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

[Gusey]

 

[Purduevian]

 

[Comped]

Nice to see Disney took my suggestion when naming DLAD.

 

[Haymarket]

It would have been a riskier play financially, but would have paid off in dividends for the next 50 to 70 years.

lol

 

[Supersnow84]

That isn’t a large plot of land, either they are going to have to do a compact park like Hong Kong (and stuff it full of e tickets to avoid the Hong Kong problem) or do a chimelong spaceship style approach where the park is multiple floors; though that would be a nightmare for Disney sightlines

Disney tried the “try before you buy” Disney park approach with Hong Kong already; the “go spend 3-4 hours here and if you like it spend more money at a bigger better Disney park” and it failed, however miral doesn’t necessarily need Disney to survive by itself like Hong Kong, it only needs to drive tourism to yas island. So it begs the consideration of will miral try another “try before you buy” Disney park like OG Hong Kong hoping that the Disney name draws people to yas then the smaller park is compensated by the rest of yas. Or will they go for a “oops all e tickets” Hong Kong, or a chimelong spaceship style approach

 

[Haymarket]

• 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.

I'm thinking the same, perhaps building on the Avatar experience they had in Singapore at Gardens by the Bay (ultramodern, high tech, extremely impressive cloud forest conservatory), but with rides.

 

[Comped]

lol

It's not incorrect. The numbers bear that out. Building their own made far more financial sense, even if it was a short term risk.

Disney tried the “try before you buy” Disney park approach with Hong Kong already; the “go spend 3-4 hours here and if you like it spend more money at a bigger better Disney park” and it failed, however miral doesn’t necessarily need Disney to survive by itself like Hong Kong, it only needs to drive tourism to yas island. So it begs the consideration of will miral try another “try before you buy” Disney park like OG Hong Kong hoping that the Disney name draws people to yas then the smaller park is compensated by the rest of yas. Or will they go for a “oops all e tickets” Hong Kong, or a chimelong spaceship style approach

If it doesn't work out, Disney can always drop the license. It's far too cramped for my liking.

 

[BrianLo]

That isn’t a large plot of land

The right is 225 acres and the left (possible second gate) another 160 acres or so. I think you are scaling based on small suburban city blocks and not realizing those are large apartment blocks. Look at the huge field for scale.

DisneySea including Miracosta, the parking garage and Fantasy Springs hotel, roadway access and its expansion plot is 160 acres. I don't think there is a foundational concern that they lack space.

If I'm placing bets, Red will contain parking infrastructure and hotels along the water. Maybe one day a Downtown Disney. Pink is back of house and cast member parking. That still leaves Disneyland 150 acres of front facing attraction space.

 

[Supersnow84]

The right is 225 acres and the left (possible second gate) another 160 acres or so. I think you are scaling based on small suburban city blocks and not realizing those are large apartment blocks. Look at the huge field for scale.

View attachment 886808

DisneySea including Miracosta, the parking garage and Fantasy Springs hotel, roadway access and its expansion plot is 160 acres. I don't think there is a foundational concern that they lack space.

If I'm placing bets, Red will contain parking infrastructure and hotels along the water. Maybe one day a Downtown Disney. Pink is back of house and cast member parking. That still leaves Disneyland 150 acres of front facing attraction space.

View attachment 886809

True but you have to consider that on average castle parks roughly retain the inverted triangle shape. The “second gate” plans you sketched out here does look like it would work well for a long purpose build second gate (like how Tokyo used its space to make disneysea) but the primary land spot is very awkwardly shaped for a castle park.

Especially since the implied red entrance arranges the park in the wrong direction because you’d want the Main Street equivalent to face towards the water with the castle having the uninterrupted skyline behind it. Placing the entrance at red faces Main Street towards nothing. This is why disneysea uses mt Prometheus as an anti hub; because the park didn’t be arranged in a way that a defined entrance way could lead to a favourable direction for the park

Even tiny Hong Kong, an oddity amongst the castle parks for its slightly strange shape is because they built the outer loop, the original land inside the train line retains the classics inverted triangle shape. Even Shanghai; barely even a castle park by normal standards; has it.

The most effective use of space arrangement I can see is the green I’ve sketched out here but that still leads to the problem of the park being arranged in the wrong direction

 

[BrianLo]

True but you have to consider that on average castle parks roughly retain the inverted triangle shape. The “second gate” plans you sketched out here does look like it would work well for a long purpose build second gate (like how Tokyo used its space to make disneysea) but the primary land spot is very awkwardly shaped for a castle park.

