News Disney and Miral Announce New Seventh Theme Park Planned for Abu Dhabi

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Comped

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
Dublin has one (really!)

But I like a lot of your points (for what it’s worth). Is it wrong we’ve priced up flights and measured the driving distance to Dubai and back?!
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I forgot about Dublin and Shannon! Personally, I've already been looking into visiting the area for footballing related reasons (I do some scouting and research for Football Manager with Middle Eastern leagues), so a theme park or three would be a bonus.

Reminds me of when I talked to John Hallenbeck after he delivered a presentation for a theme park safety class I took at Rosen. He had spent a relatively short amount of time in the UAE in between his various stints at Universal and other domestic properties (this was before he went to IAAPA, back to his old job at global standards at Universal, or over to USJ). I asked him why he spent a relatively short time working in the country, and he noted that management of the parks was problematic, and the culture operationally there was not anything close to Western standards. He bounced out as soon as he could because he simply couldn't handle it. I darn well hope Disney will have a better handle on it, because if domestically run parks in the UAE haven't much improved (and from what I understand that is an open question even at Yas), Disney could need to have a much firmer hand here than they expect.
 
Stripes

Stripes

Premium Member
Comped said:
Apple has had stores in the UAE and much of the Middle East for years. This is just another store for them.
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Yes, and they’ve been expanding significantly recently. Notably, they are opening several flagship stores in Saudi Arabia very soon.
 
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JMcMahonEsq

Well-Known Member
Gremlin Gus said:
I'm honestly surprised Disney chose Abu Dhabi as the location for the 7th theme park instead of the UK, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, or even another USA location like Texas. Though this does seem more like an Tokyo Disneyland situation where some company asks "Hey can we build a Disneyland here?" and Disney says "Sure why not" and lends their IP out to them.
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You are surprised they elected to build a park that is going to be paid for by someone else, in an area with more money than God, as opposed to cannibalizing domestic parks by putting something in Texas?
 
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JaKnight

Member
So from now on, is Disney a franchise? Can anyone with enough money buy a Disney resort, regardless of where it’s located? The Japan model, but updated and taken to the extreme.


On the other hand, I wonder if Miral will dictate to Disney which IPs they want for their resort, and Disney will work based on Miral’s requests. I can already see that Disney has no scruples and wouldn’t hesitate to use an IP they consider problematic in the West if the Arab client asks for it.
 
Stripes

Stripes

Premium Member
Comped said:
The number of Saudi Arabians who use iPhones is higher than most people think. Every Saudi Arabian I met or have known has had one.
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True, and yet Apple doesn’t even have an online store in the country (launching this Summer). Saudis have had to purchase their iPhones from resellers.

This is Apple giving their stamp of approval to the region.
 
SirLink

SirLink

Well-Known Member
Dranth said:
Doesn't look like it is that kind of situation. Disney isn't paying for any of it according to the article. This seems it is more like Japan where someone else rents out WDI who designs everything and then hands it over to be built and run.
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I'm not talking about the financing here, its far worse an image problem that will destroy the Americana brand.
 
C

Comped

Well-Known Member
Looking at the map of Yas Island, I can't see Disney having the space they'd like for future expansion should this go well. But Abu al Jirab is right next to Ferrari World, and big enough for more than what they'd likely want. Or there are also other options that don't involve building in Yas itself...
 
Disstevefan1

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
networkpro said:
This bullet point no matter how many times I re-read matches the current practices of the Disney company.
  • Cultural and creative alignment: Disney was drawn to the region's "appreciation of quality and innovation, and appreciation of the arts and creativity."

We're talking about enforcement of UAE laws and cultural norms.
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Its their park, its their money, they should be able to do what they want.

Tokyo still has Splash mountain (lucky folks) and its up to OLC if or when they want to change it.
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
co10064 said:
The company that no longer says “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” is building a theme park in the Middle East. Let that sink in people.
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I don’t actually think it is inappropriate for a worldwide company to speak directly to each market it operates in. Heck, the company behaves differently in CA than FL and for good reason. I don’t blame them for wanting to make money everywhere.

There’s a reason Tokyo still has Splash and somehow that’s okay in San Francisco.
 
A

AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
DreamfinderGuy said:
Nobody has said this.

Nobody with enough of a brain to realize they're not spending money here has said this either. But yes, much of WDW needs work and should have gotten the attention years ago.

Valid argument to make.

Nobody has said this either.
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I have heard a version of every single one of these statements multiple times, in fact, some are even in this thread. Its not going to only be on your echo chamber
 

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