Disney Experiences has formally introduced plans for Disneyland Abu Dhabi, the corporate’s first-ever theme park & resort advanced within the Center East, positioned on Yas Island within the capital metropolis of the United Arab Emirates. The challenge has been revealed by way of new idea artwork and particulars by way of CEO Bob Iger and state companions in Dubai.
The Walt Disney Firm and Miral, Abu Dhabi’s main creator of immersive locations and experiences, introduced an settlement to create a landmark Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The waterfront resort advanced will probably be positioned on Yas Island, a world-class vacation spot for leisure and leisure, connecting vacationers from the Center East and Africa, India, Asia, Europe, and past.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi would be the seventh Disney theme park resort will mix the corporate’s 100-plus 12 months custom of iconic tales, characters and sights with Abu Dhabi’s vibrant tradition, gorgeous shorelines, and breathtaking structure. This seventh Disney Parks Vacation spot will lengthen the corporate’s world attain and captivate a brand new viewers in a thriving and dynamic hub.
“Abu Dhabi is a spot the place heritage meets innovation, the place we protect our previous whereas designing the long run,” His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman at Miral, stated. “The collaboration between Abu Dhabi and Disney demonstrates the outstanding outcomes of mixing visionary management and inventive 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 recollections that households will treasure perpetually. By means of the improvement of distinctive sights and experiences, Abu Dhabi continues to be a vacation spot of selection for the world,” Al Mubarak added.
The brand new resort will probably be absolutely developed and constructed by Miral. Disney and its legendary Imagineers will lead inventive design and operational oversight to supply a world-class expertise. Miral, which has developed a lot of household leisure locations on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi in collaboration with American and European manufacturers, will run the resort.
“This can be a thrilling second for our firm as we announce plans to construct an thrilling Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, whose tradition is wealthy with an appreciation of the humanities and creativity,” stated Robert A. Iger, Chief Government Officer, The Walt Disney Firm.
“As our seventh theme park vacation spot, it would rise from this land in spectacular style, mixing up to date structure with leading edge expertise to supply friends deeply immersive leisure experiences in distinctive and trendy methods. Disneyland Abu Dhabi will probably be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati – an oasis of extraordinary Disney leisure at this crossroads of the world that can carry to life our timeless characters and tales in lots of new methods and can turn out to be a supply of pleasure and inspiration for the individuals of this huge area to get pleasure from for generations to return.”
The UAE is positioned inside a four-hour flight of one-third of the world’s inhabitants, making it a big gateway for tourism. The UAE is dwelling to the biggest world airline hub on the earth, with 120 million passengers touring by way of Abu Dhabi and Dubai annually.
“This groundbreaking resort vacation spot represents a brand new frontier in theme park improvement,” stated Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences. “Our resort in Abu Dhabi would be the most superior and interactive vacation spot in our portfolio. The placement of our park is extremely distinctive – anchored by a wonderful waterfront – which is able to enable us to inform our tales in utterly new methods. This challenge will attain friends in an entire new a part of the world, welcoming extra households to expertise Disney than ever earlier than. Finally, it will likely be a celebration of what’s doable when creativity and progress come collectively.”
“Bringing a Disney theme park resort to Yas Island marks a historic milestone in our journey to additional advance the island’s place as a world vacation spot for distinctive leisure and leisure,” stated Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, Group CEO, Miral. “Collectively, we’re creating a spot of boundless innovation, the place the imaginative and prescient of our management continues to encourage the world.” The event of distinctive experiences will help sustained financial progress in Abu Dhabi and past.
Upon completion, the brand new Disneyland Abu Dhabi theme park resort will provide signature Disney leisure, themed lodging, distinctive eating and retail experiences, and storytelling in a means that celebrates each the heritage of Disney and the futuristic and cultural essence of Abu Dhabi.