Especially since the implied red entrance arranges the park in the wrong direction because you’d want the Main Street equivalent to face towards the water with the castle having the uninterrupted skyline behind it. Placing the entrance at red faces Main Street towards nothing. This is why disneysea uses mt Prometheus as an anti hub; because the park didn’t be arranged in a way that a defined entrance way could lead to a favourable direction for the park

Even tiny Hong Kong, an oddity amongst the castle parks for its slightly strange shape is because they built the outer loop, the original land inside the train line retains the classics inverted triangle shape. Even Shanghai; barely even a castle park by normal standards; has it.

The most effective use of space arrangement I can see is the green I’ve sketched out here but that still leads to the problem of the park being arranged in the wrong direction

None of the parks are a harsh triangle. Most of them conform to a rounded trapezoid. Heck, Disneyland conforms to a squared off city block plot of land.

I do not know for sure which way the park will orient. On a 45 degree angle positions a fireworks pad well somewhere towards the pink.

While the concept art hints at something I wouldn’t even call a castle park anymore, I think the final product will be far closer to a castle park. The castle would live in the hub, the water backdrop would be utilized better for Adventure / Arabian land analogues than a European fantasyland.

To my point, there is absolutely plenty of space, no matter how they decide to lay out the resort. SDL with Spiderman and with all its unfilled green space in park borders still only comes out to 125 acres on the tool I measured with. I think you are perseverating about nothing that justifies perseveration about lack of space.

 

[larryz]

Pink is back of house and cast member parking.

Cast Member parking won't be as big an issue as Cast Member housing. The employment model in the Emirates for anything considered menial work is primarily third country nationals, usually from across southern Asia, and the pay structure won't likely support independent housing and transportation options for TCNs brought in to staff the park(s).

I can see a huge dormitory/limited family housing area built alongside the eastern barrier with attendant support infrastructure (stores, recreation, medical, etc) to keep those workers close to the facility. It doesn't take much imagineering to understand the advantages that will provide.

 

[Supersnow84]

None of the parks are a harsh triangle. Most of them conform to a rounded trapezoid. Heck, Disneyland conforms to a squared off city block plot of land.

I do not know for sure which way the park will orient. On a 45 degree angle positions a fireworks pad well somewhere towards the pink.

While the concept art hints at something I wouldn’t even call a castle park anymore, I think the final product will be far closer to a castle park. The castle would live in the hub, the water backdrop would be utilized better for Adventure / Arabian land analogues than a European fantasyland.

To my point, there is absolutely plenty of space, no matter how they decide to lay out the resort. SDL with Spiderman and with all its unfilled green space in park borders still only comes out to 125 acres on the tool I measured with. I think you are perseverating about nothing that justifies perseveration about lack of space.

I really don’t think it’s about space in square meters it’s about the awkward shape because if you attempt to overlay the guest facing lands of any of the castle parks none of them fit in that piece of land

I definitely think they will make it fit but I can’t help but think the shape is awkward and may lead to a strange arrangement of the park which is my bigger concern

 

[BrianLo]

I really don’t think it’s about space in square meters it’s about the awkward shape because if you attempt to overlay the guest facing lands of any of the castle parks none of them fit in that piece of land

Both of these layouts are slightly larger than Shanghai Disneyland post Spiderman and allow a fairly classic hub and spoke. Either orienting towards the water or towards a backstage fireworks launch. The site is bigger than what you are eyeballing, any shape could work with all the parcel of land they have in site one.

 

[Supersnow84]

Both of these layouts are slightly larger than Shanghai Disneyland post Spiderman and allow a fairly classic hub and spoke. Either orienting towards the water or towards a backstage fireworks launch. The site is bigger than what you are eyeballing, any shape could work with all the parcel of land they have in site one.

View attachment 886901View attachment 886902

Okay that is larger than I thought, even using the measurements and the comparison to the other parks I thought it wouldn’t fit in that more open park but I can see that working if the green is Shanghai sized

 

[Haymarket]

I think Miral, when it comes to selecting rides and IPs, will be like an OLCo but with an Arab twist — that is, they won’t have the problems Disney itself has with its own IPs.

