The Walt Disney Co. will bring a Magic Kingdom to the elective monarchy of the United Arab Emirates as the entertainment conglomerate spreads its global wings.
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Disney officials announced Wednesday that it will build the brand’s seventh theme park resort on the Persian Gulf after reaching an agreement with the Miral Group, an entertainment management company associated with the Abu Dhabi government.
The property is slated to feature a castle and new attractions as well as updated versions of classic rides from other Disney resorts, according to The New York Times.
“It’s not just about ‘If you build it, they will come,’” Disney CEO Robert A. Iger told the NYT. “You have to build it right. And quality means not just scale, but quality and ambition. We are planning to be very ambitious with this.”
The size, budget and timeline for the park weren’t provided by Disney or Miral, but the latter is putting up the funding. Theme parks on par with the planned Disneyland Abu Dhabi can cost $5B or more.
A securities filing shows Disney will design the park’s rides, retail and hotels — on Miral’s dime — and will receive a percentage of the park’s revenue once it opens.
That deal came after years of trying to woo Disney to the UAE and Miral's successes with SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. The UAE capital has emerged as a major tourist destination in recent years, with government officials reporting Abu Dhabi saw around 24 million visitors in 2023.
In addition to visitors from the UAE, the planned park’s proximity to India could bring tourists from that country’s expanding middle class.
“This project will reach guests in a whole new part of the world, welcoming more families to experience Disney than ever before,” Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro said in a statement.
The planned expansion comes as Disney has seen dropping box office and cable television returns.
And Disney could face pushback for the move, as it did with its last expansion into the Chinese mainland in 2016 for Shanghai Disneyland. The UAE is an autocracy with limited freedoms and a history of human rights abuses.
In 2020, the country relaxed Islamic legal codes in its justice system, increased protections for women and allowed more consumption of alcohol in an effort to woo more tourists and foreign investors.
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