Disney already knows where to build his next great theme park: Abu Dhabi. And he will not cost him a cent

Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are immersed in a particular war: to become the focus of large investments to create structures that They seem like science fiction. When one announces a project, the other responds. An example is the battle to see Who builds the highest building. And that same war is in the world of attraction parks.

Saudi Arabia It will have the ‘Dragon Ball’but Emirates has just won the fat prize: Disney has announced that its seventh large park will be in Abu Dabi. And the best thing for Disney is that it will be free.

Short. It has rained a lot since Disney opened its last amusement park. Shanghai Disneyland It was its sixth Resort Park and opened in June 2016. It was a milestone of more than 90 hectares with some important changes (such as the typical American ‘main street’, but the ” the ”Mickey Avenue‘), And now Disney seems prepared to make the leap to a new territory.

In a brief ad Yas Island. It is a site that is not alien to entertainment, since it is where the circuit of Formula 1 from Yas Marina, where is the theme park Ferrari World And where is also the Warner Bros Movie World.

Plum. Disney will put the licenses and one eye on the project, but to give life to the park will take care of Miral. It is a group of Arab Emirates that is the same as Ferrari’s theme park operates and the truth is that it is not something alien to the mouse company. Tokyo Disneyland was the first outside the United States and already developed it with an external company, and the same happened with Shanghai’s.

And something interesting is that it is a play that can leave the company very well. As we read in CNBCthis expansion in Abu Dabi is not part of the 60,000 million dollars that Disney will invest Through the next decade to improve their parks. Apparently, the entire cost of the project will be assumed by Miral and Disney will be in charge of what we commented: to yield the intellectual property of their creations and collect the benefits for royalties.

Castles in the air. From the park, yes, it is known between little … and nothing. Beyond the conceptual image that leads these lines, everything else seems like a message too formal. That if it will combine the history, characters and iconic attractions of Disney with the vibrant culture of Abu Dhabi, that if it will be a world class destiny for entertainment and a path between the Middle East, Africa, India, Asia and Europe … and that will be on the coast (there is no other in Yas Island).

It is expected that it is not very different from the other parks of the company, since in this Disney has a fairly clear policy and a iron control with which he can give his arm to twist in some elements (the aforementioned ‘Main Street’ absent in the Shanghai park), but with a very defined structure. Nor has there been talk of what attractions the park will have.

Parks War. What is clear is that the territory was very juicy for the Bob Iger company. The region is trying to separate itself from the oil business to focus on other sources of income, and there tourism plays a clear role. A brand as recognized as Disney is a caramel too juicy because it is known worldwide, and here it is something that the figures send.

Despite the Challenges In parks such as Shanghai or Hong Kong, the company’s parks They generated 8,889 million dollars in the last fiscal quarter of this 2025. It is an interannual growth of 6% (and yes, they grow, but Not to the rhythm they want). It only remains to be expected that Miral, which also has the Warner Bros park of the island, begins with the construction.

In the end, this new Disney park is one more piece in that particular war between Emirates and Saudi Arabia (with the imposing park Six flags of qiddiya), but also a strategic decision for a Sector of the Thematic Parks that is burning with Universal and its ‘Harry Potter’ or ‘Mario’ parks, and Warner’s to the other.

Images | Disney

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Disney already knows where to build his next great theme park: Abu Dhabi. And he will not cost him a cent

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Xataka

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Alejandro Alcolea

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