Disney is partnering with United Arab Emirates developer Miral to open the most technologically advanced Disney theme park and resort experience yet. The still unnamed waterfront destination will be on Yas Island, about 20 miles from the city of Abu Dhabi, and could open in the early 2030s. It will be the first new Disney theme park since Shanghai Disneyland opened in 2016.
Disney and Miral posted a video with concept art and clips of Disney properties including Moana, Frozen and Tron. The video touts the waterfront location as an opportunity to create interactive experiences unique to this park.
“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,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Disney told CNN the company has been discussing this project for a decade and is interested in incorporating technologies such as Unreal Engine to fuse characters and stories into its attractions.
“This groundbreaking resort destination represents a new frontier in theme park development,” Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, said in a statement. “Our resort in Abu Dhabi will be the most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio.”
Disneyland is celebrating its 70th birthday this month and through the rest of the year with events across its original park in Anaheim, California.
Expanding Mickey Mouse’s reach
Disney and Miral will be joining a very active entertainment scene on Yas Island, which already has a Warner Bros. World, a Ferrari World and a Yas Waterworld park, among other attractions. The announcement also comes as Universal is debuting its Epic Universe theme park in Orlando this month.
When it arrives, the Abu Dhabi location is likely to be more about building new fans rather than attracting people over from other parts of the world, says Steve Frearson, founder and editor of WDWMagic, a website that tracks and discusses Disney attractions.
“This looks like Disney recognizing a major gap in its global coverage. The Middle East, South Asia and parts of Africa represent a huge market of potential guests who rarely visit the existing Disney parks,” he said. “This project isn’t meant to draw visitors away from other resorts — it’s about reaching people who haven’t had easy access to the brand before.”
The news, Frearson said, caught many Disney watchers off guard.
“Even the most dedicated Disney watchers didn’t have this on their radar,” he said. “Some fans are seeing this as a strategic move, especially after Universal announced its UK expansion. It feels like Disney is responding by establishing a major presence in a region where it’s had limited reach until now.”
Given the timeline and the involvement of Miral, Frearson said, fans can expect a big-budget project that he thinks “could be something truly next level.”
“Miral will want to make a statement, and without typical budget constraints, Imagineers could push boundaries in a way we haven’t seen before. Fans are going to expect a park loaded with headliner attractions — experiences on the level of Star Wars Rise of the Resistance — not just one or two must-dos, but an entire park full of them,” he said.
Comments from Disney’s leadership, and images released so far, have led Frearson to believe that the companies could push robotics and free-roaming characters through the park with a more futuristic bent than has been seen at existing theme parks.
“This will be a castle park, but based on the early concept art and comments from Iger, the castle looks strikingly modern — nothing like any of the castles we’ve seen at other Disney parks,” Frearson said. “That alone signals how different and forward-thinking this project is shaping up to be.”
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