Winter is coming to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi with a free five-day festival to celebrate the magic of the season at Gateway Park South from the 11th to 15th December 2018. Yas Winter Carnival guarantees to get you in the festive spirit with everything you love about this time of year with entertainment for everyone to enjoy from 2pm daily. There will be carnival rides, a funfair, snow play zone, the UAE’s largest winter market, gingerbread making, kid’s zone, live music on the big stage, and a firework extravaganza every day.
Here’s your guide to everything you need to know to plan your visit with family and friends at the Yas Winter Carnival:
GIANT TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY
The festival kick-starts with the countdown to the official tree lighting ceremony taking place at 6pm on Tuesday 11th December. There will be non-stop entertainment, choirs, performances and live music playing festive tunes on the main stage.
BUILD A SNOWMAN
Experience the magic of snow falling – on the hour, every hour – at Gateway Park South as kids get the chance to build their very own snowman or take part in a cheeky snowball fight at the Snow Play Zone.
CARNIVAL RIDES & FUNFAIR
Open to the whole family, the funfair will feature traditional rides guaranteed to bring a smile to everyone’s face. Young or old, there’s something for everyone to get your adrenaline racing and with unlimited rides wristbands to purchase, you can ride the carnival and funfair rides as much as you want.
THE UAE’S LARGEST WINTER MARKET
Wander through the UAE’s largest ever festive winter market and discover the perfect holiday gifts. There will be everything from fashion accessories, art prints, jewelry, home decor, cupcakes, toys, pottery and much more to pick up the perfect present.
KID’S ZONE
Keeping the little ones entertained the Kid’s Zone will include festive arts & crafts, inflatables and face painting. Grab an unlimited activity wristband and the kids will enjoy non-stop fun. For the ultimate Yas Winter Carnival experience go for a gold wristband and the kids gets unlimited access to carnival rides, funfair and kid’s zone.
GINGER BREAD MAKING & DECORATING
Take a break from all the action and have some creative family fun as you decorate your own personalized gingerbread cookies. Form frosted roofs to colorful candy accents you’ll be provided with all the tools to personalize and take home your very own gingerbread creation.
MYSTICAL MAGICIANS
You’ll have to keep your eye out throughout the festival for seasonal magic as roaming magicians make objects vanish before your eyes and reappear in festive fun.
FESTIVE FIREWORKS
The Arabian night sky will be illuminated with a festive firework display above Gateway Park South every evening at 9pm.
Entry for Yas Winter Festival is completely free simply register at www.wintercarnival.ae for your free passes or maximize your experience by purchasing unlimited experience wristbands:
Gold – Unlimited Funfair Rides + Kids Zone (AED 100)
Blue – Unlimited Funfair Rides (AED 80)
Red – Unlimited Kids Zone (AED 60)
There is free parking available only a few minutes’ walk from the event and timings for the festival each day are:
Tuesday 11th December 2:00PM TO 10:00PM
Wednesday 12th December 2:00PM TO 10:00PM
Thursday 13th December 2:00PM TO 10:00PM
Friday 14th December 2:00PM TO 11:00PM
Saturday 15th December 2:00PM TO 11:00PM
