• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Disneyland Abu Dhabi

Disney have said it’s still in the design phase that typically takes 2 years ish and 5 years for construction based on Shanghai. Will be 2032 at the earliest. Previous projects on Yas island have taken a good while from announcement to being built and opened. Harry Potter expansion to WB was announced way back in 2022 and construction is yet to start on that.

Seaworld was announced back in 2016 and opened in may 2023. Warner brothers announced 2007 and opened 2018- although the 2008 recession delayed that project.
 
Last edited:
2032 works fine with me. Will definitely get back over there again and most likely wait until there's some more new attractions and this Disney park to experience.

I'd imagine it's going to be rather spectacular knowing how much money these people have. Wouldn't surprise me if they come up with something that rivals Disney Sea in Tokyo.
 
The good thing that also often comes from these type of projects where budgets are not so much of an issue (ie Tokyo and likely this project) when another company is paying- is that it is not Disney paying for Imagineerings research and development costs, which we then usually see tech that’s been developed for resorts like Tokyo get used at the company’s own parks as the expensive r&d stage has already been done.
 
Maelstrom said:
The good thing that also often comes from these type of projects where budgets are not so much of an issue (ie Tokyo and likely this project) when another company is paying- is that it is not Disney paying for Imagineerings research and development costs, which we then usually see tech that’s been developed for resorts like Tokyo get used at the company’s own parks as the expensive r&d stage has already been done.
Click to expand...

Exactly how Disney did it back in the 1950 and 60's, with the worlds fairs.

Many of Disneys early technology like ride transit systems and audio animatronics were heavily boosted or outright created this way, all at no cost to Disney, rather the world fair pavillion sponsors funding the huge costs. Nice to see some things dont change, as it was a great way for them to progress forward as a company, with innovative technology.

The argument could be made that this is Disneys driving force for allowing these projects such as this new park. A great way to get the huge R&D costs associated with genuinely innovative imagineering, paid for. It was a driving force for them 70 years ago, so surely it must be now.

The 'values' argument is a mute point, especially when you write said argument from your modern smart phone. Pot, kettle, black, somewhat. I guess its just convenient to stick to personal values when it suits people, forget them when it doesn't? Seems to be a reoccurring theme. Even Disney, was rooted in very controversial subjects and mindsets at a time when America was very controversial. I am not at all saying they are correct, not one bit, as they are not. But the argument could be put forward that Disney are not acting in a way that is any different from ways they have acted for the last 80 or 90 years, long before their theme parks infact.

This park looks interesting, ill reserve judgement about visiting until ive seen more.
 
Last edited:
I get that argument but the existence of already-developed technology is meaningless if they don't also match the budget for installing it... look at something like Pooh's Hunny Hunt, widely regarded as one of Disney's best and most innovative dark rides, when they finally decided to use that same technology a decade and a half later in Paris it was in the form of the (in my humble opinion) relatively dreadful Ratatouille ride.

The lack of R&D isn't the problem at the American/French Disney parks, it's the lack of budget or desire to do things right, which seems to kind of depend on forces I don't fully understand. When they feel like it they can build like Pandora and when they don't we get Avengers Campus

KolonelKlink said:
Looks like the very vague concept art is complete cobblers as Miral’s boss has told a local radio station the park will be - like all their others - indoors:


From: https://youtu.be/L9n9tdgOaOU
Click to expand...


Very funny. When we presented that concept art, we were showing you a general concept of what a theme park could look like. Not necessarily the theme park we're going to build, but a theme park nonetheless
 
Interesting that is it going to be indoors, I guess that is a necessity with the heat over there. Can't help but feel this is likely to have an impact on the overall atmosphere of the park though. And probably limits the size in comparison to some other Disney parks.
 
havaska said:
How do you do a Disney castle indoors?

Very interested to see how this pans out.
Click to expand...

I don't know but if Gotham City at Warner Bros World or Sea World is anything to go by, high budget indoor theme parks can be absolutely incredible.

Would be a good opportunity to focus on the villains but can't imagine they will want to do that.

