Dubai has some of the most elaborately themed malls in the world, including Dubai Mall's Chinatown area.

MSM

One of the world’s leading themed entertainment developers has teased a $54.4 billion project which is expected to be one of the biggest investments in its history.

When you think of themed entertainment, luxury real estate doesn’t spring to mind. Theme parks are famous for their colorful and cartoony decor which is the antithesis of high-end property. However, one developer in Dubai has found the magic formula for combining these contrasting project styles. Its attractions are so stylish and exquisitely-themed that they appeal to adults as much as children. Its next project is set to top them all.

Unlike in the United States and Europe, theming is seen as a hallmark of quality in Dubai. Everything from skyscrapers to shops, restaurants, residential complexes and even restrooms are themed in order to stand out from the crowd. This approach was pioneered in Dubai by Emaar Properties and it has got it down to a fine art.

Emaar isn't a household name in the west but if you have ever visited Dubai or seen the city on television, chances are that you've come into contact with the company. You only have to set foot in the city for a few minutes to see its logo as it is in lights on the top of many of the most eye-catching skyscrapers.

Emaar was founded in 1997 by local resident Mohamed Alabbar who went on to become comfortably the most renowned and respected businessman in Dubai with a fortune estimated by Forbes at $2.9 billion. Alabbar founded a number of the biggest brands in the Middle East and Emaar was his springboard to success.

Alabbar's background is a real-life rags to riches story as he grew up in a modest household in old Dubai. His father was the captain of an old-fashioned wooden trading ship known as a dhow. His flair for numbers earned him a government scholarship to study in the United States and he graduated from Seattle University in 1981 with a degree in business administration and finance. His time there coincided with the U.S. retail boom and Alabbar made the most of it by intensely studying Western retail systems, master-planned urban spaces and mega malls. It stood him in good stead.

On returning to Dubai he worked at the Central Bank before serving as the Director General of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) from 1992 to 2008. While he was there he launched innovative initiatives like the Dubai Shopping Festival – a series of events in December designed to drive traffic to the malls and position the city as the leading retail destination in the Middle East.

Alabbar also spearheaded Dubai's economic diversification strategy to insulate it from a decline in the fossil fuels which built its fortune. This brought him into contact with Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and they developed the model for Emaar. Instead of starting small and building it up, Emaar was created to be a public-private catalyst which fueled Dubai’s macroeconomic transformation from a regional trade hub into a global real estate and tourism capital.

Alabbar started as Emaar's managing director and chairman though 100% of the company was owned by the Dubai government. This gave it access to prime land parcels which Emaar developed into iconic districts such as Downtown, the Marina and Creek Harbour. Until then, real estate development in Dubai was highly fragmented, focusing largely on separate standalone buildings. Alabbar's masterstroke was developing master-planned communities, the likes of which he had seen in the U.S. This involved turning massive parcels of land into fully integrated, self-sustaining ecosystems containing residential towers, schools, parks, health centers and malls, with each one having a consistent theme throughout.

By far the most prominent landmark in its portfolio is the Burj Khalifa, a soaring syringe-shaped skyscraper at the heart of Emaar's downtown development. At 830 meters it is the world's tallest tower and is famous for being the centerpiece of Dubai's breathtaking New Year's Eve show.

More than just a building, it is an entertainment platform thanks to embedded LED lights which turn the tower into a giant video screen for free nightly son et lumière shows. The images are accompanied by lasers which beam out from the side of the tower in time to the world’s tallest choreographed musical fountain which dances in a lagoon below. In one show the footage makes it seem like the tower has turned into a giant clockwork mechanism while other videos show space scenes, nature scenes and kaleidoscopes of colorful symbols. The fountain plays to everything from Michael Jackson's Thriller to the theme tune for Mission: Impossible.

It captivates crowds of adults and children alike and this is thanks to the top talent in the theme park industry. The fountain is the handiwork of WET Design, which is behind many of Disney's fountain shows and was founded by a group of its former designers. The idea to put LED lights on the tower came from Kris Vloemans, former chief operating officer of Dronisos, which develops the drone shows at Disneyland Paris. Likewise, the New Year's Eve performances, which are on a par with opening ceremonies to the Olympic Games, are also developed by theme park design wizards. The 2024 display was the product of ECA2, the French company which created the BraviSEAmo! show for Tokyo DisneySea, widely rated as the world's best theme park.

In 2000, a decade before the Burj Khalifa opened, Emaar listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and made history by becoming the first property company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to offer shares to foreign nationals, paving the way for international capital to flow into the local real estate market. Alabbar and Emaar's other founding shareholders collectively took a 24.3% stake in the company which had a market capitalization of $272 million (AED1 billion) – $529.4 million in today's money.

