The £50bn theme park dubbed ‘Middle East’s Disneyland’ STILL being built  21 years on

Dubailand was imagined to be a theme park like no other.

Located in the United Arab Emirates, the park was set to be twice the size of Disney in Florida and divided into six distinct zones.

These were called Attractions and Experience World, Sports and Outdoor World, Eco-Tourism World, Themed Leisure and Vacation World, Retail and Entertainment World, and Downtown.

A highlight would be Sahara Kingdom, with high-end virtual and physical theme park rides, a gaming zone, IMAX theatre and integrated live and virtual entertainment shows.

Yet construction of Dubailand has been riddled with challenges since plans were unveiled in 2003 and was suspended in 2008 due to the global recession.

Work restarted in 2013 but some of the original attractions moved to the rival Dubai Parks resort which opened in 2016.

Some smaller parts of Dubailand are now open with work underway to open more next year.