Disneyland Resort Dubai?

[NickC]

Came across this portfolio page while doing some random Internet searching:

http://favillistudio.com/portfolio/themedentertainment/?album=2&gallery=12&template=te

Figured it was interesting enough to pass along here. I have no idea if Disney has ever had real plans to develop a park in the Middle East, but from the project description, it sounds like this was just blue-sky concept art drawn up by two companies. However, Favilli Studio has worked directly with Disney in the past, so there's that.

The park itself seems pretty small, but appears to include a Main Street area, Star Wars land (Death Star/X-Wing themed astro orbiter and probably a Star Tours clone in one of those buildings), Pixar/Cars land (Radiator Springs Racers), Adventure land (Jungle Cruise), some kind of train/monorail, and the castle itself looks to double as a hotel.

PROJECT BACKGROUND
Favilli Studio teamed with RIVA Creative to develop a blue-sky concept for a Disney destination in the Middle East. The cornerstone of the concept is classic Disney storytelling, entertainment and the beloved characters brought to life in the arid dessert on the edge of an ancient oasis. The icon of the park is the glorious Castle of Dreams—a magnificent palace akin to the famous Disney castles, but with distinctive Middle Eastern elements such as spires, domes and minarets making it uniquely Disneyland Dubai.

 

[TubaGeek]

Maybe a LONG time ago, but the most recent work at Dubai suggests that Disney is the only major player WITHOUT a dog in the race.
Either way, the whole project is on pause right now. I think some super bad PR stuff has most investors very hesitant in supporting it.
This, of course, is all from my PARTIALLY informed opinion.

 

[FerretAfros]

From my uninformed reading of the text and the style of the images (including but not limited to the horribly off-model Mickey), I think this is an outside developer who is building something, and is trying to woo Disney into building or contracting a park there, sort of like how OLC ended up with TDR. This doesn't appear to be something that originated within Disney

And given the temperatures in Dubai, I'm not sure a traditional Disney park makes any sense there. The Ferrari park is mostly enclosed under a glass dome, but I'm not sure that Disney would want to do that for a castle park. Perhaps they'd consider something smaller scale, like Aulani or DisneyQuest, but I wouldn't expect anything more than that

 

[Communicore]

I say they should make Frozen snow globe theme park.

 

[cheezbat]

The Middle East is not on Disney's radar. I think there'd be a better chance for a new Disney park in India or Australia before anything else.

 

[Sassagoula-Rvr]

As someone else said...much like Disney would never build a traditional park in the upper midwest due to climate...I can't see them building one in the Middle Eastern area.

The heat would pretty much make it unbearable...it gets hot in Florida during the summer...but...the average high in Dubai for the summer...104 degrees Fahrenheit...probably 10-12 degrees warmer than Florida. Not to mention...the record there is up into the high 110's to 120's for many months...it would be unbearable trying to keep guests cool.

 

[WDWLover#1]

We'll find out if a new disney resort is happening within the next 20 years. Anytime before that just silly imo. If shangai does well you never know. But personally I couldn't see a new Magic Kingdom in the next 20 yrs.

 

[The Crafty Veteran]

A Disney park in a strict muslim society? I highly doubt it.

 

[deix15x8]

If they were to ever build a park in Dubai they would be stupid to not make it Jasmine's castle. This park is rather small and not much to it though. Perhaps if the idea is that they are building a massive Dubai DVC with these elements to earn additional profit it could work. Hawaii is now starting to show some success with a DVC as the center. Most of the appeal of Dubai seems to be in all the different activities so I doubt any kind of full scale resort could be operated in the same way as other parts of the world.

 

[AndyS2992]

It's pretty clear from those designs that this is a BIG Disney hotel/resort. Dubai is famous for its 5 Star+ hotels.

The castle is the hotel surrounded by themed gardens, you can see the identical room balconies in the last pic, as well as a pool area in the aerial map. Frontier land appears to be a horse riding trail with nearby tennis courts.

Main Street is a huge World of Disney store and the area to the side is Adventureland which contains Jungle Cruise, Robinson Treehouse and some cabanas for a nearby bar. Tomorrowland looks to contain Star Tours and a Star Wars spinner and likely a 3D show and restaurant. Fantasyland is the hotel itself.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Haven't Dubai plans been dialed back majorly due to excessive development in the 2010s?

 

[Otamin]

Interesting concept at the very least, even if I'm glad the likelihood of it going forward is slim.

 

[MarkTwain]

Haven't Dubai plans been dialed back majorly due to excessive development in the 2010s?

Yep, for Dubailand especially, which was thought for awhile to be a completely dead project. Signs are showing that development is picking up in Dubai again though.

Is it sad if I almost prefer this castle (designed by a third party) over the Shanghai Disneyland castle?

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

It's pretty clear from those designs that this is a BIG Disney hotel/resort. Dubai is famous for its 5 Star+ hotels.

The castle is the hotel surrounded by themed gardens, you can see the identical room balconies in the last pic, as well as a pool area in the aerial map. Frontier land appears to be a horse riding trail with nearby tennis courts.

Main Street is a huge World of Disney store and the area to the side is Adventureland which contains Jungle Cruise, Robinson Treehouse and some cabanas for a nearby bar. Tomorrowland looks to contain Star Tours and a Star Wars spinner and likely a 3D show and restaurant. Fantasyland is the hotel itself.

Yeah, looking at it again... I'm pretty sure that's the only possible thing this could be. There's little pools and cabanas sprinkled around in the overall art and there are cars idling in front of the castle in the last picture.

 

[Goofywilliam]

Haven't Dubai plans been dialed back majorly due to excessive development in the 2010s?

Yes, but development is starting a maor upswing due to the Expo 2020.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Those designs are brilliant. I love the layout and the attractions, although parts of it look a bit compressed. If it were actually ever built, it would have some interesting sight lines.

There are very few places I would count as "out" on Disney's realm of possibilities for building a property, whether its a park or resort.
If the money is right, and the market is there, meaning enough people in the market want to see a Disney park, it could happen.
And who knows, with Iger stepping down in the next few years, new leadership could decide to take a shot.
I mean, if you went back 30 years or so, who would have thought there would ever be a Disney park anywhere outside the U.S.?

 

[eblaz37]

I was recently in Dubai-- the whole state (or "Emirate") has lots going on right now--- they are hosting Expo 2020 and doing everything they can to get themselves ready for that. Dubai's main export these days is tourism and I would venture to say that a Disney Park here might actually make sense.

 

[eblaz37]

A Disney park in a strict muslim society? I highly doubt it.

Dubai is pretty progressive compared to other Muslim cities... Travel 50 miles south and it's a different story... but Dubai itself is a very modern society, believe it or not.

 

[The Mom]

Dubai is pretty progressive compared to other Muslim cities... Travel 50 miles south and it's a different story... but Dubai itself is a very modern society, believe it or not.

We know someone who travels there (and stays months at a time) and have seen photos from when his wife and teenaged daughter would visit - wearing their bikinis sitting by the pool, wearing shorts and tank tops walking around the area, etc.

It is considered an escape to a different world to the "locals" from other Arab nations. It's also a major stopover for international flights.

 

[RScottyL]

IMO, Disneyland and WDW here in the US is getting pretty busy, and I think Disney needs to consider building additional parks elsewhere in addition to the other parks they have! (Tokyo, Paris, etc.)

Not sure if it will ever happen!