Disney will design and create a new theme park resort in the Middle East that promises to be contemporary, modern and cutting edge in a departure from past projects that leaned heavily into history, nostalgia and tradition.
Disney announced plans to build the new Disneyland Abu Dhabi waterfront theme park resort on Yas Island in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, May 7 ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings report.
“This groundbreaking resort destination represents a new frontier in theme park development,” Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro said in a statement. “Our resort in Abu Dhabi will be the most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio.”
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The Abu Dhabi location will become Disney’s seventh theme park resort — joining Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Highly abstract concept art released by Disney of the new theme park is intended to show few specifics.
A sparkling blue and purple iceberg-like tower that looks like a cross between an ice castle and a frozen flame will serve as the theme park’s centerpiece.
Concept art suggests the park will include a mountain range with Matterhorn- and Big Thunder-style peaks, a pair of roller coasters and a pirate’s cove.
A Disney video teased a range of possible attractions for the new park that included Avatar Flight of Passage, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Tron Lightcycle Run, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Moana Journey of Water and “World of Color.”
The video teaser included footage of Disney’s newest Frozen and Zootopia themed lands and a safari-style tour.
Disney has not yet announced any attractions planned for Disneyland Abu Dhabi.
The Disney-branded theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi will be developed, built and operated by Miral — which developed and operates the SeaWorld, Ferrari World and Warner Bros. World theme parks on Yas Island.
“What we are creating with Disney in Abu Dhabi is a whole new world of imagination,” Miral Chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak said in a statement. “An experience that will inspire generations across the region and the world, creating magical moments and memories that families will treasure forever.”
Disney will license its characters, stories and intellectual property from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars films and television shows to the park.
Disney will provide no capital for the project and will earn royalties and service fees based on the revenues from the planned theme park, hotels and retail complex.
Walt Disney Imagineering will lead the creative design and provide the operational oversight for the project.
“Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “An oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment at this crossroads of the world that will bring to life our timeless characters and stories in many new ways and will become a source of joy and inspiration for the people of this vast region to enjoy for generations to come.”
Iger visited the Middle East region three times in the past nine months before deciding to move forward with Disneyland Abu Dhabi.
“It became more and more clear that not only was the region right and ready for us, but the place to build was Abu Dhabi,” Iger told the New York Times.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi will have a castle, modernized versions of classic Disney rides and new attractions tailored to the desert climate and local culture, according to the New York Times.
“We are planning to be very ambitious with this,” Iger told the New York Times.
Disney hopes the new park will attract travelers from the Middle East, Africa, India, Asia and Europe.
The United Arab Emirates is home to the world’s largest airline hub with 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year. The UAE bills itself as a tourism gateway with a third of the world’s population within a four-hour flight of the Emirates.
Yas Island is located 20 minutes from downtown Abu Dhabi and 50 minutes from Dubai.
The 10-square mile island is about a quarter the size of the Walt Disney World resort in Florida.
The sprawling entertainment destination includes theme parks, water parks, sports arenas, history museums, golf courses, convention centers, a Formula 1 race track, 10 hotels and 165 restaurants.
The Warner Bros. World theme park in Abu Dhabi will soon be home to the first Harry Potter-themed land in the Middle East.
Yas Island welcomed more than 38 million visitors in 2024, up 10% from the prior year, according to Miral.