Yes, it’s official – the Dubai Mall is open. What this means for anyone from the US who lives in the UAE is that the closest Taco Bell is no longer a 12 hour flight away – it’s just 2 hours in traffic, and then 45 minutes waiting in the crazy long queue. I can confirm that the menu is pretty much exactly like it is in the US – with a few items missing. The only omission that bothered me was the total lack of 7-layer burritos. Soft and hard tacos, bean and cheese/beef and potato burritos, chalupas, gorditos, “normal” burritos and taco salads all present. They also had the crunchwraps and some of the desserts that we’d expect to find. Even the hot sauce packs are the same ones from the US with the weird little sayings on the front. And, most importantly, everything we ordered tasted exactly like it was supposed to.

The bad news was that due to the long long lines, we waited probably 10 minutes to order our food – and then had to wait nearly 30 more to actually get the items. The queues for ordering were pretty well maintained, but the crowd pushing in around the pickup area was just the normal mess you can expect in Dubai – no line, no order, lots of confusion, and lots of people shouting or pushing thinking this will make their food appear faster. It was a madhouse.

Unless you have a pregnant wife who has been starving for Taco Bell for 5 months or just like standing in the madness, I’d suggest waiting at least a week or so for the chaos to die down.

BTW: if you do go to the Dubai Mall, it’s still very much a work in progress. I don’t really think it should be open yet – in many areas, the mall seems to change color, because the huge video ads are color-casting the white walls that all say “opening soon”, and the escalators still have safety tape on them. Near the exit for the 3rd level of the parking deck there was a sign that had two options – “Quick Exit” and “Chaos”. I wish I wasn’t driving, as I almost didn’t believe what I was seeing but I couldn’t get a picture.