For several years, Sega has had an amazing theme park in the Dubai Mall running under the name ‘Sega Republic‘. The park had a number of Sonic themed rides and attractions which were quite popular with tourists in Dubai.
Despite being a popular attraction, it seems that the park has closed down with very little warning. SSMB user Sir Laptop brought to our attention that the website for Sega Republic has been taken down and replaced with a message telling customers that it’s closed.
In addition to this, their official Facebook page and twitter account appears to have also been removed.
Further evidence that the park has closed suddenly comes from several goodbye messages from the staff posted on other social media channels earlier today.
We’ll keep you up to date with more details as we get it.
Source: Sega Republic
But it’s still up and running.
It’s website clearly say’s it’s closed. It’s twitter and facebook pages have been pulled and employees are posting goodbye messages.
I didn’t feel like including this in the article… but…
From what I know about Dubai, from various travel shows…. it seems that this isn’t that uncommon, due to how much of a premium space is in this city, tourist attractions and businesses can close down very quickly for some incredibly minor reasons.
Primary reason for this is that the business rates and rent are so high that even a minor change in performance can mean a business needs to close. For tourist spots, they often change in order to keep Dubai a top tourist spot which can offer something new to second time visitors.
Honestly, I cannot deny what you’re saying. I’m not a Dubai resident but I went there several times, hotels, transportation and things aren’t cheap there. I do have several family members who stayed in Dubai for a while, and they’re planning to return home, because rent and daily needs cost is just outrageously high there. The whole city of Dubai is modern but a bit too overpriced.
It’s also sad to see SEGA Republic is closing down. My next (probably the last) Dubai visit plans have SEGA Republic on the list, but that dream is crushed. That means I should consider visiting Japan to experience a Sonic-based amusement centre, which is also somewhat expensive to travel to.
That’s a shame. Why is it that literally every Sega theme park or arcade outside of Japan closes down…
that explains why Eggman’s SpinGear coaster was removed awhile ago – probably got sold onto another park (under a retheme most likely)
They keep saying that the next few months are going to be very important for Sonic, yet lately over the past year or so all they have been doing is taking down Sonic-themed attractions across the globe. :/
Oh well. I’m sure they’ll replace it with something worse. Maybe an entire Silent Hill and Castlevania Pachinko parlour.
Did anyone eventually get a video of the Spingear safety procedure tutorial?