The Walt Disney Company announced that it is planning to build its seventh theme park, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The park will be developed and built by UAE entertainment company Miral, with Disney providing intellectual property, creative design, and operational oversight.
The Disney press release says:
The UAE is located within a four-hour flight of one-third of the world's population, making it a significant gateway for tourism. The UAE is home to the largest global airline hub in the world, with 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year.
The concept art released in conjunction with the announcement is vague and certainly preliminary, as Disney says they are not close to starting construction. But it looks as though the main icon of the park is currently intended to be a tall, crystal-like tower. This could be the ice castle from "Frozen," or it could be an abstract structure.
Based on the properties featured in Disney's announcement video and analysis of the concept art, there is speculation that attractions in the park could be based on "Moana," "Lion King," and "Zootopia." It also looks like the park could include Disney's popular Tron ride. @Guide2WDW's James Grosch:
There will certainly be a combination of recreations of existing rides and brand new rides. Disney has long used these kinds of partnerships to have other companies pay for its Imagineers' R&D for brand new rides, and then carbon copy those rides for their domestic parks that they fully own.
Yes, the UAE is an authoritarian regime known for violating human rights, but other Disney parks already exist in such repressive countries: China, and now the United States.
