During the pandemic summer of 2020— just after lockdown had concluded in Dubai— the Velociraptor rollercoaster began running again. However, it was now running without passengers. Whether this was due to routine testing or unpopularity, you could see the rollercoaster riding up and down the rails as you drove by. Its empty rides were a testament to both the return to some form of normality after lockdown, with the bitter reminder that we had a long way to go before everything would be the same again.