RIYADH (Escape): Tourist attractions in the Middle East have long vied with one another to provide the biggest, best and brashest. The Six Flags Qiddiya amusement park on the outskirt of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia is slated for a 2023 opening and looks set to be a belter for both adrenaline junkies and people who want to feel nauseous in new places.
If you’re planning a stop-over on your next Australia-Europe jaunt, the park will beckon with 28 rides and attractions across six themed lands: The City of Thrills; Discovery Springs; Steam Town; Twilight Gardens; Valley of Fortune; and Grand Exposition.
The talking points will undoubtedly be in the City Of Thrills where Sirocco Tower, the world’s tallest drop-tower ride, will loom over the landscape.
It will, however, play second bilious fiddle to Falcon’s Flight, a rollercoaster the likes of which has never been seen before.
For a start, it’s almost four kilometres long and begins with a near vertical 160 metre drop hitting speeds of over 250 kilometres an hour. Such are the gravity defying physics on offer that riders briefly experience the sensation of weightlessness. The journey lasts three minutes and if the first video renderings are anything to go by, it’s set to highlight many memorable holidays.
