Disney Drone Show and Fireworks Kick Off Disneyland Abu Dhabi Theme Park Project

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Disneyland Abu Dhabi Announcement Ceremony

Posted: Wednesday May 7, 2025 6:50pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Walt Disney Company and Miral marked the announcement of the first-ever Disney theme park resort in the Middle East with a dramatic celebration over the Abu Dhabi skyline. A coordinated drone show and fireworks display lit up the night sky, highlighting Disney icons and imagery above Yas Island.

Disneyland Abu Dhabi Announcement Ceremony

The show included celebrities Tyrese Gibson, Naomi Campbell, Ed Westwick, and more. Guests were also treated to a live performance featuring world-renowned pianist Lang Lang alongside acclaimed Emirati singer, Rashed Alnuaimi, Kerry Ellis, and Sonya Balsara.

The spectacle followed the formal unveiling of plans for the new resort, which will be built and operated by Miral with creative development and operational oversight from Disney. The waterfront park will be Disney’s seventh global theme park destination and its first in the region.

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Disgruntled Walt2 days ago

You need the Premier Pass!

lentesta2 days ago

We did an entire Patreon show on it! Jim Shull, who’s been working with Miral for 18 months, was on.

TXRob3 days ago

So odd - this news hasn’t been mentioned on Len Testas podcast for 2 weeks now. Seems like newsworthy item?! @lentesta

Robbiem3 days ago

I can certainly see some families from the UK saying lets give Abu Dhabi a try next year rather than Orlando, especially in the winter months. It also helps that AD is a couple of hours closer than Orlando as well.

abaker19754 days ago

I think Yas Island is going to become a bigger draw for people from the UK/Europe for a Theme Park holiday. With Disney joining the line up I can see Yas Island attracting some people away from Orlando.

Sir_Cliff5 days ago

100%. When I was younger, Singapore was the most common stop and, if not, it would be Hong Kong or somewhere else in South-East Asia (I remember a long, hot layover in Bangkok years ago). Now, the Gulf carriers dominate the market and there is a lot of competition. One of the main stadiums in Melbourne was Etihad Stadium for a long time, though, interestingly enough, Disney has been paying for it to be branded Marvel Stadium for the past decade or so. Qatar Airlines in particular has been very aggressive in expanding into Australia and has just signed an agreement with Virgin Australia. This is where I could see stopovers including Disneyland Abu Dhabi being part of Etihad's pitch to customers as I get the impression they have been falling behind Qatar and Emirates.

Robbiem5 days ago

Virtually every Aussie I know goes home from the UK via the gulf now rather than Hong Kong or Singapore so there is a lot of competition between the various gulf carriers (Etihad, Qatar, Emirates, Saudia etc). A couple of days break at Disneyland will be a good incentive to travel via AD rather than the other hubs

Sir_Cliff5 days ago

Just on the layover point, if you're going between Australia and Europe you more or less don't have a choice but to stop somewhere. Other than a Perth-London flight, the closest to a non-stop flight from the east coast (where most people live) is Sydney-Istanbul. Those flights are brutal (usually around 24 hours with the stopover), so it has become increasingly common to break it up with a few nights somewhere. I know I now do this on the way back to Europe. So, this is certainly a market they would be wise to consider for the resort, particularly as Etihad is well-established flying between Australia and Europe with a stop in Abu Dhabi. It would be win-win for Etihad and Miral to work out deals that both make Etihad a more attractive choice for those flights and Yas Island an attractive break for a few nights on the way there or back.