The News
Abu Dhabi just landed the house of mouse. Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be the company’s first Middle East outpost, delivering a win for the UAE’s tourism ambitions.
The resort planned for Yas Island’s waterfront will abut air-conditioned outposts of other American tourism magnets, Warner Bros World and SeaWorld, as the UAE looks to draw 39 million visitors by 2030, up from around 24 million in 2023.
A “modern castle” will be the resort’s focal point in what is set to be “the most advanced and interactive destination in the Disney portfolio,” the company said, telling Reuters the project could take five to eight years to open.
Miral, the Abu Dhabi-based leisure and entertainment group responsible for developing Yas Island, convinced Disney to build its seventh location in Abu Dhabi (code-naming the pitch “Project Mars”) at a time when the US entertainment conglomerate is pouring resources into its steadily growing Experiences unit: It helped that Miral agreed to finance, build, and operate the park.