The Walt Disney Company has reached an agreement with immersive destination and experiences company Miral to bring a park and resort to Yas Island in the United Arab Emirates.
This will be Disney’s seventh theme park resort, and it will be fully developed and built by Miral. Disney’s imagineers will lead creative design and operational oversight on the project.
The development in Abu Dhabi is not part of the $60 billion that Disney has pledged to invest in its theme parks over the next decade.
“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 Disney chief executive Bob Iger.
“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.”
Mr Iger said imagineers have already begun designing the park. He declined to specify when the company expects the park to open.
“We’re not pinning down a date yet,” he said. “It typically takes us between 18 months and two years to design and fully develop and approximately five years to build but we’re not making any commitments right now.”