Additional particulars will probably be introduced because the Disneyland Abu Dhabi challenge progresses. Please consult with the corporate’s 10-Q submitting later immediately for extra particulars relating to the monetary settlement. Right here’s early idea artwork of Disneyland Abu Dhabi:
Our Commentary & Background Deep Dive
Since addressing this rumor in Disney Parks in New Nations “Inevitable”, I’ve had the possibility to mull over the potentiality of Disneyland Abu Dhabi and do a bit extra digging. In so doing, I’ve gone from doubtful that Disney would transfer ahead with a challenge within the UAE to viewing Disneyland Abu Dhabi as an, in Iger’s phrases, inevitability. In fact, that’s straightforward to jot down now that we now have an official announcement–however I’m not pretending I noticed this coming previous to this week.
Because it seems, CEO Bob Iger has been leaving a path of breadcrumbs and laying the groundwork for this announcement since 2018. It was then that Iger first made feedback suggesting new theme parks past China throughout a February 2018 earnings name. He revealed that Disney is “always participating in conversations with individuals from totally different markets who would love us to place Disneyland of their market.”
“I’d say that there’s an inevitability to us constructing parks in different nations, but it surely doesn’t essentially imply that we’re going to construct one thing anytime very quickly,” Iger added. “However we’re going to look.” As we’ve mentioned beforehand, this is smart. The world’s demographics are altering, with youthful and rising center class populations in nations the place Disney has no presence.
In response to Disney’s inside analysis that was first revealed as a part of its $60 billion plan to “turbocharge” theme park funding, there may be an addressable market of greater than 700 million individuals with excessive Disney affinity it has but to succeed in with its parks. The truth is, for each one visitor who visits a Disney Park, there are greater than ten individuals with Disney affinity who don’t go to the parks. Disneyland Abu Dhabi addresses this for 500 million of that 700 million.
This was clearly prime of thoughts for Iger earlier than he departed as CEO, COVID upended the world, and the corporate’s focus shifted to streaming. Throughout an April 2018 interview with the Council on Overseas Relations, Iger shared that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had “made an impassioned plea to me to think about constructing Disneyland in Saudi Arabia.”
Iger defined that he “listened with curiosity and considerably of an open thoughts. And I defined that once we make choices like this, we think about cultural points, financial points, and political points…it might appear easy, but it surely’s way more advanced. And he tried to make the choice simpler from an financial perspective.”
“I used to be very—I really was very frank with him about it. And I’m not going to get into these particulars both,” Iger continued. “And I ended up saying that I might go to and see for myself, however that that by no means ought to be interpreted to imply we’re creating a park, however that I might pay attention…I usually say to the senior executives of Disney, in the event you don’t go you possibly can’t develop.”
“And so I’ll go. Whether or not we develop or not there, I don’t know. However I’ll go. There’s lots of people who stay in that a part of the world. Now we have, over time, been requested by many from that area to think about placing a park in that area. And to this point, it hasn’t—it hasn’t been on the prime of our record when it comes to markets that we might open up in, however we’ll have a look.”
So far, the corporate’s riskiest enterprise has been its foray into mainland China with Shanghai Disneyland, a three way partnership with the state-owned Shanghai Shendi Group. The parks in Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong (on the time it was constructed) didn’t current even remotely comparable issues.
Studying between the strains, what Iger appears to be saying is that the constructing a Disney park within the Center East would’ve been straightforward as a enterprise resolution that might’ve improved the corporate’s backside line. However as of 2018, it was nonetheless not politically palatable and an excessive amount of of a model threat, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
“Historical past doesn’t repeat itself but it surely usually rhymes.” That’s the Mark Twain quote I’m reminded of by this information. CEO Bob Iger stated this throughout an earnings name in February 2019: “I don’t see The Walt Disney Firm, actually within the close to time period, getting concerned within the enterprise of playing, in impact, by facilitating playing in any means.” That got here in response to an analyst citing Deadpool, and asking whether or not sports activities betting may additionally “coexist throughout the family-friendly Disney model?”
Quick-forward solely a pair years, and playing adverts have been ubiquitous in ESPN protection. You couldn’t activate sports activities protection with out listening to about odds, fantasy stats, or seeing adverts for Caesars, MGM, and so forth. Virtually in a single day, betting went from being considered as immoral and a stain on sports activities to actively embraced and an engrained side of the fan expertise. Two years in the past, ESPN partnered with Penn Leisure to launch ESPN Wager, its personal sportsbook.