I can perfectly imagine that, since they come from a culture with no political correctness, they won’t hesitate to request a Star Wars land based solely on the Original Trilogy, with no trace of the Disney characters (maybe only Mandalorian and Grogu). The controversial live actions? No, only the classic animated princesses. Sam Wilson as Captain America? No, only Steve Rogers. What’s problematic in the US isn’t in the Emirates.

I also find it funny to think that some additions might be made based on whims or personal tastes of the executives/sheikhs (and their kids!!). I can totally imagine a land dedicated to a specific princess because she’s the CEO’s daughter’s favorite, or to specific Marvel superheroes because they’re the favorites of some exec’s fanboy son.

Sounds like it'll be pretty fun then. Maybe an updated Splash Mountain is even possible, though I doubt the client would be interested, however - I'm thinking they want much newer IP for everything—things familiar to almost everyone at present.

Construction could be super fast, right, since it's the UAE? [Google indicates it took roughly three years each for Ferrari and Warner Bros. to be built.]

 

[bmr1591]

I think Miral, when it comes to selecting rides and IPs, will be like an OLCo but with an Arab twist — that is, they won’t have the problems Disney itself has with its own IPs.

I can perfectly imagine that, since they come from a culture with no political correctness, they won’t hesitate to request a Star Wars land based solely on the Original Trilogy, with no trace of the Disney characters (maybe only Mandalorian and Grogu). The controversial live actions? No, only the classic animated princesses. Sam Wilson as Captain America? No, only Steve Rogers. What’s problematic in the US isn’t in the Emirates.

I also find it funny to think that some additions might be made based on whims or personal tastes of the executives/sheikhs (and their kids!!). I can totally imagine a land dedicated to a specific princess because she’s the CEO’s daughter’s favorite, or to specific Marvel superheroes because they’re the favorites of some exec’s fanboy son.

What's sad is that most of the things that are seen as 'problematic' are self-created problems. The majority of people do not care and prefer the classics rather than their subpar, updated versions.

 

[Haymarket]

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.

Probably, in theory, as long as they're not subject to US sanctions that would make it illegal.

"Enough money" would mean anything that'd overcome board members' concerns (brand damage, consumer backlash, cannibalization among parks, etc.).

E.g., if an entity of a controversial (but unsanctioned) country offered $100 billion in cash and a guaranteed $10 billion in cash every year for a park Disney wouldn't build or operate, that'd probably be enough to overcome any concerns among the board members.

On the other hand, I wonder if Miral will dictate to Disney which IPs they want for their resort

Of course they will.

 

[Comped]

I think Miral, when it comes to selecting rides and IPs, will be like an OLCo but with an Arab twist — that is, they won’t have the problems Disney itself has with its own IPs.

I can perfectly imagine that, since they come from a culture with no political correctness, they won’t hesitate to request a Star Wars land based solely on the Original Trilogy, with no trace of the Disney characters (maybe only Mandalorian and Grogu). The controversial live actions? No, only the classic animated princesses. Sam Wilson as Captain America? No, only Steve Rogers. What’s problematic in the US isn’t in the Emirates.

I also find it funny to think that some additions might be made based on whims or personal tastes of the executives/sheikhs (and their kids!!). I can totally imagine a land dedicated to a specific princess because she’s the CEO’s daughter’s favorite, or to specific Marvel superheroes because they’re the favorites of some exec’s fanboy son.

If they want Splash, they will get Splash. Guaranteed.

 

[larryz]

So from now on, is Disney a franchise? Can anyone with enough money buy a Disney resort, regardless of where it’s located?

Just wait until the news comes out about WDW and Blackstone...

Of course it's a joke...

Spoiler

... or is it???

 

[Nickm2022]

Sounds like it'll be pretty fun then. Maybe an updated Splash Mountain is even possible, though I doubt the client would be interested, however - I'm thinking they want much newer IP for everything—things familiar to almost everyone at present.

Construction could be super fast, right, since it's the UAE? [Google indicates it took roughly three years each for Ferrari and Warner Bros. to be built.]

Yes but those parks are entirely inside and while im sure parts of Abu Dhabi Disney will have inside sections there will also be outside parts too. It is also likely that this resort will have at least a hotel and maybe a shopping center. two things neither Ferrari or WB has here. I still say construction would be fast. My personal opinion is they wanna aim for 2030 to correspond with the World Expo in Saudi.