Following today’s announcement that Disney will be opening a new theme park destination in Abu Dhabi, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro and Miral Chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak talked about what the theme park could be. In a statement earlier today, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the new Disneyland Abu Dhabi would “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”. Now, we’re learning a bit more about what that could mean.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi: A Gamified Theme Park & Vacation Experience
D’Amaro said something that they learned early on about Miral and the people of Abu Dhabi is their desire to pursue technology. He said that that aligned with what Disney is doing back in California with its research & development lab as Disney looks to technology to create the next innovation in immersive experiences.
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak said that Miral will leverage all of the investments that are happening in the United Arab Emirates and all around the world to bring tech, quantum, and artificial intelligence to the Disneyland Abu Dhabi project. Mubarak said that they have all of the pieces of the puzzle, now it’s just about putting it together. What does it look like when it’s finished? Both D’Amaro and Mubarak offered some insight.
In thinking about what the new theme park could be, Mubarak said that “gamification is huge. I would gamify everything”. Mubarak said that they are asking questions about how they can gamify the experience for guests from the booking process through to the theme park experience. Mubarak said that he wants guests to feel like they are part of the world to gain points or gain prizes throughout the experience.
D’Amaro then spoke about the Disney angle of gamification, turning to the $1.5 billion investment that Disney made in Epic Games back in early 2024. This is something that D’Amaro appears to be passionate about, talking about how the next generation of kids are gathering in digital spaces like Fortnite to form communities. Disney’s investment in Epic Games was not only to be where the next generation of potential fans is, but to leverage those communities, experiences, and technology for its existing theme park experiences.
D’Amaro talked about how Fortnite could contain a digital Disneyland theme park, but then it could be so much more than that as experiences translate between digital and physical theme parks once experiences get integrated. Turning to the new Disneyland Abu Dhabi, D’Amaro said that Disney has an “opportunity from ground up to think about how games and interactivity can not be just something that you do at home or on your phone, but how it interplays with the actual park”.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
