Disney Announces New Theme Park Resort in Abu Dhabi, Its First in the Middle East

15 days ago in "Disneyland Abu Dhabi"

Posted: Wednesday May 7, 2025 8:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Walt Disney Company is expanding its global footprint with plans for a new Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, developed in partnership with Miral, the developer behind many of Yas Island’s major attractions. The new resort marks Disney’s seventh theme park destination and the first in the Middle East.

Disney Abu Dhabi Concept Art

Located on the waterfront of Yas Island, a growing hub for entertainment and tourism, the Disney Abu Dhabi resort will combine Disney’s well-known characters, attractions, and storytelling with the architectural and cultural identity of the UAE capital.

Miral will fully fund and develop the project, while Disney will lead the creative design and offer operational guidance through its Imagineering team. Miral will also operate the completed resort.

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at Disneyland Abu Dhabi Announcement

“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,” said Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “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.”

The new destination is designed to serve the region’s rapidly growing tourism sector. The UAE is located within a four-hour flight of one-third of the global population and serves as a major air transit hub, drawing over 120 million annual passengers through Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences, described the project as Disney’s most advanced and interactive resort to date. “This groundbreaking resort destination represents a new frontier in theme park development. Our resort in Abu Dhabi will be the most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio. The location of our park is incredibly unique – anchored by a beautiful waterfront – which will allow us to tell our stories in completely new ways. This project will reach guests in a whole new part of the world, welcoming more families to experience Disney than ever before. Ultimately, it will be a celebration of what’s possible when creativity and progress come together.”

The development will include:

A new Disney theme park with immersive attractions
Themed resort accommodations
Dining and shopping offerings
Entertainment designed to reflect Disney’s storytelling and the cultural identity of Abu Dhabi

Disney Abu Dhabi Concept Art

Miral Chairman His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak emphasized the long-term vision behind the project. “What we are creating with Disney in Abu Dhabi is a whole new world of imagination — an experience that will inspire generations.”

A timeline for construction and opening has not yet been released.

Pictured: Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO of Miral, His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Miral, His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences

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Disgruntled Walt1 day ago

You need the Premier Pass!

lentesta1 day ago

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

TXRob2 days ago

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

Robbiem2 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.

abaker19753 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_Cliff4 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.

Robbiem4 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_Cliff4 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.