Disney shares jumped 10.3 per cent to $101.64 at 6.26pm UAE time on Wednesday, hours after the company said it would build a theme park in Abu Dhabi. It will be the first Disney park in the Middle East.
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, and Disney chief executive Bob Iger made the announcement at the W Abu Dhabi on Yas Island, The National reported. It followed a strategic partnership agreement between Miral and the Walt Disney Company. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, attended, according to Gulf News.
Who builds what
Miral, the Abu Dhabi developer behind Yas Island’s other big attractions, will lead development and construction and will manage the resort once it opens. Disney handles the creative vision, attraction design and operational planning. Iger, in a recorded message, said the park “will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati, an oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment that is at the crossroads of the world.”
Josh D’Amaro, chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, called it the seventh Disney theme park resort destination and said it would be the “most advanced and interactive destination” in the company’s portfolio. He pointed to the waterfront site, which he said would let Disney “tell our stories in completely new ways.”
Iger took a question on the choice of location during Disney’s earnings call. “We did study the region very carefully, and we know we had many opportunities,” he told investors. “Of all the places that we could choose from, there did not seem to be any place that is better than this.”
Timeline and numbers
No opening date has been set. D’Amaro told Reuters a project this size could take a year or two to design and four to six years more to build.
The company runs 12 parks across six destinations in California, Florida, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Abu Dhabi would be its first all-new location since Shanghai Disney Resort opened in 2016. Gulf News framed the announcement as Disney’s first new park in 15 years.
Yas Island already has Ferrari World, Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld, and plans exist to expand Yas Waterworld and add rides to the other two. More than 38 million people visited the island last year, 10 per cent above the year before, and theme park visits rose 20 per cent. Gulf News said the resort is positioned to serve visitors from the Middle East, Africa, India, Asia and Europe.
Details on rides and lands have not been released. A two-and-a-half minute video at the launch showed clips from The Lion King, Moana, Star Wars and Marvel films. That evening a launch party at Yas Links featured a 9,000-drone show and fireworks, with pianist Lang Lang, Emirati singer Rashed Alnuaimi and actor Tyrese Gibson among those on hand.
The announcement follows Disney’s growing presence in the country. The first stand-alone Disney Store in Abu Dhabi opened at Yas Mall in March, and a flagship shop in Dubai Mall followed shortly after.
Sources
- Disney theme park coming to the UAE: Disneyland Abu Dhabi to open on Yas Island | The National
- Disney's first Middle East theme park coming to Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
- Disney to Open First Middle East Theme Park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi
- Disneyland Abu Dhabi
