Disney Announces First-Ever Theme Park Coming to the Middle East! | Disney, disney parks, Theme Parks | Just Jared: Celebrity News and Gossip
Disney is expanding to the Middle East!
The Walt Disney Co. announced that a theme park is coming to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday (May 7), via CNBC.
The company reached an agreement with immersive destination and experiences company Miral to bring a park and resort to Yas Island in the United Arab Emirates.
It will be Disney’s seventh theme park resort, and it will be fully developed and built by Miral. Disney’s imagineers will lead creative design and operational oversight on the project.
The development in Abu Dhabi is not part of the $60 billion that Disney has pledged to invest in its theme parks over the next decade, per the news report.
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“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 Disney CEO Bob Iger, in a statement.
“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.”
He said imagineers have already begun designing the park, but did not reveal a timeline for opening.
“We’re not pinning down a date yet,” he said to CNBC. “It typically takes us between 18 months and two years to design and fully develop and approximately five years to build but we’re not making any commitments right now.”
Disney has slowly been entering the UAE in recent years by adding retail locations and touring entertainment shows like Broadway’s The Lion King and Disney on Ice.
Yas Island is also home to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, and the Formula 1 Yas Marina Circuit.
“This groundbreaking resort destination represents a new frontier in theme park development,” said Josh D’Amaro, chairman of 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…it’ll be much larger than anything that’s currently here.”
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