We lined this in Disney’s Getting Into Playing from the angle of the affect to Disney’s family-friendly model. Virtually nobody cared. Because it turned out, by merely ready out public sentiment, Disney entered the market at a time when sports activities betting was utterly normalized. If something, the corporate waited too lengthy. I by no means would’ve predicted how public perceptions of playing would’ve “developed” from 2018 to immediately.
This appears like an analogous story with Disneyland Abu Dhabi. Had Disney introduced a partnership with Saudi Arabia again in October 2018, it undoubtedly would’ve been controversial. Saudi Arabia had been making inroads with Hollywood at the moment, however as Vainness Truthful reported, these relationships all went up in smoke that month.
Quick-forward 7 years and with a special and fewer controversial nation within the Center East, and the information is prone to be met with a special response. LIV Golf has softened stances amongst Individuals even in direction of Saudi Arabia; whereas extremely controversial at first, its acceptance over time has most likely desensitized individuals. Future American entities that guess large on Saudi Arabia gained’t be met with almost the identical scrutiny, because the dam already broke. This isn’t the primary time sports activities has had that impact; the identical might be stated in regards to the 2008 Beijing Summer time Olympics and Shanghai Disneyland.
As for the United Arab Emirates, its public notion is totally different from Saudi Arabia within the first place, and has additional improved within the final a number of years amongst youthful generations because of social media influencers, of all issues. The UAE is now considered as a playground for the prosperous with leading edge expertise and posh developments; it’s an aspirational vacation spot. It additionally helps that numerous western enterprise have planted roots within the UAE, so Disneyland Abu Dhabi is hardly setting any precedent.
The record of western firms within the UAE is extremely lengthy, together with Microsoft, Financial institution of America, Uber, Nvidia, Boeing, Basic Motors, FedEx, Amazon, Google and Mastercard. There are additionally numerous American chains with outstanding presences within the UAE, together with Bloomingdale’s, Tub & Physique Works, Payless, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chuck E. Cheese, Tony Roma’s, Starbucks, and McDonald’s. Any luxurious retailer or main American restaurant chain you possibly can identify most likely has outposts within the UAE.
For its half, Disney simply opened the first standalone Disney Retailer at Dubai Mall again in March (photograph above of flagship Disney Retailer in Shanghai, not Dubai). Delivered to the UAE by the Alshaya Group, one other Disney retailer may even open in Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi. All of that is seemingly owing to the excessive expat inhabitants within the United Arab Emirates, and there’s a powerful affinity for western manufacturers.
Additional suggesting there will probably be minimal controversy surrounding this–or a minimum of lower than would’ve existed a decade in the past–is that the Trump Group additionally introduced this month its intentions to create a brand new luxurious {golfing} vacation spot in Doha, United Arab Emirates. That challenge spans roughly 790,000m² and, amongst different issues, it would embrace a resort advanced and theme park. So say goodbye to the Disney vs. Common rivalry and whats up to Disneyland Abu Dhabi vs. Trumpland UAE! These fan debates about which is superior ought to be “enjoyable.”
None of that is to say that this resolution by Disney is wholly uncontroversial or morally proper. There clearly will probably be some extent of backlash. It’s extra to recommend that timing is all the pieces, and Bob Iger’s strikes on each playing and the Center East are much less an about-face and extra a recognition of shifting sentiment and public perceptions.
Crucially, ready additionally gave Iger and Disney time to watch, watching the early bulletins take form to substantiate that they weren’t simply vaporware. The record of theme parks formally introduced for the Center East is much longer than these which have been constructed. In fact, there’s no assure that Disneyland Abu Dhabi gained’t find yourself struggling the identical destiny for no matter cause, but it surely actually seems that issues are totally different with Yas Island and Miral, and cause to imagine this park really will come to fruition.
