BREAKING: A New Disney Theme Park and Resort Is Coming to Abu Dhabi
Just minutes before The Walt Disney Company presented its Q2 FY2025 earnings, Bob Iger dropped an unprecedented bombshell: Disney is building a new theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates!
The waterfront resort will be located on Yas Island, already one of the busiest hubs in the world.
“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.
Photo: Disney
“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.”
Why Abu Dhabi?
Obviously, the first question many Disney fans are asking about the new theme park is, “Why Abu Dhabi?
According to Iger, Disney began exploring the possibility of bringing a Disney resort to the region in 2017 or 2018. The choice makes sense since Abu Dhabi is centrally located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Photo: Deadline
Additionally, the UAE is home to the largest global airline hub in the world. 120 million passengers travel through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year.
“It’s a park that is a four-hour flight away from one-third of the world’s population,” Iger noted on CNBC.
The Resort Will Be Developed and Operated by Miral
The new Disney resort will be fully developed, built, and operated by Miral, which has already created several family entertainment destinations on Yas Island. Disney Imagineers, however, will lead creative design and operational insight.
Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering
Based on what we know, it does not sound like Disney will have to provide capital to create the new park. Instead, the new resort will be owned and operated by Miral. Like Tokyo Disneyland, however, Disney will receive a royalties.
To celebrate the big announcement, Miral released a video showing a meeting between the two entities.
شكراً سمو الشيخ خالد بن محمد ومعالي محمد خليفة المبارك! شكراً لقيادتنا الرشيدة على هذا الإنجاز الذي نفخر أن نكون جزءاً منه!#disneyabudhabi #disney #abudhabi pic.twitter.com/7FWYXpZsrQ
— Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi 🇦🇪 (@alzaabiofficial) May 7, 2025
“It’s a really good deal for Disney. We won’t go into any more detail now, but we feel good about the deal,” Iger said.
When Will the Resort Open?
While details on the new park remain scarce, Disney is promising that, when completed, the new resort will offer the signature entertainment, themed accommodations, unique dining, and retail experiences that fans have come to expect.
“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,” Iger said.
“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.”
Construction on the park is expected to take 5 years, though Disney has yet to announce when the efforts will begin.
