Walt Disney Middle East on the way....

[RobMac]

Walt Disney Co has announced plans to open its first theme park in the Middle East

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrgr2zzv00o

[themagician]

To summarise this announcement:

- Like Tokyo Disneyland Resort, this part in Abu Dhabi will be entirely funded and operated by a local company (in this case Miral, who already operate the theme parks on Yas Island). However the Disney IP will be leased to the park and they will have to operate to Disney’s standard.

- It’s not yet clear what IPs will be in this park as they will be developing the parks design over the next two year and then it’ll take around 5 years to construct (approx 2032/33 opening)

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The clock on the world's reliance on oil has reached the eleventh hour. 

Tokyo was so successful because OLC spared no expense, knew their local population, and knew what would make money. I worry about the middle east parks. There's been plenty of them planned that have not eventuated. Unlike other successful parks that are based in major population centres with a supportive local population, this park will need people to fly in from all over to support it, else it will only cater to those super rich tycoons that can afford to splash the cash on lavish VIP experiences. 

It does demonstrate to anyone who thinks a park should be built in Australia that the only way it gets done is if you pay for it yourself. Disney isn't footing the bill for this park - all their non-US parks have struggled for a significant part of their lives.

[djmcbell]

Isn't the weather in the UAE likely to mean that it's indoors? Coupled with them talking about new technologies and immersion, that immediately sets off alarm bells for me.

Also, the UAE isn't particularly well known for its human rights and equality stances. I'm not sure a country that can't give a full release to Strange World (not the best movie, I know) due to homosexuality should be hosting a theme park of the company that produced it.

[themagician]

1 minute ago, djmcbell said:

Isn't the weather in the UAE likely to mean that it's indoors?

Yes and no. All the parks within Abu Dhabi are indoors (except for Ferrari Worlds coasters), while most of the parks in Dubai are outdoors but have indoors sections or a lot of shading. 
 

If there’s a typical Main Street, I suspect it could be like Tokyo Disneylands, with a roof partially over it) and then a lot of shading, indoors rides/queues.

[Naazon]

9 minutes ago, djmcbell said:

Also, the UAE isn't particularly well known for its human rights and equality stances. I'm not sure a country that can't give a full release to Strange World (not the best movie, I know) due to homosexuality should be hosting a theme park of the company that produced it.

100% get your views on human rights but the US isn't exactly known for having high standards either. Nor China. Additionally, China also restricts movie releases.

Not defending people being shit humans, just saying Disney has a history of not caring about the points you've raised.

[Ashley Jeffery]

Something tells me that this is a not a sign of strength. Disney needs a gigantic cash infusion from oil money.

[Levi]

(not trying to make this political)

but i truly think a company that “allegedly” values inclusion at all their parks, opening a park in a country where basic human rights and modern day equality aren’t practiced, is a dumb decision. the income will be good for them as it’s all oil money, but i’ve already seen the company facing a lot of backlash since half of their fan base won’t even be able to visit this property.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, Naazon said:

Not defending people being shit humans, just saying Disney has a history of not caring about the points you've raised.

Disney cares, but only until it affects their bottom line.

1 hour ago, Ashley Jeffery said:

Something tells me that this is a not a sign of strength. Disney needs a gigantic cash infusion from oil money.

Agree - but also the middle east knows the oil money isn't going to last forever as more EVs, more renewable energy sources etc. The whole concept of dubai, 'the palms' and 'the world', Saudi Arabia's 'the line'. They've been exploding their tourism opportunities while the cash keeps rolling in to try and establish tourism industries that will support their countries economy when the oil platforms they were built on are no longer required (or required to the same extent at least).

So this is kind of a win win for both parties - Disney gets a lot of money from the new venture, and Miral gets a non-fossil-fueled venture with a licence to print money (possibly).

This is still just agreement phase - there's no designs or concepts yet so the sky is literally the limit on what they build. But there are also plenty of Disney plans that made it to design and concept that never got over the line - so don't book your flights just yet.

[aaronm]

Interesting announcement, let’s see if anything actually comes of it. The UAE has more failed park projects than the Gold Coast has had unsuccessful sports teams.
 

There’s still a Universal arch decaying in the Dubai desert, IMG never got its second gate, Six Flags didn’t happen, the Bollywood park is dead, Real Madrid can’t be far behind, and Motiongate seems to have sadly deteriorated quite a bit since opening.

Miral admittedly have a better track record with their Yas Island parks, but Ferrari World has been mostly rebuilt since opening day, and Warner Bros hasn’t seen a new ride since opening. The attitude seems to generally be spend up big for opening then not a dollar more which is contrary to how most successful parks operate globally.