Presumably being both indoors and in the UAE they'll be able to keep the entire project under wraps if desired until it opens, though i believe the other indoor parks released concept art prior to opening.
 
Quantum said:
This think is going to be super expensive to build and not half as big as people initially thought
Click to expand...

Some of these indoor parks in the UAE are absolutely massive and I'm sure this one will probably be the biggest one yet given it's Disney and will attract a lot of people.

Don't worry about money / cost either. These people have more money than sense. They will go all out on this place I'm sure.

havaska said:
How do you do a Disney castle indoors?

Very interested to see how this pans out.
Click to expand...

Night time Firework show could be problematic. Haha!

I'm sure they will come up with something incredible as the Disney Imagineers aren't the problem at Disney. The money men are. This seems like a home run for people in that office. They can design something out of this world and not be told 'no' for a change as these folk in the Middle East have money to burn.

Will be outraged if they don't build a land set around Aladdin too given it's setting. That's one beloved Disney IP that has never been given a E ticket attraction and well overdue one. Genie is without a doubt one of the best Disney Characters ever created IMO.
 
Rob said:
Interesting that is it going to be indoors, I guess that is a necessity with the heat over there. Can't help but feel this is likely to have an impact on the overall atmosphere of the park though. And probably limits the size in comparison to some other Disney parks.
Click to expand...
I dd not watch the full video, but did it say all the park would be indoor, or just the attractions? I can see it being the paths and some areas outside, and the main attractions inside?

I would not under estimate how big these indoor areas could be. At Motiongate, the Dreamworks area is all inside, and it felt just as big, if not bigger than some of the other areas.

Dreamworks Indoor Motiongate: Total area: 41,555.60 m² (447,300.78 ft²)
Arthur Indoor Europa Park: Total area: 3,547.11 m² (38,180.80 ft²)
 
Not directly Disney related per se but came across an interesting piece from a gay theme park employee who spent 5 months working on Yas Island.

Obviously i wouldn't expect one opinion to ease the fears of those concerned with visiting (though i have several openly gay colleagues who have worked or visited there too) but not unreasonable to expect things to continue to flow in this direction, particularly with a brand like Disney joining:

attractionsmagazine.com

Being LGBT+ in Abu Dhabi: Perspective of a theme park employee who lived on Yas Island

What is it like to live and work in an Abu Dhabi theme park on Yas Island as a member of the LGBT+ community?
attractionsmagazine.com attractionsmagazine.com
 
The culture is still very different to ours and you definitely don't want to be caught doing something you're not meant to be doing.

However I do think the tide is turning slowly, particularly in Dubai. Apparently they used to hand out red cards to people in the malls for showing too much skin. It definitely doesn't feel that strict anymore.

Abu Dhabi is slightly more traditional with fewer western folk than Dubai so I think they are still pretty strict when it comes to public displays of affection etc. However Yas Island is predominantly made up of tourists so I'm sure they turn a blind eye to it at times.

We had a tour guide for the Desert Safari tell us something very interesting. If a tourist is caught with a few kg of drugs in the UAE they get a minimum of 10 years in jail. If a local is found with more than a few kg they are executed with no exceptions.
 
Bowser said:
Not directly Disney related per se but came across an interesting piece from a gay theme park employee who spent 5 months working on Yas Island.

Obviously i wouldn't expect one opinion to ease the fears of those concerned with visiting (though i have several openly gay colleagues who have worked or visited there too) but not unreasonable to expect things to continue to flow in this direction, particularly with a brand like Disney joining:

attractionsmagazine.com

Being LGBT+ in Abu Dhabi: Perspective of a theme park employee who lived on Yas Island

What is it like to live and work in an Abu Dhabi theme park on Yas Island as a member of the LGBT+ community?
attractionsmagazine.com attractionsmagazine.com
Click to expand...
When reading this article it's important to note that the author is a white, middle class, wealthy man with business ties to the authoritarian regime. He is useful and can be tolerated, but not welcome or accepted.

The same privileged experiences of a visitor, or tourist, will not be enjoyed by a UAE citizen.

The author even notes this, never discussing the experiences of LGBTQIA+ citizens of the UAE, only his fellow foreign colleagues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top