A year ago, Disney announced plans to build its seventh theme park complex on Abu Dhabi's Yas Island. It promised to open up a whole new world for the Middle East but, despite the time that has passed, the announcement – like all good Disney stories – has kept everyone guessing as to how the team would do it.
The news was accompanied by two pieces of deliberately grainy concept art, which didn't even give away the park's location.
Disney simply said it would be a seafront resort, and it took some detective work to find out more. Eagle-eyed observers spotted distinct background details in photos of a site visit in January by Disney's then-chief executive Bob Iger. They concluded that the park will sit on a site in the north of Yas Island. At up to 200 hectares, the footprint of the expected site could be more than three times that of Disneyland park in California, which is 65 hectares. The full Disneyland Resort in California is 198 hectares.
The Yas Island site should also provide ample space for one of the world's biggest Disney parks, along with one or more themed hotels.
“I would strongly suspect that you're going to find a hotel that's branded along the lines of Disneyland Hotel Abu Dhabi, and it's going to be connected to the park,” says Jim Shull, a former Disney theme park designer and creator of the Disney Journey YouTube channel.
A Frozen Disney castle
Disney's designers are known as Imagineers, due to their imaginative use of engineering, which encourages them to push the boundaries. As Shull suggests, it could see Abu Dhabi get the first hotel, perhaps even one fully located inside a Disney park that has long been rumoured for its American outposts.
“Abu Dhabi will want something that feels like a Disneyland, yet at the same time something that's unique to them … something that you can only come to Abu Dhabi to see,” says Shull.
He says that when he worked on Disney's parks in Asia, the local government partner “set up meetings and focus groups and opportunities to tour Hong Kong or Shanghai. But at the same time, you try to live there if you can, and kind of soak up the environment to understand what the locals value. It's not just researching, it's taking the research, analysing and understanding it, talking to locals, engaging with them and understanding what their values are and what is important.”
The crystalline castle in the concept art for Disney's Abu Dhabi park could be interpreted as being inspired by Elsa's ice palace from the Frozen movies. Shull suggests it “will likely feature a show on the building, dining and shopping inside, while accommodating the local climate”.
He explains that Disney will want to use the park “as an outpost in that region to sell merchandise, to sell their brand, to sell the media”, so attractions such as the castle will likely be based on movies and shows, both existing productions and those releasing later on, as they will need the most promotion.
“You have to look at the pipeline of what animated features they have and what animated features might feature a castle, and how that could be adapted,” says Shull. With Frozen 3 due to hit cinemas next year, it would still be a recent enough release if the park opens around 2030.
Disney's lead designer Zach Riddley said that the castle in Abu Dhabi will be the first to incorporate water in an episode of Disney’s We Call It Imagineering YouTube series. Although it isn't clear what this means in practice, the concept art shows that the soaring structure will almost sit on the sand with the rest of the park in front of it.
Worlds to expect at Disneyland Abu Dhabi
This is in stark contrast to all of Disney's other so-called “castle parks”, which follow a hub-and-spoke format, with the castle at the centre, surrounded by themed lands. There are an average of seven per park, and although there are slight regional differences in the selection, three are common to all.
The first is the futuristic Tomorrowland (Discoveryland as it is known at Disneyland Paris), which is expected to be the flagship land in Abu Dhabi, as Disney's new chief executive Josh D'Amaro has said the park will be “the most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio”.
Space Mountain, a roller coaster which simulates a trip to the stars, will likely be part of the line-up, but one which isn't probable, is Tron. Despite being a new addition to Disney parks in Orlando and Shanghai, the ride sits under a sweeping sparkling shell, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the W Hotel on Yas Island, right down to the synchronised lights on it at night. If it appeared in the park, it could look repetitive – contemporary rather than futuristic.
The second land common to all of Disney's castle parks is the fairy-tale-themed Fantasyland, where classic attractions such as Dumbo, the Flying Elephant can be found. Rides based on newer animated films, such as the wildly popular Zootopia series, are also likely. A Zootopia ride recently opened in Shanghai to great acclaim and its outline seems to appear in the Abu Dhabi concept art. It would also make sense, as the third instalment in the series is due to be released around 2030, roughly when the UAE park is expected to swing open its doors.
The third land, which is most likely to come to Abu Dhabi, is Adventureland, though it could come with a twist. The land typically has a castaway theme and features attractions such as a boat ride inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean.
Main Street UAE
A turn-of-the-century Main Street runs from the entrance to the middle of most Disney castle parks, and is replete with ornate bandstands, bunting, as well as old-fashioned shops. Shull believes this could get a local makeover in Abu Dhabi, in keeping with the “authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati” promise that Iger made at the park's announcement.
“Every Disney castle park has a Main Street. It’s a natural fit that Disney Abu Dhabi would have a Main Street inspired by Aladdin’s Agrabah,” he says. Disney's live-action Aladdin movie made history in 2019 with the best Ramadan opening to date. The film was partially filmed in Jordan's Wadi Rum desert, and a sequel is also on the way, which would make an attraction in Abu Dhabi even more appealing.
Only Disney and Miral know what will actually be in the park, and even they may not be sure yet, as the project is still in the design phase with workshops taking place between the two teams. “At this point, there will be detailed concept art. You'd have artwork, of course, but you'd also have plans, estimates, feasibility studies and budgets all flying around at this point in time,” Shull concludes.
