Disney’s new Abu Dhabi theme park will be “very modern” and their “most technologically advanced” theme park yet.
Disney’s Most Technologically Advanced Theme Park
Disney announced the brand-new theme park before their Wednesday morning earnings call, in which they reported a 9% increase in their Disney Parks operating income.
In a Good Morning America interview that aired after the announcement, Disney CEO Bob Iger said of the new park, “We’ve decided that we want to build a very modern Disneyland. It will obviously incorporate a lot of our intellectual property and some of the typical stories that we tell in our theme parks.”
During the earnings call, Iger stated that the park will “combine contemporary architecture and cutting-edge technology with the timeless magic of Disney to offer guests deeply immersive experiences in unique and modern ways.”
The park, located on Yas Island, will be constructed by Miral, “operators of world-class immersive experiences and attractions in Abu Dhabi,” but Disney will oversee creative development. Walt Disney Imagineering is “already hard at work” designing the park.
“This is a place that has a very ambitious and very exciting vision for its future,” Iger said. “So this will give us an opportunity to build something very, very high quality, as evidenced by so much of what’s already been built here, but also the most technologically advanced theme park that we’ve ever built.”
The phrasing is nearly exactly the same as how Universal Destinations & Experiences CEO Mark Woodbury described Epic Universe in Florida back in 2023.
The concept art for Disneyland Abu Dhabi (a placeholder name) shows futuristic buildings and Disney’s “first real modern castle.”
“As our seventh theme park destination, it will rise from this land in spectacular fashion, blending contemporary architecture with cutting edge technology to offer guests deeply immersive entertainment experiences in unique and modern ways,” Iger explained in a press release.
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro said, “This groundbreaking resort destination represents a new frontier in theme park development. Our resort in Abu Dhabi will be the most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio.”
Miral Chairman H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak said they are working on the new park “as fast as possible” but won’t compromise on quality.
“We’re going to make sure that what we build here in Abu Dhabi is going to be special and it’s going to create everlasting smiles and memories for every visitor to come here,” Mubarak said.
Watch Iger and Mubarak on GMA below, as well as the announcement video:
Watch the park’s announcement video below.
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