In turn, this stake gave them shares in Emaar Malls and Emaar Development which listed 2014 and 2017 respectively. The initial offering of the former valued it at $10.2 billion (AED37.7 billion) while the latter had a market cap of $6.56 billion (AED 24.1 billion) on listing. It made Alabbar tremendously rich but that was just the start.

Over the following years he founded a string of companies which transformed the local business landscape. The first was Eagle Hills which has developed high-end apartments, hotels and retail in 10 countries on three continents. In 2016 he founded Middle Eastern e-commerce giant Noon.com and bought Americana Restaurants which owns local franchises to fast food giants including KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s, Krispy Kreme and TGI Fridays.

Since then, Americana has listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Saudi Exchange with Alabbar retaining a 33% stake. He remains its chairman but stepped down from that role at Emaar in 2020 when a new regulatory policy prohibited executives of publicly traded companies from being both chairmen and having an active executive role. Alabbar remained Emaar's managing director, a role which he holds to this day. In 2021 it bought back Emaar Malls in an all-share swap with the company valued at nearly $9.2 billion (AED34 billion) at the time of delisting. There is good reason for this blockbuster valuation.

Saying that Dubai has a hot climate is somewhat of an understatement. Often the heat billows from all angles like it is coming from a huge hairdryer and the sidewalk can get so hot that it melts the soles of shoes. It’s so hot that often you can’t even cool down with fans which spray mist as the water warms up the moment it hits the air.

In winter, it can hit 90 degrees and in summer the mercury soars above 110 giving it a 'feels like' temperature of more than 130. To put that into context, in Orlando the National Weather Service issues 'excessive heat warnings' if the 'feels like' temperature passes 113 degrees. It drives locals and tourists into the air-conditioned malls and Emaar's collection contains a massive 80 sites, including community retail centers. Together they attracted a record 173 million people in 2024, a 5.5% increase on the previous year.

The jewel in its crown is the Dubai Mall, which is located at the foot of the Burj Khalifa. Home to more than 1,200 shops, the Dubai Mall spans more than 12 million square feet of floor space making it the world's biggest shopping center by area. It isn't this big so that Emaar can brag. Visitors often spend all day in the malls to avoid the heat outside so they tend to have all of the facilities you would usually find in a city center under one roof. In addition to shops and restaurants, the Dubai Mall contains a hospital, a 26-screen movie theater, a full-size ice rink, an electric go-kart track, a man-made waterfall and even a 24.4 meter long Diplodocus skeleton. That's not all.

As the mall is designed to be an all-day venue for all the family it also features a range of themed entertainment offerings unlike any other shopping destination. There’s a full-size haunted house, an A380 super jumbo simulator, a Kidzania theme park, a 75,000 square feet space filled with virtual reality games and one of the world's largest aquariums.

Gone are the days of tanks in dark dank rooms; this aquarium has the same kind of transparent viewing tunnels that you find at SeaWorld. There's also a boat with a transparent lower deck which zips around the water and a cage which can be lowered into the tank for the bravest souls. For anyone made of less stern stuff, one of the world’s largest acrylic viewing panels lines the front of the tank so that shoppers can see in. It soars several stories high and, leaving no stone unturned, a full-size model of a retro fishing boat sits above the entrance making it seem like it is bobbing on the water. The icing on the cake is the flickering LED lights that look like stars set into the dark ceiling above it.

The aquarium alone is a half day experience and wouldn't look out of place in any top tier theme park. In fact, calling it an aquarium doesn't do it justice. It's more like a tour through the continents as the tanks lead to an artificial rainforest filled with otters and macaws as well as a cavernous penguin habitat complete with snow-capped craggy rocks.

However, Alabbar's extraordinary eye for detail can actually be seen even more clearly in the most unlikely of places. The Chinatown area of Dubai Mall is one. This shopping area looks so authentic that it gives Disney's attempt in Orlando a good run for its money.

The highlight is a replica of a Chinese street with storefronts formed from bamboo walls and traditional window screens. Above them, a maze of multi-color neon signs hang down on one side of the street with illuminated orange lanterns on the other. Faux pink blossom trees and bonsais stand in the aisles instead of the palm trees found elsewhere in the mall. Paper fans cover the light fittings and soaring statues of pandas sit next to pagodas which fill the few slots where there are no stores.

The stores and restaurants are as authentic as they come with many looking more like museums than shops. Fans of the colonial-themed Skipper Canteen in Disney's Magic Kingdom park in Orlando will feel at home in Chinatown's tea house in particular with the antique gramophones, jade ornaments, wooden artefacts and intricate china teapots standing on its shelves.

Then come the restrooms. They are so elaborate that they even beat the ones in Disney’s theme parks. The vast majority of them have escapist themes conveyed through intricate touches. One is themed to Africa and has traditional carvings in the ceilings, authentic-looking rugs on the walls and a door at the entrance formed from chains as you would find in a game reserve.