In response to the UAE’s Central Financial institution, the nation’s progress is being pushed by progress momentum within the nation’s non-oil sectors because the Arab world’s second-largest economic system continues to push for diversification. Non-oil segments grew by 4.6% final 12 months and is predicted to surpass 5% this 12 months, UAE Central Financial institution knowledge indicated.
The UAE has been focusing closely on diversifying its economic system from oil by creating sectors corresponding to expertise, manufacturing, tourism, commerce and innovation. The nation has launched a number of reforms together with longer-stay residence visas as properly making a push to draw prime expertise from overseas.
Abu Dhabi’s Financial Imaginative and prescient 2030 is main the drive in direction of diversification. That is a part of the UAE’s technique to reinvest its oil fortunes for the inevitable decline of the fossil gas business and its reserves. Sort of like how Philip Morris has invested closely in different industries in preparation for a smoke-free future.
Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Technique 2030 outlines its plan for the way the town will obtain such progress. The 2030 plan seeks to spice up customer numbers from almost 24 million final 12 months to 39.3 million by 2030 (in a single day and same-day), with a 7% year-on-year progress. Furthermore, it plans to considerably elevate the tourism and journey sector’s contribution to the UAE’s GDP, elevating it from roughly AED 49 billion in 2023 to AED 90 billion yearly by 2030.
The Technique will generate an estimated 178,000 new jobs by 2030 as the complete tourism infrastructure develops to fulfill this demand. It intends to nearly double worldwide in a single day guests from 3.8 million in 2023 roughly to 7.2 million in 2030, broaden resort room availability from 34,000 in 2023 to 52,000 by 2030, and additional diversify lodging choices.
The UAE Tourism Technique 2031 likewise units bold targets for the sector, aiming to extend its contribution to the GDP to AED 450 billion and appeal to 40 million resort friends yearly by 2031. To attain this, Abu Dhabi intends to speculate $10 billion on tourism infrastructure technique. That quantity was introduced earlier than Disneyland Abu Dhabi; it’s unclear whether or not this challenge is a part of that $10 billion or along with it.
Theme parks, retails choices and new resort chains are a lynchpin to this plan, as is increasing its worldwide attain from 11 to 26 markets. It is going to additionally set up strategic world partnerships with well-known manufacturers for high-profile collaborations and expanded media attain. And what higher model for that than Disney?!
The UAE is shortly turning into a serious world theme park vacation spot, with the purpose of positioning itself because the Center East rival to Orlando for the crown of the world’s theme park capital. From investing in world-class parks to attracting world manufacturers, the UAE is drawing worldwide guests. Central to this are Yas Island and Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. The Disneyland Abu Dhabi challenge ought to serve to strengthen these comparisons.
Situated on the golden shores of Abu Dhabi, Yas Island affords a various mixture of leisure and leisure experiences. From award-winning theme parks corresponding to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi to unimaginable leisure choices all throughout the 25 sq. km island. With these 4 theme parks and different sights, Yas Island is aiming to solidify its worldwide popularity as a premier vacation spot.
Yas Island boasts world-class purchasing at Abu Dhabi’s largest mall, Yas Mall, very good eating at Yas Bay Waterfront, and award-winning golf at Yas Hyperlinks golf course. The island affords a year-round line-up of occasions and homes ten motels, together with W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island, Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, and The WB Abu Dhabi, the world’s first Warner Bros. themed resort. With greater than 165 eating experiences, the vacation spot additionally options indoor and outside live performance venues together with WHITE Abu Dhabi and Etihad Enviornment.
Yas Island recorded over 38 million visits in 2024, a notable 10% enhance in comparison with 2023. Attaining their highest efficiency since 2019, Yas Island motels’ occupancy reached 82% peaking as much as 90% in August 2024; an annual 9% progress in resort occupancy alongside a 17% enhance within the common day by day charge (ADR) in comparison with 2023.
This progress is attributed to the UAE authorities’s efforts in nurturing the nascent business, and fostering an setting for the theme park business to develop and mature. Nearly all of theme parks within the UAE are government-owned and operated, with the state’s huge sources backstopping their present losses and fueling growth till the funding bears fruit.
