With the shocking announcement that Disney will be building a new theme park and resort complex in Abu Dhabi come a lot of questions. Of course, some of the biggest questions revolved around Abu Dhabi itself, and an earnings call allowed Disney CEO Bob Iger to expand on the location, calling Abu Dhabi “perfect” for Disney’s next theme park. A lot of questions still remain about Abu Dhabi and the planned Disney theme park there, but we’re learning more about the logistics of what this theme park will look like in the hottest climate that Disney has operated a theme park in to date.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi Will Be Indoors…Mostly
Following the announcement, Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO of Miral Group, spoke with the Dubai Eye about the new theme park. A lot of the information was already known, or too early for Zaabi to share, but there was one tidbit near the end of the article that shows how this theme park will operate in a region of the world that is, on average, some 15 degrees warmer than Orlando, Florida.
Zaabi was talking about how Miral has designed other theme parks on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi to operate in a difficult weather environment. Zaabi said that other theme parks that Miral has designed are indoor theme parks and that Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be no different.
As you know, we have done all of our theme parks indoor, so Disney will be an indoor theme park.
It doesn’t seem like there is much nuance in that statement, but the concept art above appears to show some outdoor spaces. In reality, Disneyland Abu Dhabi will likely contain a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces, with the indoor spaces perhaps being more expansive than we’ve ever seen before at a Disney theme park.
Going back to concept art that appears to show both buildings and outdoor spaces, we turn to Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro who also commented a little bit on how the theme park will be laid out. In an interview with CNBC, D’Amaro described the theme park as being “incredibly ambitious in terms of the architecture”. He went on to say that there will be “use of indoor and outdoor space”, saying that the waterfront location of the park will allow Disney to pull water into the resort unlike anything else that Disney has been able to do in the world. Disney has not confirmed an exact location for the theme park yet beyond somewhere on Abu Dhabi’s tourism-heavy Yas Island.
Of course, the concept art that was released isn’t exactly something that we’d describe as detailed. Given how quickly the project developed following Iger’s return as CEO, I’d be willing to bet that there are still a few challenges and opportunities for the teams to work out. That said, we don’t expect that this project is 15 or 20 years down the road. On CNBC, Iger said that the project is still more than 5 years away from receiving guests, but Abu Dhabi likes to build quickly, and no shortage of money can be thrown at this project. We’d expect to see more concrete plans and concept art in the or two ahead with construction starting shortly thereafter.
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!