Another set of restrooms look like they could have come straight out of the pages of The Great Gatsby. Hanging on the walls of the corridor outside are black and white photos of historic movie theaters. The mirrors inside are lined with white bulbs just like a boudoir from the heydays of Hollywood. The ceiling is covered with shapes of shells and fans, as was common in the 1930s, while the sink area is made from white marble with black veins running through it which was popular in posh venues in that era. Even the bronze door handles to the cubicles have an air of Art Deco elegance and are complemented with bronze semi-circular-shaped wall lamp shades.

In recent years Emaar has been increasingly branching out into more thrilling attractions. In 2021 it began offering fearless guests the chance to walk around the top of one of its 220 meter high towers while tethered to an overhead gantry. The tower also has a glass slide on the outside like the one which used to be in the U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown Los Angeles and famously featured on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Then, in 2022 Emaar opened its latest mega mall, called Dubai Hills, which comes complete with the Storm Coaster, the world’s fastest vertical launch rollercoaster.

No expense was spared as the Storm Coaster queue features a simulated elevator ride developed by British firm Holovis which created the stunning show at the heart of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi as we have reported. The coaster itself was made by Swiss engineering firm Intamin, which also made Disney’s Incredicoaster and the acclaimed Velocicoaster at Universal Studios Orlando.

Emaar even develops intricately-detailed themed residences including The Old Town in Dubai which looks like a fairytale fort from the pages of One Thousand and One Nights. Old-fashioned Arabian oil lamps hang on the walls of its short sand-colored towers which are crowned with battlements and have dark wooden doors with over-sized iron rivets and circular iron handles hanging in the middle. Residents even get access to exclusive Emaar events like the Burj Khalifa New Year's Eve party making it seem even more like a resort.

Disney has dabbled in themed residential property, with its Golden Oak and Celebration districts in Orlando, and it is in the process of investing more heavily in this area. Over the coming years it will open new communities with 1,932 residential units in Rancho Mirage, California and 4,000 in Pittsboro, North Carolina, far from any of its theme parks. It is no surprise that Disney is heading in this direction given the success that Emaar has had.

The company packs a punch as it has sold 174,500 units globally since 2002. In 2025 Emaar made a $4.79 billion (AED 17.6 billion) net profit on revenue which rose 40% to a record $13.5 billion (AED 49.6 billion) driven by unprecedented real estate demand in Dubai and strong growth across its hospitality and retail portfolios.

It still has a 550 million square feet land bank and it plans to make the most of it. A $408.4 million extension to the Dubai Mall will add 240 new luxury stores and restaurants while two new malls have also been announced. One is on the Dubai Expo 2020 site and the other is part of the Creek Harbour development. It will be the world's first drive-through mall as it will feature covered streets which will be restricted to electric cars. This will also make it the world's largest mall though the biggest trick in Emaar's spell book may be yet to come.

On Thursday Emaar made a shock announcement about an upcoming development which is shrouded in secrecy. It explained that "Emaar Properties, the force behind some of the world's most celebrated urban landmarks including Burj Khalifa, Downtown Dubai and Dubai Mall, stands on the threshold of a historic announcement. Shortly, the company will unveil an extraordinary destination in the heart of Dubai, one that is set to become the city's most iconic urban address and a defining chapter in Dubai's remarkable story of transformation.”

Designed to accommodate nearly 150,000 residents it is described as a city within a city "with a total development value of $54.4 billion (AED 200 billion)" and "a gross floor area exceeding 4.5 million square meters." It will feature residential towers with views of the Burj Khalifa, the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and the palm-shaped Jumeirah island.

The statement said that "the masterplan will be thoughtfully structured across five distinct character zones, each with its own identity, atmosphere and sense of place. A dynamic business hub will provide a world-class professional environment, while a vibrant urban district will pulse with energy, diversity and the full richness of city life. A young families cluster will offer an active, creative and forward-thinking setting, and a family living zone will provide warmth, stability and a deep sense of belonging."

The remaining area will be the most exclusive – a gated enclave of five and six-bedroom villas and mansions featuring "cascading water features and resort-calibre amenities that surpass anything previously delivered in Dubai." A park in the middle of the development will be open to all and will feature sports courts, splash parks, beach areas, outdoor wellness zones, swimmable community lagoons and art installations.

Given Emaar's trajectory it seems likely that the development will be themed and will feature attractions of some kind, especially as it is designed to be a city in itself. Although the statement didn't disclose any details, Alabbar hinted at this by saying that the development will feature "the most immersive landscapes" ever seen in Dubai. Given what Emaar has achieved already that really is saying something.