BREAKING! New Disney Theme Park Just Announced, But It’s Not Where You Would Expect

This morning, we received breaking news about a new Disney theme park. This will be the first new theme park since Shanghai Disney. The news comes as Disney focuses even more on the expansion of their theme parks and cruises around the world.

Though the new theme park will be within a four-hour flight of one third of the world’s population, we would have called this announcement a crazy rumor just a week ago. Now, we are getting ready for a massive new expansion.

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Disney Announces New Theme Park in Abu Dhabi

The Walt Disney Company and Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences, announced an agreement to create a landmark Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Though the new resort doesn’t have an official name, Disney CEO Bob Iger referred to it as “Disneyland Abu Dhabi,” indicating to me that it will be comparable to other Disney resorts around the world.

The waterfront resort will be located on Yas Island, a world-class destination for entertainment and leisure, connecting travelers from the Middle East and Africa, India, Asia, Europe, and beyond. This seventh Disney theme park resort will combine Disney’s iconic stories, characters and attractions with Abu Dhabi’s vibrant culture, stunning shorelines, and breathtaking architecture.

Yas Island is a 20 minute drive from downtown Abu Dhabi and a 50 minute drive from Dubai.

Yas Island is already home to Warner Bros., Ferrari, and SeaWorld theme parks. The destination, which serves as the region’s main entertainment hub, also welcomes Formula 1 races, UFC fights, and stand-up comedians. There is also a water park, beachfront resorts, and one of the largest malls in the country. Notably, the theme parks here are indoors and climate-controlled due to the intense summer heat. In 2024, 38 million people visited Yas Island, according to their press release. For comparison, 48.7 million people visited Walt Disney World in 2023.

The new theme park resort will offer signature Disney entertainment, themed accommodations, unique dining and retail experiences. The initial plan is for the destination to have one theme park and an unknown number of themed hotels. Here’s a look at the concept artwork released below. The theme park resort will have both indoor and outdoor offerings.

“This is a thrilling moment for our company as we announce plans to build an exciting Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, whose culture is rich with an appreciation of the arts and creativity,” said Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company.

“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. Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati – 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.”

There has been no opening year announced for the project though CNN is reporting the project has a potential opening in the early 2030s. The project will be creatively led by Disney and operated by Miral. There will be no new allocated capital for this project and it will not be a part of the previously announced $60 billion Disney theme park investment to turbocharge the theme parks. This should not impact existing theme park investments.

The concept artwork released of the project is minimal and I think it would be too early to dig into what the artwork means for stories coming to the park. This news has been kept to a very small group at this point, meaning I assume there have been limited Imagineers who could’ve worked on this, so I wouldn’t read into what this will be exactly yet. I am interested in the fact that the “castle” icon of the park seems to be more modern and stylized. Again, that could change but it does seem to align with the modern skyscrapers of the city.

Though Miral will fund, build, and operate the destination, there will be embedded Disney leaders within the destination to provide a world-class experience. Though no specifics were given on the deal, the right comparison is to the structure of the Tokyo Disney business. The existing theme parks at Yas Island based on intellectual property from other parts of the world are all generally set up in a licensing model that includes some form of royalty payment and revenue share agreement. This is quite similar to how Tokyo Disney is not owned by Disney but they pay a small percentage of their revenue to Disney and are required to use Disney design services.

Iger spoke positively about the Miral team and their impressive use of technology and the quality of their theme parks. I have personally heard that the SeaWorld park there is unlike any other in the world and uses next-level tech to storytell.

You can also see Disney CEO Bob Iger’s appearance on Good Morning America discussing this new project.

I don’t think that Disney would have done this deal if there hadn’t been a huge financial incentive to get this done. When asked on CNBC, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro said that the project will be “royalty-based”.

Disney has elevated the theme parks as the biggest profit driver within the company. For so many years, the cable channels and specifically ESPN shielded Disney from having to consider less desirable financial decisions.

