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Burj Dubai Observation Deck - At The Top, tel 0800-28843867
The Burj Dubai (renamed as the Burj Khalifa on 04 January 2010) has an observation deck on the 124th floor, with the complete experience called "At The Top", which sounds better than the more accurate but clumsy sounding "A Bit Over Halfway To The Top " (the Burj Dubai has another 36 floors above the observation deck). Getting to the observation deck of the Burj Dubai will not be just a matter of pulling up outside in your Toyota Corolla and catching the elevator up. The whole experience starts at The Dubai Mall nearby, where you buy a ticket, catch a travelator to the Burj Dubai, and then take the elevator to floor 124. Along the way will be displays about Dubai and the Dubai Tower, also a photo opportunity stop near the base of the skyscraper.
- Floor 124 is the observation deck with 360° views of Dubai, and an outdoor deck where you can better experience the tower swaying in the wind.
- Travelator is 65m long. Elevator is a double deck container and travels about 10 meters per second. Journey time from ground to 124th floor takes about 1 minute.
- Total journey time about 45 minutes (or longer if you linger)
- Telescopes available to check out who's on the beach
- Height of the At The Top observation deck is about 450m.
The official opening date of the Burj Dubai tower was 04 January 2009, and "At The Top" opened to the public from 05 January 2009.
When to buy tickets to the Burj Khalifa Observation Deck?
- If you don't care about the price, you can buy them at the ticket counter when you want to visit - there are expensive tickets available for immediate entry (at 4x the normal price).
- Otherwise go online and book them about 2 weeks before you want to visit in summer and 3 or 4 weeks in advance in winter. That's how far in advance the best times are booked up. Best times are an hour or so before sunset or sunrise (when possible - Observation Deck is not always open before sunrise), so you get both the day and night views of Dubai, and better light for taking photos in Dubai.
- Online bookings not available less than 24 hrs before visit time but you can still try at the ticket counter on the same day. The good times won't be available but during the day is still possible - go as early in the day as you can, or later at night during the week.
Burj Khalifa observation deck ticket prices
When the Burj Khalifa first opened, queues to obtain At The Top tickets were quite long (about an hour wait). Try going early in the morning to avoid queueing when buying your tickets. The ticket desk opens at 0930 (or earlier?).
| Adults | Children | < 3 years old | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advance bookings (also online, telephone) | AED 100 125 | AED 75 95 | free |
| On site purchase for immediate entry | AED 210 400 | AED 400 | AED 400 free? |
Burj Dubai observation deck opening times
| Sunday-Wednesday | Thursday-Saturday | |
|---|---|---|
| New opening hours (Aug 2013?) | 0830-2400 | 0830-0100 |
| Lastest entry start time | 2315 | 2345-2400? |
| Opening hours 2012-2013 | 0830-2400? | 24 hrs? |
| Last entry time | 2315 | |
| Old opening hours | 1000-2200 (10am-10pm) | 1000-2400 (10am-midnight) |
| Last tour starts | 2115 (9:15pm) | 2315 (11:15 pm) |
- Ramadan 2010 - Burj Khalifa observation deck is open 1700-2400 and will have an Iftar buffet available. Appears to be closed before 1700 according to a press release 24 July 2010 - From August 10 to September 9, At the Top, Burj Khalifa will open daily from 5pm to midnight.
Burj Dubai Observation Deck experience
There are 10 parts to the observation deck trip.
- Start at The Dubai Mall where you buy tickets, and watch LED displays of the Burj Dubai.
- Reception area in Dubai Mall has a large scale model of the Burj Dubai
- Dubai Now And Then - part one of the travelator trip from the Dubai Mall to the Burj Dubai, with the story of Dubai and the Burj Dubai
- Burj Dubai Skylight viewing point part way along the travelator journey for a photo opportunity of the Burj Dubai
- From the Vision to Reality - the remainder of the travelator journey, show about the making of the Burj Dubai
- Elevator trip to 124th floor.
- Walk around, floor to ceiling glass, 360 degree views, go outside to the open-air deck
- Super duper telescopes that show Dubai at night or day, past or future, whatever the weather (well, that's what the press release said).
- Return trip to The Dubai Mall
- At The Top boutique at the end for Burj Dubai souvenir shopping.
At the time of the press release (22 September 2009) announcing the observation deck experience, The Dubai Mall website had the Burj Dubai Observation Deck experience listed as "Experience124" or "Experience 124". Not clear if the name has changed or both will be used.
