Dubai vacation with kids

If you want outside stuff head to Safa park which is Huge cost AED 3 to get in and you can walk around there,you kids may be able to skate but I am not sure.
.If you want different Sharjah has a nice Arabia wild life park and a new aquarium so you could hop the Metro to Al Rashid station then take a taxi from there,the taxis do add on 20 AED coming and going from Sharjah to the end of the base fare.There is also a science center in Sharjah which I hear is pretty hands on for kids.

If you have a car or do what I mentioned above head way out to Umm Al Quwain, and go to dream park water park [They have a website] which I think has a lot more family friendly rides,cost less and you get free lockers plus it has a bar and a LOT LESS CROWDED..

There are no other Ski places I know of .

are there any outdoor places for the 7 year old to roller blade / skate?
No outdoor places unless you go to a park. Zabeel park is quite nice and has a skating rink. Al Nasr Leisureland near American Hospital has an ice rink (obviously indoor)

Is there a smaller ski area in other malls that is not too expensive
Ski Dubai is the only ski arena in Dubai. Remember that this is the desert we are talking about and maintaining a ski slope costs money.

How about the zoo and aquarium - is there a petting zoo?
Do stay away from the terrible cramped Dubai zoo to avoid distressing your kids. There is an aquarium in Dubai Mall and a Dolphinarium in the Creek Park. If you go on Monday (all day) or on Friday morning, the tickets are half price.

Closer to Dubai, there is a Sharjah Desert Park / Arabian WIldlife Centre (very nice though unheralded) which has a small petting zoo. Open Sunday to Thursday 9 am – 5.30 pm, Friday 2 pm - 5.30 pm, Saturday 11 am – 5.30 pm, closed on Tuesday

A quick trip to the Al Ain zoo (about 90 minutes drive one way) may also be worth a visit (by local standards).

I will agree with both posts above. I have taken my boys (ages 3 and 5) to the Sharjah Wildlife Center; it is located very close to the Science Museum (although a little difficult to find the last time that we were there because of the construction- that was a little over a year ago). Very reasonable in price (I think we paid like $10 US as a family for everything), and the boys got to feed the animals (there is straw laying around for this) and see the museum.

I live in Al Ain, and we find the zoo to be as good as any that we have seen in the States. Also very affordable (again, like $10 US for the family) and lots to see.

I would advise you that it is still pretty hot in the middle of the day, so you may want to be careful with planning too many things to do in the middle of the day.

Thanks for all the information. I will check out the different places mentioned in the replies.

I am considering renting a car for the duration of our stay as opposed to using the metro+cabs. I guess, driving in Dubai should not be too difficult. Are car seats compulsory for infants?

Are car seats compulsory for infants?

No ; but please get / rent one. Driving in Dubai is not exactly sane.