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

Andrew25

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
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Just speculation, as I'm unsure of how much land Disney is being given along with how much land they're willing to reclaim from the sea (if they do). Red is a transportation system that would ideally connect all parks, resorts, etc.
 
Nubs70

Nubs70

Well-Known Member
If the summer heat in central Florida is cause for depressed attendance, how does DIS expect any attendance in Abi Dhabi?? Or is it a "dry" heat?

Why is DIS building a new park in the face of imminent global warming?
 
Mr. Sullivan

Mr. Sullivan

Well-Known Member
Nubs70 said:
If the summer heat in central Florida is cause for depressed attendance, how does DIS expect any attendance in Abi Dhabi?? Or is it a "dry" heat?

Why is DIS building a new park in the face of imminent global warming?
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Abu Dhabi has a longstanding and proven theme park market. There are several major parks on the very island Disney is building on. Whether or not people will go is not really the issue with all of this.
 
Dranth

Dranth

Well-Known Member
Charlie The Chatbox Ghost said:
True, my statement was a bit of a blanket statement. Some companies like Costco and Patagonia have proven time and time again that they will often put people over profits and make decisions that might upset groups but they do it to stick to their morals, while others like Disney, Target, Amazon, etc. will be very flip-floppy on what they support in the interest of ensuring they continue to make profits. See how many American companies bent the knee to certain people at the end of January this year. I still think it's worth criticizing companies who will pretend to support marginalized groups but then make decisions that go against their "support". Even if that's "just business", you shouldn't take their money and then get chummy with people who want to hurt them. Disney might be making a good business decision here, but they shouldn't be exempt from criticism.
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It all depends on how a company goes about what they are doing.

For example, if Disney goes into this and insists or pushes for more equality, better practices for at least the folks that are going to work on and in this new park then I don't see it as a betrayal in that sense. That influence can be pretty significant over time.

On the other hand, if they just cash the check and don't even try to apply any cultural pressure then we all know it was just a money grab.

In reality, it will likely be a bit of both.

On a personal note, I don't agree with the choice of location, but I also don't expect businesses (even more so multinational ones) to align completely with my beliefs. If I required them to, I am not sure I could buy anything or go anywhere ever again.
 
britain

britain

Well-Known Member
Charlie The Chatbox Ghost said:
True, my statement was a bit of a blanket statement. Some companies like Costco and Patagonia have proven time and time again that they will often put people over profits and make decisions that might upset groups but they do it to stick to their morals, while others like Disney, Target, Amazon, etc. will be very flip-floppy on what they support in the interest of ensuring they continue to make profits. See how many American companies bent the knee to certain people at the end of January this year. I still think it's worth criticizing companies who will pretend to support marginalized groups but then make decisions that go against their "support". Even if that's "just business", you shouldn't take their money and then get chummy with people who want to hurt them. Disney might be making a good business decision here, but they shouldn't be exempt from criticism.
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Does it matter what morals a company might stick to, or just as long as they stick to their morals and don't flip flop?
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
LittleBuford said:
I agree in part with what (I think) you’re getting at, though it’s also arguably the most accurate choice given how distinctive each part of the Arab world is.
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I think with the situation in Israel/ Gaza “Arabian” might not seem like the best choice. I’ve never even heard the term “Emirati” but I’m not what sure what the word evokes other than billionaires, sheiks, skyscrapers and luxury malls. “Let’s say Emirati, it sounds European or something.”
 
Andy Whitfield

Andy Whitfield

Active Member
@marni1971


I believe Disney’s values matter whether or not its own capital is involved. The decision to license the Disney brand is just as important as any direct investment, and I hope the company will consider the wider ethical implications of this partnership.
marni1971 said:
As you probably know I’m British too. They certainly are tourist locations. Quite aspirational ones too.

They’re not.
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marni1971 said:
As you probably know I’m British too. They certainly are tourist locations. Quite aspirational ones too.

They’re not.
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LittleBuford

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
I think with the situation in Israel/ Gaza “Arabian” might not seem like the best choice. I’ve never even heard the term “Emirati” but I’m not what sure what the word evokes other than billionaires, sheiks, skyscrapers and luxury malls. “Let’s say Emirati, it sounds European or something.”
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Again, I see what you’re saying, but regardless of why they (by which I mean the sponsors as well as Disney) are seeking to tie the project to the UAE specifically, they are right to do so. The park is much likelier to be a product of the things you list than of anything that might be considered traditionally Arab.
 
