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My husband and I recently traveled to Dubai with our two kids and his mother on our first international trip together as a family.
It seemed like a solid pick. After all, Dubai was the No. 2 most attractive city destination last year for travelers, according to the annual report from Euromonitor International, a global market research company.
On our 10-day trip, we had a lot of fun and family time. We had a great time and would go back.
But although we set out with a spirit of adventure, we made mistakes along the way and didn't make "full use" of our time as well as I'd hoped.
Our trip to Dubai could've been way better if we hadn't made these common mistakes.
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When visiting the Dubai Mall, we knew we didn't want to miss seeing the famous musical fountain shows, which start every half an hour until 11 p.m.
But while exploring the extensive mall's aquarium and waterfall and grabbing dinner, we missed the last show. We had to go another night to experience it.
Looking back, I wish we'd scheduled more time to explore the millions of square feet of the Dubai Mall and its many attractions.
We also underestimated how long it would take us to explore Legoland Dubai. We got there at 1:30 p.m., and our kids didn't have enough time to see all of the attractions before the park closed at 6 p.m.
After Legoland, we headed to the neighboring Motiongate theme park. My kids were disappointed to find most of the rides closed before 7:30 p.m. It turns out the park closes at 8 p.m. most days.
Honestly, I'd say all three of these places needed at least a full day to experience them fully.
Throughout our trip, we explored Dubai at all times of the day or night. It was difficult to rouse the kids up for the next day's itinerary, and we invariably ran late.
But we learned that a few hours could make all the difference depending on the day.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi's galleries and exhibitions close at 6:30 p.m. most weekdays and 8:30 p.m. from Friday through Sunday. The museum is closed on Mondays.
Unfortunately, the day we visited, the exhibits closed at 6:30, and we didn't arrive until late afternoon. We didn't get to see much, but we were glad we got to explore the space-themed children's museum.
I also wish we'd confirmed which days of the week some places close.
We thought the kids would love Dubai Dolphinarium, a massive family entertainment space filled with aquatic animals. But we didn't end up going because we realized too late it's closed on Tuesdays, the only day we were available.
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We didn't want to overload our itinerary, but we learned the hard way that some popular attractions require visitors to book really far in advance.
For example, we wanted to take the kids to the highly recommended Museum of the Future, which is filled with virtual-reality experiences and three-dimensional displays.
When we checked online for tickets during our trip, the only ones available were for dates three months away.
We walked a lot throughout our trip to Dubai, probably 8,000 to 10,000 steps each day. It was exhausting, and not having proper walking shoes didn't help.
On our next trip to this city, we plan to pack shoes that are made for walking.
