Mickey in the Middle East
New Disney park and resort headed to Abu Dhabi
Did you catch it? In the final paragraph of the article I published on Tuesday, “Ferrari World to rev up another record-breaking coaster,” I wrote, “…there is some buzz swirling that Disney may be making an announcement soon about a project in the UAE, possibly at Yas Island. That would create quite a hubbub in the Middle East country.” Less than 24 hours after that post appeared in your inbox, Disney announced its plans to build a new theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi. The hubbub has begun.
As I reported on Tuesday, Miral, the United Arab Emirates company that operates the 15-year-old Yas Island theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, is aggressively expanding the property with a new, record-breaking roller coaster, other new attractions, and new lands at its existing parks: Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, and the Yas Waterworld water park. It is buoyed by the resort’s performance, saying that it attracted 38 million visitors and a 20% attendance growth at the parks last year, breaking all records for the property. The new Disneyland Abu Dhabi would be Yas Island’s crown jewel.
Details are sparse. Speaking at a press conference in Abu Dhabi yesterday, Disney CEO Bob Iger, along with Miral and UAE officials, talked in broad terms about what’s on the way, but did not indicate a timeline for when the project would break ground and open, or any other particulars.
“As our seventh theme park destination, it will rise from this land in spectacular fashion, blending contemporary architecture with cutting-edge technology to offer guests deeply immersive entertainment experiences in unique and modern ways,” Iger said. He added that the park and resort would be “authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati,” which recalls a similar phrase the exec coined for Shanghai Disneyland.
The park and resort will be located along the waterfront at Yas Island. Because of the region’s harsh desert conditions, Abu Dhabi’s other theme parks are largely located indoors. There is no word whether the Disney park would also be housed indoors, although it’s likely. It’s difficult to tell from the largely impressionistic concept art, but it appears that instead of a traditional castle, this Disneyland may feature a whimsical glass tower as its focal point. Perhaps that will be part of the “contemporary architecture” that Iger referred to.
It strikes me as a bit odd that Disney would share the spotlight at Yas Island with SeaWorld, Warner Bros. World, and Ferrari World. And while “resort” implies that the Disneyland property would include lodging accommodations and other amenities, Yas Island already offers seven hotels, including a Hilton and the upscale W Abu Dhabi.
Miral will develop, build, and operate Disneyland Abu Dhabi, while Disney will license its IPs, design the park, and provide operational oversight. This is similar to the arrangements Miral has with its existing theme parks. It is also akin to to the deal Disney has for Tokyo Disneyland, which is wholly owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company.
Disney’s surprise announcement could be, in part, a response to rival Universal, which has been on a tear building new parks and projects, such as Universal Epic Universe in Orlando and its new park and resort in the UK. Although Walt Disney World and Disneyland will be getting plenty of love as part of the company’s $60-billion investment in and expansion of its parks and experiences division, folks in the US would love to see an entirely new park added to either or both of its California and Florida resorts. However, it will be exciting to see Disney reinterpret its classic Disneyland park in a new locale, possibly indoors, and with today’s technology.
Are you as surprised by this announcement as I am? With Disney in the mix, might you consider visiting Yas Island?
I am intrigued to see what they decide to make there. I hope the money they spend on new attractions will make these attractions easier to put at Disney World and Disneyland. I still haven't been able to convince my wife for us to visit Silver Dollar City, so this would be an even harder sell! But, we are recent empty nesters, so maybe we will be able to do it someday.
Yes, I'm very surprised. I hope this doesn't prohibit Disney from expanding Disneyworld, especially in light of Universal's new Epic.