What goes into making a Disney theme park?
That's the question explored in Disney Worldbuilders, a new feature-length documentary that will be released on Disney+ on August 20.
For audiences in the UAE, it will also offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Disneyland Abu Dhabi, as Disney continues work on its seventh theme park resort and first in the Middle East.
The documentary's trailer features former Disney chief Bob Iger visiting the future Yas Island resort. The footage appears to show the same trip during which Iger had shared photographs from the park's site.
“You have to dream big, you have to have a wild imagination,” Iger says in the trailer, wearing the same outfit seen in the Instagram photographs of his trip to Abu Dhabi earlier this year.
In January, Iger posted the images with the caption: “Walking the site of what will one day be Disneyland Abu Dhabi! Lots of work ahead, but all very exciting!”
Directed by Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks, Disney Worldbuilders also features interviews with current Disney chief executive Josh D'Amaro, plus creative figures including filmmaker James Cameron, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, animator Pete Docter, filmmaker, “Disney Legend” Jon Favreau, and Jennifer Lee, filmmaker and former chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
The film explores how Disney stories, including Avatar, Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pixar, Frozen and Zootopia, evolve from the screen into immersive attractions, while also offering a look at new lands and resorts currently in development around the world.
“I wanted to understand what ignites the imaginations of the storytellers behind some of the world's most beloved stories,” Iwerks said.
“As I sat down with each of them, I discovered a common thread: they often traced their creative journeys back to a single childhood moment – walking through the gates of Disneyland and realising that impossible dreams could become real.”
The documentary will have its world premiere at Disney's D23 fan event on August 16 before arriving on Disney+ four days later.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi was announced in May 2025 and is being developed by Miral on Yas Island under Disney's “capital-light” business model, in which Miral will fully fund, build and operate the resort while Disney oversees the creative development and receives royalties.
Disney has said the park will feature themed accommodation, retail, dining and entertainment, while Iger has described it as being “authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati”.
In May, Disney reaffirmed that the project remains on track despite regional instability. In a letter to shareholders released alongside the company's quarterly earnings, then-Disney Experiences chairman D'Amaro said the “strategic logic” behind the Abu Dhabi development remained unchanged.
“We have multiple experience expansions under way using a capital-light model, including working with established local operators to bring a new cruise ship to Japan and a theme park resort to Abu Dhabi,” he wrote.
“The strategic logic of our Abu Dhabi plans is unchanged. Major new theme parks are necessarily long-term in nature given the lead time of these projects, and this investment approach has consistently benefited our business.”
When the project was first announced, D'Amaro described Disneyland Abu Dhabi as its “most advanced and interactive” resort to date. He has previously said the project could take up to two years to design, followed by another four to six years of construction, meaning a potential opening date in the 2030s.