Central to this improvement in Abu Dhabi is Miral, the group accountable for creating and working the man-made Yas Island’s assortment of theme parks (and far more). As you seemingly noticed, the announcement of Disneyland Abu Dhabi was a joint press launch between the Walt Disney Firm and Miral, with the latter absolutely creating and constructing Disneyland Abu Dhabi. So let’s dig deeper into Miral and what it has completed up to now in 15 years of Yas Island…
Miral Group handles the creation and administration of leisure, leisure and cultural locations and experiences in Abu Dhabi. The group can also be creating communities with year-round leisure and leisure facilities on Yas Island and throughout the Emirates, type of like a Storyliving by Disney kind of deal.
Miral’s first foray into theme parks was Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. This authentic indoor park is dwelling to rides corresponding to Method Rossa, the world’s quickest coaster, and Flying Aces, a dynamic coaster with one of many tallest loops on the earth. Extra not too long ago, the park opened Mission Ferrari, which is claimed to be half curler coaster, half darkish trip.
Subsequent to open was the 37-acre Yas Waterworld, which affords greater than 40 rides, waterslides, and different experiences. It’s additionally the one outside park at Yas Island. Designed to have a good time the UAE’s pearl-diving previous, the park options the world’s largest surfable sheet wave, and the area’s first and solely 5D water journey.
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi opened in 2018, and is now dwelling to almost 30 thrill rides, family-friendly sights, and stay leisure throughout 1.65 million sq. ft and 6 immersive lands. Warner Bros. World is the biggest indoor theme park on the earth, in response to Guinness World Data. Miral is now creating a brand new Harry Potter-themed land for Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi.
SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, the area’s first marine life theme park, is the newest theme park to open on Yas Island. Developed by Miral in partnership with SeaWorld, the park covers 5 indoor ranges and greater than 183,000 sq. metres. It affords eight realms with family-friendly experiences together with animal encounters and shows, leisure, greater than 15 sights, plus two dozen-plus purchasing and eating choices.
Yas Island has “spared no expense” John Hammond vibes, and never simply because it’s an island like Jurassic Park (fortunately with animals apart from dinosaurs…for now). The person-made island reportedly price $40 billion to carry to life, together with estimated prices of over $1 billion for every of the parks. Miral is claimed to have a portfolio of tasks beneath development price greater than $3.4 billion on Yas Island and throughout Abu Dhabi. That was earlier than the announcement of Disneyland Abu Dhabi. Absolutely that quantity will a minimum of double within the decade to return.
That is because of Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, the chief and the Group Chief Government Officer of Miral Group. Al Zaabi has been the driving drive in remodeling the corporate right into a powerhouse throughout the theme parks business since becoming a member of Miral in 2015.
Underneath his management, Miral’s portfolio on Yas Island has thrived because the group has constructed, operated and managed immersive locations and experiences that appeal to guests from around the globe, accelerating the purpose of the Emirate’s financial diversification. Miral has invested in a number of mega tasks on Yas Island and Abu Dhabi, efficiently forging key enterprise partnerships with Ferrari, SeaWorld, and Warner Brothers.
Throughout a fascinating interview, Al Zaabi shared that his favourite theme parks on the earth have been really not his personal, however Walt Disney World in Florida. Specifically, he stated that Pandora – World of Avatar is his #1 theme park space. He was additionally requested about negotiations to construct a Disney Park on Yas Island, which he dismissed with a “subsequent, please” plus amusing and fist bump with the interviewer.
He was additionally requested in regards to the finish sport for Yas Island, and whether or not profitability was the primary purpose, if breaking even was doable, or if the event is “an funding within the nationwide status of Abu Dhabi?” Al Zaabi indicated that theme parks are a part of a “long run imaginative and prescient for Abu Dhabi and Yas Island” with monetary and non-financial objectives.
He additional elaborated that there are oblique monetary advantages, corresponding to growing occupancy and size of keep on the island and in Abu Dhabi. He stated the corporate is “very completely happy, extraordinarily completely happy, with the outcomes we’ve achieved the final ten years.”
