASSIVE parking lots, all empty, as we drove in. Walking to the entrance was quite the sight.

When we first entered, we were in a courtyard area with various shops along with miniature landmarks from around the world. The Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, and Burj Khalifa were some that we spotted right away.

As we walked further into the Village, we could then see the entirety of the park and all of the various countries represented. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for walking around and exploring the Village and all it offered. Since we were there when the gates opened, the park was mostly empty for the first hour or two that we were there.

The kids were most excited to explore The Americas, while Kaitlynn probably enjoyed Africa the best due to all of the products we found with her favorite zebra print. Because we were there so early, we missed most of the live shows which didn't start until the end of our visit. But we saw the many stages in each country as well as in the open park of the Village. You could tell that the place would be hopping in prime time.

We told the kids that they could pick out one thing each to purchase from the various country shops. Connor found this American skull ninja head covering in Mexico and Kaitlynn found kinetic sand.

We had eaten lunch prior to our visit to Global Village, which turned out to be a mistake because there were so many food and dining options that we could've taken advantage of during our visit. But we managed to sample some of the Global Village street food, including Turkish ice cream (which was quite the "show" in itself, when the vendors put on a performance serving it up) and fried spiral potatoes.

By the time we were ready to leave, it was 5:00 pm and the Village was becoming quite crowded. As we walked out, throngs and throngs of visitors were streaming in. We couldn't believe all the people! And remember those massive, empty parking lots? All full. Completely full. As it turns out, Global Village ended up meeting capacity for the afternoon and they stopped selling tickets. We were happy to have enjoyed the experience during the calm afternoon away from the frenzy of the crowds.