[themagician]

30 minutes ago, aaronm said:

Warner Bros hasn’t seen a new ride since opening

That’s about to change because they’re building the Harry Potter world and two major rides in the DC land.

12 hours ago, Levi said:

opening a park in a country where basic human rights and modern day equality aren’t practiced, is a dumb decision

Not to open up a full conversation about it, but there is an argument that America is heading in the direction of having very poor human rights. I don’t know all the facts, but I’m pretty sure some states are worse than the UAE.

[Cactus_Matt]

I mean... I don't really know why anyone thinks this park will be relevant to anyone in 'the West' unlike Tokyo Disneyland  and even Shanghai Disneyland, I don't know ANYONE who is willing to risk travelling to the Middle East just to see a bunch of cloned Disney rides/areas that they can visit in infinitely safer parks in other safer areas of the world. The fact that even hardcore coaster enthusiasts say they are unlikey to ride Falcon's Flight - even though it'll be the tallest, fastest ride in the world says a lot about the mainstream viability of ANY kind of park in the Middle East. That said, if I was a content creator and they could guarantee I wouldn't get arrested for wearing a lewd anime shirt you better believe I'd take their oil-soaked cash and visit their borderline-slave built wonders to excess and promote it through every channel my name was attached to.

TL:DR, nobody is going to the Middle East to see Disney shit when they can go to America or Japan and see the same except with better food and less moral dilemmas.

[themagician]

1 hour ago, Cactus_Matt said:

I don't know ANYONE who is willing to risk travelling to the Middle East

My wife and I have. There are a lot of areas of the Middle East that I wouldn’t say are safe, but we travelled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi a couple years ago for half a week to explore the cities and attractions and at no point did either of us feel unsafe. The customs process was basically no different to Australia and once your in the country, just obey the local laws and you’re fine (we didn’t change anything we would normally do when travelling). I also know several other people that have visited these cities (men and women) and they had no issues either. I’m hearing a lot more stories of people travelling to America being obtained in comparison to Dubai/Abu Dhabi.

1 hour ago, Cactus_Matt said:

visit their borderline-slave built wonders

From basic research, the parent company Miral that’s building this park has never had any allegations of slavery or mistreatment. 

1 hour ago, Cactus_Matt said:

see Disney shit when they can go to America or Japan

Yes, but every Disney park around the world offers different attractions (even if there are some replicas). And this is a brand new modern day park so I’d say a lot of it will be brand new attraction (like at Shanghai for example)

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

18 minutes ago, themagician said:

never had any allegations of slavery or mistreatment. 

In such a free democracy you can bet the people would be loudly shouting in the street if there were...

[themagician]

42 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

In such a free democracy you can bet the people would be loudly shouting in the street if there were...

Haha oh for sure, I don’t doubt that there is probably stuff happening behind closed doors 

[LoZza]

23 hours ago, Levi said:

(not trying to make this political)

but i truly think a company that “allegedly” values inclusion at all their parks, opening a park in a country where basic human rights and modern day equality aren’t practiced, is a dumb decision. 

Tbf Disney is American and they're not that great either sooo

[Sammus77]

The absolute hypocrisy from Disney 🤣

in 2022 the Florida state government passed a bill that prevented classroom instruction on sexual orientation for children aged kindergarten to grade 3. As a result Disney came out swinging. “Pride, inclusivity, diversity”
Now, a few years later and the money isn’t coming in as thick or fast, so they do a deal with a city where it’s illegal to be homosexual. I mean you can’t make this stuff up. Anyone that thinks these companies care about you or your values have a very narrow view of the world. Follow the money, it’s only ever about the money. 
Politics aside, I watch a lot of travel vlogs,  love seeing all the different theme parks around the world. Every video I have seen from this part of the world has these massive elaborate parks that are absolute ghost towns, it always seems to be the same thing. Is there actually a customer demand for this park? Or are they perhaps using the Disney name to try bring more people in and in turn save the other parks as well? Obviously disneys in it for the cash, but interesting to see so much local investment when the other parks in the area appear to be struggling. 

[aaronm]

16 hours ago, themagician said:

That’s about to change because they’re building the Harry Potter world and two major rides in the DC land.

It's was announced, but has construction actually started? Themeparx is normally a good source for this sort of thing but looks like nothing much had happened as of February 2024, and no updates since. The UAE has a long track record of grand announcements followed by zilch.

Edited May 9 by aaronm

[themagician]

1 hour ago, aaronm said:

It's was announced, but has construction actually started?

No, but Disney's CEO said they'll be designing the park over the next 18-24 months. I think the fact Disney have formally announced it, that's pretty certain that this will happen because if it's cancelled it will look bad on Disney. I know Universal had announced a park for Dubai and it never happened, but I think it's different for Disney.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Disney formally announces things every year. They're the kings of announcements that never eventuated.