Disney is about to enter “an entire new world” with the announcement of its seventh theme park within the United Arab Emirates.
On Wednesday, The Walt Disney Firm introduced its plans to create a Disney theme park on the waterfront of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. In accordance with a Disney Parks Weblog publish, the brand new park will mix beloved Disney tales with Abu Dhabi’s “vibrant tradition, gorgeous shorelines and breathtaking structure.”
Disney will companion with Miral Group, Abu Dhabi’s main creator of leisure and leisure locations and experiences, to develop and construct the park, whereas Disney’s workforce will lead artistic design and operational oversight.
Miral Group is essentially liable for making Yas Island the leisure juggernaut that it’s right this moment. It’s behind points of interest corresponding to Yas Waterworld; Ferrari World Abu Dhabi; Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi; SeaWorld Yas Island, Abu Dhabi; and several other Yas Island motels.
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“Abu Dhabi is a spot the place heritage meets innovation, the place we protect our previous whereas designing the long run,” mentioned Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman at Miral Group and of Abu Dhabi’s Division of Tradition and Tourism. “The collaboration between Abu Dhabi and Disney demonstrates the exceptional outcomes of mixing visionary management and artistic excellence. What we’re creating with Disney in Abu Dhabi is an entire new world of creativeness — an expertise that can encourage generations throughout the area and the world, creating magical moments and reminiscences that households will treasure endlessly. By means of the event of distinctive points of interest and experiences, Abu Dhabi continues to be a vacation spot of alternative for the world.”
When requested throughout Disney’s second-quarter earnings name how the corporate selected Abu Dhabi for the situation of its seventh theme park, CEO Bob Iger informed traders, “Constructing a theme park in a location is a large endorsement of that location. It speaks volumes when it comes to the power of that location to maintain a Disney theme park. … [Abu Dhabi] demonstrated a variety of issues that have been actually vital to us.”
Iger famous the vacation spot’s appreciation of the humanities, creativity, high quality and innovation, in addition to its dedication to new know-how.
“We have been impressed with all of that,” Iger mentioned. “It was very, very clear to us that of all of the locations that we may select from, there did not appear to be anywhere that was higher than this.”
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Iger additionally mentioned on the earnings name that Abu Dhabi is much sufficient away from different Disney parks “that we do not actually view this as in any manner cannibalistic to the locations we already function.” Disney feels the brand new park will higher join vacationers from the Center East and Africa, India, Asia, Europe and past.
This strategy is just like that of the upcoming Disney Journey cruise ship, scheduled to sail out of Singapore starting in December. The ship will probably be Disney’s largest and the primary to sail from Asia, permitting the corporate to succeed in new audiences.
In accordance with the Disney Parks Weblog publish, “the UAE is situated inside a four-hour flight of one-third of the world’s inhabitants” and “[it is] dwelling to the biggest international airline hub on this planet, with 120 million passengers touring by way of Abu Dhabi and Dubai every year.”
It is too early to know which lands and points of interest Disney plans to construct in Abu Dhabi or when the park will open, however Disney did share that the resort will function Disney’s signature model of leisure, themed lodging, eating and retail experiences.
Chairman of Disney Experiences Josh D’Amaro shared within the weblog publish that it is going to be “probably the most superior and interactive vacation spot in our portfolio.” He added that “the situation of our park is extremely distinctive – anchored by a fantastic waterfront – which is able to permit us to inform our tales in fully new methods.”
