Disney announced on May 7 that it will be opening its seventh theme park resort in Abu Dhabi. Disney
Disney will build a new theme park resort in the United Arab Emirates, the company announced May 7.
This will be the brand’s seventh theme park resort and will be located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The park will be built by Miral, a destination and experiences company.
Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said there is no set date for when the park will open at this time.
“We’re not pinning down a date yet,” Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on May 7, adding it can take up to five years to build a park.
“We’re going to build this big and we’re going to build this right,” he added.
Disney shared in a press release that it expects the site to appeal to a wide cross-section of visitors.
“The UAE is located within a four-hour flight of one-third of the world’s population, making it a significant gateway for tourism,” the release read. “The UAE is home to the largest global airline hub in the world, with 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year.”
Iger said in the release that it’s a “thrilling moment” for Disney.
“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,” Iger said.
Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, said in a statement that the “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,” he said.
The last Disney theme park to open was China’s Shanghai Disneyland, which began operations in 2016.
