Disney said Wednesday it would build a Disneyland in Abu Dhabi, marking its first-ever theme park in the Middle East and its seventh worldwide.
Key details like opening date or budget weren’t shared, but we know it’ll be on Yas Island – the city’s hub for entertainment venues, and will be entirely developed and financed by Miral.
Miral is a government-backed developer in Abu Dhabi that built Yas Island and many of the assets on it, including Ferrari World, SeaWorld and Warner Bros World, all on the same island.
For its part, Disney “will lead creative design, attraction development and operational oversight,” a press release states. Importantly, it will be Miral operating the theme park, not Disney.
“Miral will fully fund this project. They will build the project…. And then ultimately, when it’s fully built out, they’ll operate it, with oversight from us,” said Disney Parks chairperson Josh D’Amaro in an interview on CNBC.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement that the project will be “distinctly Emirati,” referencing the local culture of the UAE. “Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati – an oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment at this crossroads of the world.”
This project will add to parks in California, Florida, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
In the interview on CNBC, Iger said Disney has already begun designing the park, but couldn’t give an opening date. “We’re not pinning down a date yet. It typically takes us between 18 months and two years to design and fully develop and approximately five years to build. But we’re not making any commitments right now,” Iger said.
The project has been in the works for years, according to a Miral executive on LinkedIn. “When Miral started this project back in 2019, we code named it “Project Mars”, and this is because we were not only aiming for the moon, but we were aiming much further and far beyond it,” wrote Abdulaziz Alkhoori, Executive Director of Group Strategy & Transformation.
He added: “This will be the single most significant tourism, leisure, and entertainment project in the history of this beautiful nation and in the region.”
What About the Heat?
Much like Florida in the summertime, the temperatures in Abu Dhabi could become a real issue. Temperatures often surpass 100°F in the emirates, and can even reach 120°F in the summer months.
In Florida, where Disney World is located, the National Weather Service issues “excessive heat warnings” if temperatures pass 110°F for more than two hours.
Theme Parks in the Middle East
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions estimates that the amusement park industry in the Middle East and Africa grew by more than $470 million in 2024. Attractions in the Middle East and parts of Africa generated $24.3 billion in revenue in 2023, it said.
Dubai and the other emirates have had large-scale parks for years, but Saudi Arabia is coming in with numerous projects of its own.
Most of Saudi Arabia’s theme park assets are centered in one place: Qiddiya, a new-build ‘entertainment city’ promising a dozen such parks.
In Qatar, a $5.5 billion theme park was announced 40 minutes from Doha last year.
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