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

[LittleBuford]

Like no one out of choice visits any of those gulf states.

I'm really surprised anyone would claim such a thing. Personal tastes and views aside, the Gulf States are undeniably popular tourist destinations where Western institutions already have a well-established presence. Abu Dhabi has its own NYU campus as well as a branch of the Louvre.

 

[Lilofan]

Characters in the theme parks work a 30 min ON 30 min OFF rotation. Its going to be a challenge being Goofy for 30 min in the Sahara heat at UAE without a water/AC break

 

[Stripes]

Just a reminder, it was never about principles.

Just a reminder that Chapek didn’t want to make a statement at all. He was pressured into doing so by the former Chair of the Board, Susan Arnold.

Companies must tailor their brand to appeal to local tastes, preferences, as well as those of their employees.

The same American employees that protested likely do not care whatsoever about anything outside of America.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Question is do they fall into the trappings of large single IP-based lands or go the route of old-school Disneyland with themed regions comprised of individual attractions? Hoping it's closer to the Disneyland of Yesteryear but I've a feeling it'll be a massive IPCOT with emphasis on flashy innovations and style over substance.

None of us are ever going there as tourists…so what do we care?
Honestly

 

[BrianLo]

I'm really surprised anyone would claim such a thing. Personal tastes and views aside, the Gulf States are undeniably popular tourist destinations where Western institutions already have a well-established presence. Abu Dhabi has its own NYU campus as well as a branch of the Louvre.

I think this is just American view of the world. Conceptually most people don’t understand where Europeans or Australians actually vacation outside of Orlando.

If anything, some clear biases need to be peeled away with time from a project like this. But it blatantly is not for the US market - clearly based on the reaction we are seeing here.

 

[Lilofan]

I was just there in March. First of all, they most certainly are not the same. Weather is quite nice outside of summer.

This whole conversation is being painted too strongly from a US-centric lens. A version of UAE that increasingly has gone to the wayside as the rebrand themselves towards Western tourism. The country will continue to liberalize and progress with time, likely significantly by the time this is built.

I quite like Abu Dhabi and its more clear focus on using wealth to promote culture. Dubai is more wealth breeding extravagance.

Dubai wealth lifestyle is no joke. Vacationing there it makes American wealth look like just upper middle class. And the safety aspect is virtually No Crime in Dubai. Get caught being bad and it won’t end well.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Didn’t the trend of theme park building in the wealthy middle eastern states crest and die several years ago with several ambitious projects incomplete?

 

[Ricky Spanish]

Love that Bob used the term “income qualified” to describe Disney’s target audience.

 

[SirLink]

I'm really surprised anyone would claim such a thing. Personal tastes and views aside, the Gulf States are undeniably popular tourist destinations where Western institutions already have a well-established presence. Abu Dhabi has its own NYU campus as well as a branch of the Louvre.

They have been marketed as popular destinations but they are not really Again as I said previously, my views on those gulf state countries couldn't be written on this forum.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Just a reminder that Chapek didn’t want to make a statement at all. He was pressured into doing so by the former Chair of the Board, Susan Arnold.

Companies must tailor their brand to appeal to local tastes, preferences, as well as those of their employees.

The same American employees that protested likely do not care whatsoever about anything outside of America.

Apple just released a new Pride band. Any bets on whether it gets sold in their new Saudi Arabia stores?

Apple introduces the 2025 Pride Collection

The new Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Band, watch face, and iPhone and iPad wallpaper celebrate the strength and beauty of LGBTQ+ communities.

www.apple.com

Not only do we have to blanket defend a bad ceo…we have to defend what the puppet put in his space did when the master went into hiding?

You know there’s no loyalty test at the end of the class,right?

 

[Dranth]

View attachment 857560
Remember folks: Companies don't actually care about you, they just want your money. Disney being one of them.

Just want to push back a tiny bit on this.

Money is typically priority one and no one should have any delusions about that. However, some companies do care. It is entirely possible to care about and push for different things in different parts of the world as you are dealing with different cultures, rules and regulations. It is also entirely possible to operate in an area you don't agree with while not forwarding the views you have issues with.

In reality, no company can be an absolute purist on their beliefs, or they would have difficultly operating in different states, let alone countries.

 

[BrianLo]

Didn’t the trend of theme park building in the wealthy middle eastern states crest and die several years ago with several ambitious projects incomplete?

That was coming off the 2008 financial crisis. There’s been a large scale recovery since.

Like four more gigantic museums are coming online in Abu Dhabi within a year. Guggenheim, natural history museum, national museum and a fourth I can’t recall. A “louvre” just opened there too.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Didn’t the trend of theme park building in the wealthy middle eastern states crest and die several years ago with several ambitious projects incomplete?

That was Dubai with the big project being Dubailand. Yas Island was always a smaller, more restrained project that has been built out more slowly. It was the cute little project that was going to be crushed by Dubailand but has in fact been the one that has stayed more on track and survived.

 

[LittleBuford]

They have been marketed as popular destinations but they are not really Again as I said previously, my views on those gulf state countries couldn't be written on this forum.

Your personal views are irrelevant. We’re discussing the reality of the situation, not our own feelings on the matter. Like it or not, many tourists visit the Gulf, and those numbers are likely to rise.

 

[Casper Gutman]

That was coming off the 2008 financial crisis. There’s been a large scale recovery since.

Like four more gigantic museums are coming online in Abu Dhabi within a year. Guggenheim, natural history museum, national museum and a fourth I can’t recall. A “louvre” just opened there too.

Well, it’s a good thing we’ll never have another financial crisis! Certainly not anytime soon!

 

[lazyboy97o]

That was coming off the 2008 financial crisis. There’s been a large scale recovery since.

Like four more gigantic museums are coming online in Abu Dhabi within a year. Guggenheim, natural history museum, national museum and a fourth I can’t recall. A “louvre” just opened there too.

Ferrai World is the park that was announced pre-2008 and survived in its original form, opening in 2010. Compared to say IMG Worlds of Adventure which is the legal successor to a lot of Dubailand but is significantly smaller in terms of scope and scale.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Perhaps I’m a provincial American, but I’m a lot more excited for Universal Britain. I really like Paddington!

 

[BrianLo]

Well, it’s a good thing we’ll never have another financial crisis! Certainly not anytime soon!

Ha, never said otherwise! But economists are a bit all over the map on if it spreads globally or not. Canada and US, yes. Some debate on other countries actually thriving.

But they have gotten a lot of major projects done in AD. As @lazyboy97o said it’s more Dubai with the spotty track record. I think AD is becoming far more desirable to visit as a tourist; I definitely had already intended to return to spend a few days in their cultural district and visit Yas. Disney kind of takes it over the top.

 

[BrianLo]

Perhaps I’m a provincial American, but I’m a lot more excited for Universal Britain. I really like Paddington!

I’m the complete opposite and maybe I’ve lost my Universal spark. But that park looks like a bad copy of USB and I really have disdain for what they produced in China. It’s soulless.

The original stuff might be ok, but it seems like that’s a generous third.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Ferrai World is the park that was announced pre-2008 and survived in its original form, opening in 2010. Compared to say IMG Worlds of Adventure which is the legal successor to a lot of Dubailand but is significantly smaller in terms of scope and scale.

From videos I’ve come to associate the UAE parks with the most underwhelming dark rides ever built.