At The Top events and news
The Burj Khalifa Observation Deck reopened to the public on Saturday 03 April 2010 after a two month closure prompted by "maintenance" issues according to Emaar, or a broken elevator according to the tourists who were stuck At The Top.
- 07 February 2010 - At The Top observation deck closed indefinitely due to "technical issues with the power supply"
- 11 January 2010 - Gulf News reported that 14 people were stuck for an hour in an elevator on the way to the observation deck. Emaar Properties said the elevator was "briefly stalled". It is not known if the trapped visitors agreed that the lift had stopped "briefly"
- 05 January 2010 - first day of public access to the Burj Khalifa observation deck. Immediate access entry price changed from AED 210 to AED 400 per person shortly after opening (4 days according to The National on 09 January 2010).
- 04 January 2010 - opening ceremony for the Burj Dubai, at which it was revealed to have changed its name to the Burj Khalifa.
Burj Khalifa Observation Deck closed
The Burj Khalifa "At The Top" observation deck was closed from 07 February 2010 to 03 April 2010 (ticket refunds or rebooking available from the Burj Khalifa counter at The Dubai Mall). Dubai media reports quoted an Emaar spokesperson as saying "Due to unexpected high traffic, the observation deck experience at the Burj Khalifa, At the Top, has been temporarily closed for maintenance and upgrade. Technical issues with the power supply are being worked on by the main and sub-contractors and the public will be informed upon completion."
A Gulf News report 09 February 2010 reported that one of the visitors at the time the observation deck was shut down, Michael Timms from the USA, said "I was walking around the observation deck when I heard this really loud noise and what looked like smoke or dust coming out from one of the elevator doors."
Some visitors did manage to sneak onto the closed observation deck however.
- Lord Peter Mandelson, UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; and Mr Abdulla Lahej, Executive Director, Dubai Project Management, Emaar Properties, visited on or about 16 February 2010.
- Mr Barry E. Wilmore and Dr Robert L. Satcher Jr, two NASA astronauts, visited At The Top on or about 27 February 2010, aided in their exploration of the tower by some of the management team from GEMS Education and Emaar Properties.
Tallest or highest observation decks in the world (top ten) - April 2013
Highest as in distance from base of tower to observation deck, not height above sea level (otherwise the International Space Station ISS would probably be in number one position, and someone with a picnic table on top of Mt Everest would be number two).
Building height and year of completion in brackets. Based on Emporis press release list issued 02 May 2013 - "The World's Highest Observation Decks", reported in April 2013. However there appear to be some apparent conflicts or errors (noted when found).
- 488m - Canton Tower, Guangzhou, China (618m, 2011).
- 474m - SkyWalk 100 (Sky Walk 100), Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, China (492m, 2008).
- 452m - Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE (828m, 2010). Observation deck called At The Top (sort of).
- 450m (or 451m?) - Tokyo Sky Tree or SkyTree, Tokyo, Japan (634m, 2012).
- 447m - CN Tower, Toronto, Canada (553m, 1976).
- 427m - KK100 (KK 100), Shengzhen, China (442m).
- 415m - Guangzhou International Financial Center, Guangzhou, China (438m).
- 413m - Willis Tower, Chicago, USA (442m, 1974) (renamed from Sears Tower in 2009).
- 392m - Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan (509m, 2004).
- 388m (or 393m?) - Sky100 Observation Deck, International Commerce Center (ICC Tower), Hong Kong (484m, building completion 2010, observation deck open 2011). Sky 100 information says "'sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck': 393 metres above sea level" but does not give a height from tower base, which might be 388m according to Emporis.
- 2014 - Tallest observation deck expected to be in the Shanghai Tower, next to the Shanghai World Financial Center, with a height of 557 meters above the base.
- 2018 - Expected completion date for Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Tower height about 1 km, observation deck height about 800 meters.
Burj Khalifa At The Top contact details
- Tel 800-ATTHETOP (800-28843867) toll-free in the UAE, or telephone (international and local) +971-4-8888124
- Email tickets@atthetop.ae.
Last update Wednesday 21-Aug-2013
Related pages
- Burj Dubai tower - general information
- Activities in Dubai - stuff to do before, after, or instead of a Burj Khalifa trip
- Dubai tourist guide - stuff to do for tourists
Related websites (new window)
- tickets.atthetop.ae - buy tickets online for "At The Top"
- www.atthetop.ae - website for the Burj Khalifa "At The Top" experience, which forwards visitors to the observation deck page on the Burj Khalifa website.
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