The waterfront resort will be built on Yas Island on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi city, already home to Formula One’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Ferrari and Warner Bros amusement parks, SeaWorld and a waterpark.
Disney and Miral, the Abu Dhabi developer overseeing the project, hope to capitalise on the 120 million airline passengers who travel through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year.
While long viewed as less busy than the beaches and raucous nightlife in neighbouring Dubai, Abu Dhabi is also home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi and there are more museums currently under construction.
The theme park announcement is being made ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump to the region next week. Mr Trump has promised a series of business deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
A map of Yas Island:
The theme park will be built and operated by Miral, but Disney will handle the design and development. Disney will also license its intellectual property and provide development and management services, according to a regulatory filing.
The California company will not be providing any capital for the project. It will earn royalties based on the resort’s revenues. It will also earn service fees.
Miral has been involved in the development of almost all of the entertainment complexes built on the island.
A projected opening date has not been announced.
It comes a the company posted solid profits and revenue in the second quarter as its domestic theme parks thrived and the company added well over a million subscribers to its streaming service.
“This is a thrilling moment for our company as we announce plans to build an exciting Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, whose culture is rich with an appreciation of the arts and creativity,” said Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company.
For the three months ended March 30, Disney earned $3.28 billion, or $1.81 per share. The Burbank, California, company lost $20 million, or a penny per share, a year earlier.
Removing one time charges or benefits, earnings were $1.45 per share, easily topping the $1.18 that Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.
Revenue rose 7% to $23.62 billion, also topping projections.
Revenue in Disney’s Entertainment segment climbed 9%, while revenue for the Experiences division increased 6%.
The Experiences division, which includes six global theme parks, its cruise line, merchandise and videogame licensing, reported operating income rose 9% to $2.5 billion. Operating income climbed 13% at domestic parks. Operating income dropped 23% for international parks and Experiences.
Disney is projecting full-year adjusted earnings of $5.75 per share. The company’s previous guidance was for high-single digit adjusted earnings per share growth for fiscal 2025.