Robbiem

Robbiem

Well-Known Member
Abu Dhabi is probably an interesting choice. Peak tourist season is likely to be the northern hemisphere winter which actually complements some of the other resorts so it might not impact Paris as much as some think. As plenty of others have said the park becomes a desirable destination for nearby markets like India, Turkey and parts of Africa as well as parts of Europe. The Middle East is becoming a key air hub between Europe and Asia Pacific so it could benefit from stopovers between regions. Putting a Disneyland in AD may help to tip it as the stopover choice over Qatar or Dubai giving a boost to Etihad airlines in the process.

I’m really interested by the comments about being a beachfront resort with modern and emerarti culture elements. Tokyo and Hong Kong are oceanside resorts but not really beachfront. It will be interesting to see if this is planned as a resort with potential for two or more parks or if AD see the new park as the centrepiece of a resort with Warner Bros, Seaworld etc as the other parks, kind of like building a magic kingdom after tou have built the other parks.

Here are a few of my armchair imagineering thoughts based on the above:

  • The castle looks really interesting and maybe points to a frozen or cold land, maybe we will see a frozen version of glacier bay. I would imagine this would be very exotic in the desert
  • Aladdin appears to be an obvious choice for the park - maybe we will get a kulka arm magic carpet ride, perhaps the entrance will be an Arabian market rather than main street
  • I’ve read that the chairman of the company building the park loves Avatarland so maybe we will get an inside Pandora with air con.
  • Similarly we could get some unique takes on other IPs - Star Wars land based on the original trilogy, a new version of indy or fantasyland with more modern movies like the pre mentioned frozen, tangled beauty and the beast, little mermaid etc
  • I’m assuming Marvel is play so we may see the avengers ride hereor a superhero land. This could be an easy way to add an American themed land to the park
  • This will also be the first park with 20th century fox so we could get Alien or predator attractions or maybe even something like ice age.
  • I’m betting AD will want bragging rights so we could get some firsts or records like the biggest/fastest coaster or longest dark ride
  • The hotels will be interesting- will they be operated by the resort or be run by another company like the WB Curio Hilton run. This could be an area where Disney could lean into the modern design a twenty first century contemporary or new take on the swolfin, its a pity Eisner isn't around for this. I could see the hotels being a kind of Disney take on Vegas resorts on a smaller scale
  • Will the beachfront allow for cruise ship integration? Perhaps we will see an oceanfront shopping area?
  • How will the other resorts react? Will Disney use this to drive more investment into the asian parks to counter FOMO or will they hold off to give the new resort time to establish
Its going to be an interesting few years ahead!
 
Gremlin Gus

Gremlin Gus

Active Member
I think Disney is just going to call this theme park "Disneyland Abu Dhabi", idk why they would call it anything else as the last time they named Disneyland Paris to "Euro Disneyland", that got a lot of controversy, and it just makes more sense to call it "Disneyland Abu Dhabi" rather than "Disneyland Arabia", "Disneyland Middle East", or "Disneyland Emirati"
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
I think with the situation in Israel/ Gaza “Arabian” might not seem like the best choice. I’ve never even heard the term “Emirati” but I’m not what sure what the word evokes other than billionaires, sheiks, skyscrapers and luxury malls. “Let’s say Emirati, it sounds European or something.”
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What demonym have you heard for the United Arab Emirates?
 
denyuntilcaught

denyuntilcaught

Well-Known Member
I share mixed feelings about this project, but mixed-to-positive, only because I’m a bit of a realist here. For reasons that have been alluded to here, the location is a strategic choice from a financial, logistical, and political standpoint - it ticks the boxes better than the other rumored locales - certainly better than BR.



Regarding the public sentiment, do any of us think that among the hundreds of various models that go into developing a new project that a risk and sentiment model wasn’t a part of the mix? They knew and anticipated this blowback, particularly from the community. And I’d bet money that in the coming years the messaging that trickles out will blatantly ignore the moral contradiction regardless. They’ve decided it’s not enough of a risk to offset the benefits of the project, plain and simple.


That said, I’m very very intrigued.
 
Purduevian

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
Mr. Sullivan said:
Abu Dhabi has a longstanding and proven theme park market. There are several major parks on the very island Disney is building on. Whether or not people will go is not really the issue with all of this.
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I mean Ferrari World and Warner Bros Abu Dhabi both get just under 2 million guests a year.

The lowest attended Disney Park in the world is whatever they are calling the second Paris park around 5.7 million guests.

To not be the lowest attended Disney park in the world, it will need to triple the number of guests that the neighboring parks are used to getting.
 

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