When pressed on Emirates demographics and the long-term monetary viability of the parks (or lack thereof), Al Zaabi defined that the purpose is to turn out to be the vacation spot theme park & leisure capital in the course of roughly half of the earth’s inhabitants. He identified that huge populations in India and past are all with 2-3 hour flights. Past that, residents are routinely supplied reductions to fill the parks.
The entire interview is fascinating, and means that Al Zaabi is somebody who really cares about theme parks. In doing a little bit of digging into Al Zaabi’s (surprisingly huge) on-line footprint, he vaguely jogs my memory of Matt Ouimet (that’s reward, for individuals who are unfamiliar with that identify). For these with issues about Miral main the event of Disneyland Abu Dhabi, which may put your thoughts a bit of comfy.
From our perspective, this background is each fascinating by itself and related to understanding simply what Disney is doing with Disneyland Abu Dhabi. One of many prime reactions each time we share information from the worldwide parks is that Disney ought to be investing domestically on Walt Disney World and Disneyland, as an alternative of spending on international parks.
There’s a perspective that Walt Disney World is the ‘golden goose’ and that the worldwide gates are money-losers backed by the U.S. parks. The actual fact examine on that is ‘largely false/deceptive.’ It’s true that capital expenditures in constructing parks in Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai have had short-term adverse impacts on these in Florida and California.
The Euro Disney boondoggle was an albatross for over a decade, with ramifications for the ‘Disney Decade’ at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, in addition to a ripple impact that resulted in subsequent under-investments on new gates within the late Nineteen Nineties and early aughts. Disney has now spent the higher a part of the final 15 years undoing that because it’s gone again and glued DCA, HKDL, and now WDSP. Euro Disney has forged an extended shadow. Even far more not too long ago, “Thanks, Shanghai” grew to become a catchphrase guilty cost-cutting measures in 2014-2016 on the brand new park in China.
All of these parks at the moment are worthwhile and contribute to Disney’s backside line; none are backed by Walt Disney World or Disneyland.
We hear complaints like this even in the case of Tokyo Disney Resort, which is wholly owned and operated by Oriental Land Firm. From a guest-facing perspective, the Tokyo parks are pure Disney magic–arguably the purest type of it.
Imagineering is the unique contractor for design work, with the agency being paid for the lands, sights, motels, and all different Disney inventive at Tokyo Disney Resort. This can be a large a part of why Disney is at all times attempting to promote OLC on recently-completed tasks within the home parks–it spreads out R&D prices.
Disney additionally earns royalties on all income generated at Tokyo Disney Resort. The exact settlement and quantity of the royalties should not publicly disclosed in earnings experiences by OLC or Disney, however are believed to be 10% of ticket gross sales and 5% of in-park purchases. No matter they’re, Michael Eisner got here to view the licensure mannequin as a mistake and went a special path (arguably the flawed one) with the park in Paris.
In fact, hindsight is 20/20. When Disney struck its cope with OLC, the corporate that’s not the behemoth that it’s immediately. Disney didn’t have the sources for the herculean undertakings of each EPCOT Middle and worldwide park growth, concurrently. Nor did they’ve the experience to do enterprise in Japan.
The partnership with OLC gave Disney a income stream to endure the early years of EPCOT Middle, fund future growth, and finally propelled the corporate into turning into the behemoth it’s immediately. So trying again immediately, it’s straightforward to say Disney ought to’ve constructed Tokyo Disneyland on their very own, however the contemporaneous circumstances and dangers have been very totally different.
Whereas Disney’s 10-Q submitting has not but been launched, it’s our understanding that Disneyland Abu Dhabi will comply with the Tokyo Disney Resort mannequin. Which is to say that the challenge is being fully-funded by Miral and state companions, and that Disney will receiving licensing, royalty, and improvement charges.
Disney isn’t offering any capital for the creation of Disneyland Abu Dhabi. This doesn’t affect the event of any present tasks at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Cruise Line which have been beforehand introduced as a part of the $60 billion ‘turbocharged’ funding over the subsequent decade.
