A brand new Disney theme park is coming to Abu Dhabi.
The Walt Disney Co. introduced Wednesday that it has reached an settlement with immersive vacation spot and experiences firm Miral to convey a park and resort to Yas Island within the United Arab Emirates.
This shall be Disney’s seventh theme park resort and it will likely be totally developed and constructed by Miral. Disney’s imagineers will lead artistic design and operational oversight on the mission. The leisure large is not going to be investing capital within the mission, however will reap the advantages of royalties.
The event in Abu Dhabi will not be a part of the $60 billion that Disney has pledged to put money into its theme parks over the subsequent decade.
“This can be a thrilling second for our firm as we announce plans to construct an thrilling Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, whose tradition is wealthy with an appreciation of the humanities and creativity,” mentioned Disney CEO Bob Iger, in an announcement. “As our seventh theme park vacation spot, it would rise from this land in spectacular vogue, mixing up to date structure with leading edge expertise to supply friends deeply immersive leisure experiences in distinctive and fashionable methods.”
Iger, in an interview with CNBC’s David Faber on Wednesday, mentioned imagineers have already begun designing the park. He declined to specify when the corporate expects the park to open.
“We’re not pinning down a date but,” he mentioned. “It sometimes takes us between 18 months and two years to design and totally develop and roughly 5 years to construct however we’re not making any commitments proper now.”
The announcement got here after Disney reported a top- and bottom-line beat for its fiscal second quarter, with its experiences enterprise — together with parks, cruises and resorts in addition to client merchandise — reporting 6% year-over-year income development.
The section represented 37% of the corporate’s total income in fiscal 2024 and almost 60% of its working revenue.
“Experiences is clearly a vital enterprise for Disney and likewise an necessary development platform,” Iger mentioned on Disney’s second-quarter earnings convention name. “Regardless of questions round any macroeconomic uncertainty or the impression of competitors, I am inspired by the power and resilience of our enterprise as evidenced in these earnings and within the second-half bookings at Walt Disney World.”
UAE foothold
Disney has slowly been getting into the UAE in recent times, including retail areas and touring leisure exhibits like Broadway’s “The Lion King” and “Disney on Ice.”
Iger informed CNBC that the corporate first began eyeing the area as a possible new resort location in 2017 or 2018, however Covid and a CEO change delayed growth into the UAE.
Disney famous that round one-third of the world’s inhabitants lives inside a four-hour flight of the UAE and that the area has an addressable tourism market of round 500 million guests.
Disney CEO Bob Iger (R) and Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences, talking on CNBC’s Squawkbox on Might seventh, 2025.
CNBC
“This groundbreaking resort vacation spot represents a brand new frontier in theme park improvement,” mentioned Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney experiences. “Our resort in Abu Dhabi would be the most superior and interactive vacation spot in our portfolio. The placement of our park is extremely distinctive – anchored by a wonderful waterfront – which is able to permit us to inform our tales in utterly new methods. This mission will attain friends in a complete new a part of the world, welcoming extra households to expertise Disney than ever earlier than.”
Yas Island is a hub of leisure and retail experiences. It’s already house to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi in addition to the Method 1 Yas Marina Circuit. The world additionally hosts Abu Dhabi’s largest mall and an award-winning golf course.
Upon completion, the brand new Disney park could have themed lodging and distinctive eating and retail experiences that combine the storytelling heritage of Disney and the futuristic and cultural essence of Abu Dhabi.
“It’s going to be a lot bigger than something that is presently right here,” D’Amaro teased on CNBC.
