This blog largely focuses on Walt Disney World, as opposed to the Walt Disney Company at large. In most cases it's because that's the area that I'm most familiar with, but it also has to do with the fact that corporate Disney news can be so vast and I wanted to keep the focus of this blog more localized.
However, sometimes big news comes along having nothing directly to do with WDW and it still warrants a post here. Today's big news is one of these. Disney dropped a bombshell this morning, announcing a joint venture with the entertainment company Miral to build a new Disney park in Abu Dhabi. This post will take a look at the announcement and try to figure out the why and why now of this groundbreaking news.
This new park will be Disney's first since Shanghai Disneyland, which opened in 2016. Disney has expanded greatly beyond its domestic parks, as Disneyland Abu Dhabi (probably not the real name, but it's what everyone is currently using) will be its seventh destination, and fifth international one, following Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Some of these destinations have had some controversy since the parks were built, but Abu Dhabi might be the most controversial location at the time of announcement. There is still a western stigma in doing business in the middle east, though some of this has lessened in recent years. Think about the outrage that ensued with LIV Golf was formed in Saudi Arabia, with many viewers and reporters calling golfers' new found wealth from this venture "blood money."
Now Saudi Arabia and the UAE are two different countries. They are roughly 600 miles apart, or about the distance between Orlando and Tallahassee or Montgomery, Alabama. Saudi Arabia is run by a centralized monarchy controlled by the Saudi royal family. Word of the atrocities committed by this group has become common knowledge. They also rely heavily on gas and oil as the basis of their wealth.
The United Arab Emirates on the other hand is a federation of seven different locations, each with their own leader (emirate) and is largely considered a more liberal and open minded country than Saudi Arabia. Still, the UAE has been accused of financial crimes such as money laundering. Western society has often kept the UAE at arm's length when having business dealings.
There is also the matter of social norms and behaviors - homosexuality is illegal in the UAE, though much of the population are expats, and in general might be more tolerant than the official position. Even still, discretion is advised, especially among same sex couples. Disney has often touted being inclusive of everyone, and it's hard to reconcile that by building a park in an area where a portion of the population might feel uncomfortable visiting. I'm no expert in this area, but it seems that Hong Kong would be the closest correlation as far as Disney parks, with same sex unions not being recognized.
In recent years, the stigma against doing business in this region has changed. The UAE and in particular Yas Island has become a luxury destination for many, featuring stunning modern architecture and a plethora of entertainment options. Formula 1 racing has held a grand prix event at Yas Marina Circuit since 2009. Mission Impossible 7 (among others) was partially filmed there. Disney's reach will be expanded greatly by building in this region.
I didn't recognize the name Miral before this announcement, but since they are the company Disney is partnering with in this venture, I wanted to get some background on them. They have quite a portfolio of things they've built on Yas Island - Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (with the world's fastest coaster), Warner Brothers Abu Dhabi (the first official Warner Brothers park in the world), Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi (a water park), CLYMB Abu Dhabi (seemingly an extreme sports experience) and the Yas Marina itself, home to a base for superyachts, as well as dining and entertainment.
As many of these projects indicate, Yas Island is catering to the theme park market. Orlando is unofficially known as the "theme park capital of the world" but Abu Dhabi seems to be giving it a run for its money (or at least they might settle more "theme park capital of the middle east"). In this context, it makes a lot of sense for Disney to expand here.
As I said earlier, a larger footprint for Disney is always something they strive for. And of course, the biggest reason of all - money. Disney's parks and resorts business is by far the most profitable sector of the company (side note - Wall Street has started to take notice of this, which is the impetus behind Disney's sudden interest in infusing $60 billion into its parks rather than focusing on streaming or movies as they had been doing) and the international parks are all profit centers for the company.
For those who are annoyed by this news, I suspect it comes down to one argument - why build this park when they can spend their money on their domestic parks? But this is not really an "either or" situation. Disney has already committed to spending money domestically. This is a separate project and the involvement of Miral is reminiscent of Disney's partnership with Oriental Land Company (OLC) that runs their Tokyo resorts.
In case you aren't aware, OLC owns and operates the two Tokyo parks. Disney's involvement essentially comes down to Imagineering - OLC contracts exclusively with Disney for any projects related to the parks and resorts. OLC pays Disney royalties to use their intellectual property. Based on this announcement today, it sounds like this is how things will work with Miral.
This is likely to be a good thing - the Tokyo parks are largely considered to be some of the best theme parks in the entire world, and this is in part because OLC foots the bill for almost everything. If that will be the case in the UAE, as long as they are willing to spend money, this park should thrive. As always, Disney Tourist Blog did a wonderful deep dive here into the CEO of Miral and the early word seems very positive in terms of how they see Yas Island as a destination for a large number of people. Having the Disney name associated with this tourism hub is only natural, and should benefit both sides of this deal.
This will be a fascinating project to watch unfold. I saw a quote from Bob Iger that uses the words "cutting edge technology" and "modern", which should give you an idea of what they're looking for, and the concept art is certainly ambitious. And as a reminder, a rising tide lifts all boats - profitability in this park will just allow Disney to make and spend more money everywhere else, including in the domestic parks that we are more familiar with.
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