As with its Japan counterpart, Disneyland Abu Dhabi will probably be a distinctly Disney resort within the sense that it’s Imagineers main inventive design and the Walt Disney Firm having operational oversight. And naturally, there will probably be Disney mental property all through the resort. The open query, at this level, is the diploma to which Miral may have a job in design and improvement, and whether or not that will probably be larger than OLC at Tokyo Disney Resort.
Time will inform whether or not what the Walt Disney Firm is doing with Disneyland Abu Dhabi within the Center East is the suitable or flawed method from a enterprise perspective.
Although he gained’t be round when the park opens to the general public, present CEO Bob Iger undoubtedly views it as one final legacy challenge. Not solely will it broaden the corporate’s footprint into a completely new and main market, simply as he did with Shanghai Disneyland, however it would additionally inject money into the corporate’s coffers and supply a future income stream that the corporate may want sooner or later is the media panorama continues to alter.
The Mouse Home that Bob Iger constructed is essentially predicated on enormous IP acquisitions. His first main transfer as CEO was buying Pixar for $7.4 billion in 2006. He adopted that up with the masterful strikes of buying Marvel for $4 billion in 2009 and Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012. Then there was maybe Iger’s most doubtful resolution–apart from naming Chapek his successor–in buying twenty first Century Fox for $71.3 billion in 2019. Disney nonetheless hasn’t correctly “digested” that final deal, and its after-effects have been vital.
Reasonably than Iger’s final legacy challenge being in regards to the park itself, it’s most likely extra about Iger placing Disney again on the suitable course, financially. Serving to pay down the debt load incurred because of the Fox acquisition, shopping for Hulu outright from Comcast, scale-up prices of streaming, and offsetting what’s been misplaced from different income streams which have slowed to a trickle. Bringing this full-circle, that was additionally the impetus behind the ESPN Wager transfer which may’ve left a equally bitter style within the mouths of some followers and moved Disney away from its family-friendly roots.
However maybe the longest-lasting legacy of CEO Bob Iger that Disneyland Abu Dhabi additional cements is Disney’s shift from a media firm to a theme parks & resorts enterprise, firstly. Final 12 months, Disney Experiences generated $34.15 billion of the corporate’s $91.4 billion in income, however $9.27 billion of its $15.6 billion working revenue. Parks & Resorts already accounts for ~60% of Disney’s income, dwarfing another division. This deal will solely widen that hole, which actually calls into query whether or not a “Hollywood individual” ought to be the subsequent CEO of Disney, or if it ought to be a “Parks individual.”
Finally, there’s much more floor to cowl with this challenge and we’ll undoubtedly contact upon numerous matters within the months and years between now and the opening of Disneyland Abu Dhabi. This simply scratches the floor, and affords fundamental background into what we will count on from a brand new Disney theme park & resort advanced within the Center East.
It’s humorous, as a result of after experiencing Common’s Epic Universe for the primary time, I used to be beginning to write a publish titled “Why We Will By no means See One other Tokyo DisneySea.” It’s a great factor I by no means hit publish on that, as a result of it might not find yourself being true.
With state companions which are motivated much less by instant income and as a lot or extra by status, Disneyland Abu Dhabi may find yourself being the Tokyo DisneySea of the Center East. Not simply from the “spare no expense” perspective of its companions, however in that the local weather of Abu Dhabi will again Imagineers right into a inventive nook in designing this largely indoors park. It’s means too quickly to make any sweeping statements there, however Disneyland Abu Dhabi has great potential.
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Your Ideas
What do you consider Disney’s resolution to create Disneyland Abu Dhabi? Will this be the final legacy challenge of CEO Bob Iger? Ought to it cement Disney as a theme parks enterprise, firstly, versus a media firm? Do you suppose we’ll see a brand new fortress park in our lifetimes? The place is your dream location for a Disney theme park–both near dwelling or your favourite journey vacation spot? Every other hypothesis, commentary, or questions? Listening to from you is half the enjoyable, so please share your take under!
