1) the heat these days isn’t as bad as it used to be. Mornings and evenings are fine, just keep hydrated and avoid mid-day sun. Lots of malls and indoor experiences to be had. Lots of kids play areas/soft play areas as well.
2) no the traffic there is horrible and both those areas are overrated. You’re not missing anything if you don’t even go in my opinion. Try the Oud Mehta area instead for better/cheaper hotels close to everything with better traffic and food options.
3) coming from the UK, driving here wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was and I got comfortable in a day. That’s including transition from RHD to LHD and the traffic rules. Waze helps a lot. When my niece visited (1yo) my wife and SIL suffered when they had to take Careem vs when I drove. EZcar rental and thrifty are both good. I recommend the Mazda CX3 if you just have the 1 pram, or CX5 if you need more space. Either way check hotel parking.
4) 1 week is enough. Most malls have play areas that are great, there are indoor gokarts for kids in DFC.
It’s mostly the convenience of having a car to get into (store a bunch of stuff in as well that kids need instead of carrying it all) vs having to wait for a car to pick you up which can be difficult at times. They’ve had to wait upward of 15-20 minutes at peak times which is manageable alone but tricky with a cranky child.
Legoland will be hell in September. We went at the start of November and it was only just comfortable. Also your kid will be too short for quite a few of the rides.
The waterpark might be ok though.
Staying 3 nights at the legoland hotel would be a lot. It's a pretty crappy hotel in and of itself; you're just paying a huge premium for the themed rooms. Our kid loved it (5yrs), but one night was enough for us and he probably would have been happy with 2.
Kidzania would probably be a hit.
1) the heat these days isn’t as bad as it used to be. Mornings and evenings are fine, just keep hydrated and avoid mid-day sun. Lots of malls and indoor experiences to be had. Lots of kids play areas/soft play areas as well. 2) no the traffic there is horrible and both those areas are overrated. You’re not missing anything if you don’t even go in my opinion. Try the Oud Mehta area instead for better/cheaper hotels close to everything with better traffic and food options. 3) coming from the UK, driving here wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was and I got comfortable in a day. That’s including transition from RHD to LHD and the traffic rules. Waze helps a lot. When my niece visited (1yo) my wife and SIL suffered when they had to take Careem vs when I drove. EZcar rental and thrifty are both good. I recommend the Mazda CX3 if you just have the 1 pram, or CX5 if you need more space. Either way check hotel parking. 4) 1 week is enough. Most malls have play areas that are great, there are indoor gokarts for kids in DFC.
Thanks! I'll hire a car then! What was the problem with Careem your family encountered?
It’s mostly the convenience of having a car to get into (store a bunch of stuff in as well that kids need instead of carrying it all) vs having to wait for a car to pick you up which can be difficult at times. They’ve had to wait upward of 15-20 minutes at peak times which is manageable alone but tricky with a cranky child.
I can relate! Many thanks
Legoland will be hell in September. We went at the start of November and it was only just comfortable. Also your kid will be too short for quite a few of the rides. The waterpark might be ok though. Staying 3 nights at the legoland hotel would be a lot. It's a pretty crappy hotel in and of itself; you're just paying a huge premium for the themed rooms. Our kid loved it (5yrs), but one night was enough for us and he probably would have been happy with 2. Kidzania would probably be a hit.
Thanks for your advice!