Disney announces its first Middle East theme park in Abu Dhabi

CALIFORNIA – Walt Disney has announced plans for its first theme park in the Middle East, a sprawling resort property in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The company’s 13th park will be built, owned and operated by Abu Dhabi-based Miral Group, according to the announcement on May 7.

Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be constructed on Yas Island, a major tourism hub in the United Arab Emirates that includes the Miral-built Ferrari World, Warner Bros World and SeaWorld parks.

It will be Disney’s first all-new location since the Shanghai Disney Resort opened in 2016.

The Burbank, California-based entertainment company had previously outlined a decade-long plan to turbocharge growth in its parks division – its most profitable business.

Disney’s “imagineers” are in the process of designing the resort and its attractions, a process that typically takes about two years, according to Mr Josh D’Amaro, who leads the division that includes the company’s parks, cruise ships and consumer products. Once the designs are complete, the park will take five to six years to build. 

Details such as the cost and attractions of the resort were not disclosed.

“The project is incredibly ambitious, and the land we’re building on will be large enough to showcase all of our franchises,” Mr D’Amaro said in an interview.

“The Middle East is a part of the world we feel we have huge opportunity in, and we’ve found both a location and a partner that are a great match for the ambition we have.”

The resort will be Disney’s most technologically advanced, and Miral will fund the entirety of the project, he added.

The new park will give the company a footprint in the largest global airline hub in the world – with more than 120 million passengers travelling annually through Abu Dhabi and Dubai – without any capital commitment.

Officials at Disney have been in talks with Miral for about 18 months and hosted its management in Burbank in 2024 to review proposals, Mr D’Amaro said. 

Disney announced plans in 2024 to double capital investment in its resorts business to US$60 billion (S$77.5 billion) over the next decade to accelerate growth in its experiences business. 

As part of that, it is doubling the size of its cruise fleet to 13 ships by 2031 and building a land devoted to villains at its Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

Rival Comcast’s Universal Destinations & Experiences is opening a new US$7 billion Florida theme park later in May and is advancing plans to build its first European theme park in Britain, a potential competitor to Disneyland Paris.

The resort in Abu Dhabi will be Disney’s seventh location globally to feature theme parks, alongside properties in California, Florida, Tokyo, Paris, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Shanghai took about seven years to open after being formally announced.

The park in Abu Dhabi will blend local architecture with Disney’s designs, making the resort “authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati”, Mr Bob Iger, Disney’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

A rendering supplied by Disney showed contemporary-looking structures resembling the Abu Dhabi skyline, although the exact attractions were hard to discern. The park is expected to have a castle, a centrepiece of Disney resorts since the original Disneyland in 1955.

Yas Island is a man-made resort area occupying almost 26km. Located about 30 minutes from the Abu Dhabi city centre, the island features beaches, shopping, theme parks, hotels, golf courses and numerous other attractions.

In recent months, Disney has opened standalone stores in the UAE, which have seen strong demand, Mr D’Amaro said.

Not all of the company’s offerings have succeeded in the country, however.

In 2022, the UAE – which criminalises same-sex relationships – banned the release of Disney’s Lightyear, a Toy Story spin-off film from Pixar Animation Studios that includes a same-sex kiss. 

Mr D’Amaro said that Disney operates all over the world and always adheres to its own standards and values, as well as local laws and regulations. 

Earlier on May 7, Disney reported second-quarter earnings that exceed expectations and lifted its guidance for the full year. The results were driven by increased profits at the domestic theme parks, the company’s streaming services and its film studio. 

Revenue overall rose 7 per cent to US$23.6 billion, while adjusted earnings a share climbed 20 per cent to US$1.45, beating estimates for US$1.20. BLOOMBERG