Now, with the decline of that revenue source, Disney has done and considered deals that Disney CEO Bob Iger would not have done previously. Specifically, I am thinking of the creation of ESPN Bet. For years, he said they would never create a betting offering from ESPN because of the brand connection to Disney. However, when the perception changed on betting and the company needed the revenue in that division they did the deal.

This deal with the UAE is a similar story. Iger has spoken in the past about a potential theme park in the Middle East and seemed to suggest it wasn’t a top priority.

In 2018, Iger admitted that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had “made an impassioned plea to me to consider building Disneyland in Saudi Arabia, and I listened with curiosity and somewhat of an open mind.” Iger added at the time “I ended up saying that I would visit and see for myself…Whether we grow or not there, I don’t know, but I’ll go.

“There’s a lot of people who live in that part of the world. We have, over time, been asked by many from that region to consider putting a park in that region. And so far, it hasn’t been at the top of our list in terms of markets that we would open up in, but we’ll take a look.”

Part of the change of course is also the reality of the amount of people in this world who will now be far closer to a Disney theme park. Iger shared that for every 1 person who visits the Disney theme parks, there are 10 who want to visit but don’t due to accessibility to the nearest park. The UAE has also established Yas Island as a tourist destination in the region.

My bet would be that a large financial commitment finally moved this market to the top of their list and made the deal worth their while. It is probably all upside financially for Disney in this deal and gives them a clear theme park win at a time when this division is expanding rapidly.

We know that in recent years, there has been more of a focus specifically on reaching into other untapped areas of the world via Disney theme parks and cruise line offerings. Later this year, we’ll see the Disney Adventure cruise ship begin sailing from Singapore. That’s another example of Disney getting closer to this untapped area of the world.

This decision is likely one that Disney has been considering for a long time. This particular political and social moment in the United States may also have met a time when the UAE was willing to put up a big investment and the deal finally got done. With all of the international news and noise right now, the latest round of tariffs coverage could give this cover to fly under the radar among the many other major international news stories.

There are realities about the decision to make this deal that could cast a long shadow. The UAE has been criticized by Human Rights Watch for limiting free speech, criminalizing LGBTQ+ identities, and offering limited protections for migrant workers, who make up 88% of the population. Though Abu Dhabi has implemented reforms for foreign residents in recent years, there are still concerns about human rights and social freedoms.

Disney’s global influence could help raise expectations around labor practices and guest experiences. When I asked if they were going to influence decisions related to this as part of the project, Disney PR shared “Disney is a global company with operations all over the world. We are always respectful of the countries and cultures where we do business, while always adhering to our own standards and values.”

Here are more quotes from Disney and leaders from Abu Dhabi associated with the project:

“Abu Dhabi is a place where heritage meets innovation, where we preserve our past while designing the future,” His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman at Miral, said. “The collaboration between Abu Dhabi and Disney demonstrates the remarkable results of combining visionary leadership and creative excellence. What we are creating with Disney in Abu Dhabi is a whole new world of imagination — an experience that will inspire generations across the region and the world, creating magical moments and memories that families will treasure forever. Through the development of unique attractions and experiences, Abu Dhabi continues to be a destination of choice for the world.”

The UAE is located within a four-hour flight of one-third of the world’s population, making it a significant gateway for tourism. The UAE is home to the largest global airline hub in the world, with 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year.

“This groundbreaking resort destination represents a new frontier in theme park development,” said Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences. “Our resort in Abu Dhabi will be the most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio. The location of our park is incredibly unique – anchored by a beautiful waterfront – which will allow us to tell our stories in completely new ways. This project will reach guests in a whole new part of the world, welcoming more families to experience Disney than ever before. Ultimately, it will be a celebration of what’s possible when creativity and
progress come together.”

“Bringing a Disney theme park resort to Yas Island marks a historic milestone in our journey to further advance the island’s position as a global destination for exceptional entertainment and leisure,” said Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, Group CEO, Miral.

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