Mickey Mouse is heading to the Middle East.
In a new test for its unique American brand, Walt Disney said on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with the Miral team, a Abu Dhabi government arm to build a resort theme in the Persian Gulf. The property, the seventh in the Disney world portfolio, will have a castle and modernized versions of some classic Disney walks, along with new attractions adapted to climate and local culture.
“This is not just” if you build it, they will come, “said Robert A. Iger, CEO of Disney, in a short period of time from Abu Dhabi.” We have to build it correctly and quality means not only scale, but quality and ambition. We plan to be very ambitious with that. “
Disney and Miral refused to give details of the extent, budget or construction timetable for what they call Disneyland Abu Dhabi, in addition to saying that it will be a full -scale property with the other “Castle” parks of Disney. Miral puts the entire account for building the park. (The new theme parks of this scale usually cost $ 5 billion or more.)
Arab leaders have long been Disney, which expanded the theme parks in Japan in 1983, France in 1992, Hong Kong in 2005 and the Chinese mainland in 2016. In a 2018 foreign relations council, Mr Iger said that the Saudi Prince Prince Prince Prince Prince Mohammed Bin Bin Bin Bin. He had made an “unparalleled objection” to build Disney to build a theme park in Kingdom.
“I explained when we make such decisions we consider cultural issues, economic issues and political issues,” Iger said then, refuses to give more details of the “very honest” discussion. The area added at that time, “it was not at the top of our list in terms of markets in which we would open.”
What changed?
For starters, the United Arab Emirates has evolved into a tourist destination. Abu Dhabi, the capital, attracted about 24 million visitors in 2023, according to government data. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zide al -Nahian, the country’s president, set a goal to attract 39 million visitors a year to Abu Dhabi by 2030. Warner Bros. Discovery opened a mediocre internal theme park in the city in 2018 and Seaworld Abu Dhabi arrived in 2023.
The Miral team, who created Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi and Seaworld Abu Dhabi made Disney a financial offer to be repeated: In addition to payment for construction, Miral will pay Disney to design walks, shops, restaurants and accompanying hotels. Once the park is open, Disney will receive rights to use its characters as a percentage of revenue, according to securities deposit. Disney will also receive other fees.
At the same time, Disney has been put under pressure to find new areas for growth to compensate for cable TV reductions and in the box office. With the opening of a theme park in Abu Dhabi, Disney hopes to create an engine leading the demand among the 500 million Middle Eastern residents for other Disney – Dolls Princess, Disney+ subscriptions, cruise ships, Marvel movies, touring stand.
“After studying the area carefully, involvement with potential partners and visit three times in the last nine months,” Mr Iger said, “it became more and more clear that not only the area was right and ready for us, but the site was Abu Dhabi.”
Disneyland Abu Dhabi could allow Disney to exploit India’s middle class extension. An immediate flight from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi takes 3 hours 17 minutes. Currently, Disney’s closest outpost to Mumbai is Hong Kong Disneyland, a six -hour flight.
“When we look at some recent research, we decided that for every person who visits one of our parks, there are 10 people in the world who have the desire to visit,” Iger said. “One of the greatest reasons that do not do so – everyone always believes that it is financially affordable. It is not. It is accessibility. It is a long journey to get to where we are for many people.”
There will be obstacles. The climate is one. Disney should design a park that allows the desert heat to visit.
Disney could also face criticism of its cooperation with the Emirates, which is ruled as an empire with limits on freedom of expression, speech and type, which provides weapons to fighters accused of atrocities in a devastating civil war in Sudan. In November, Watch Human Rights Watch hit the National Basketball Association, which has made Abu Dhabi the Middle Eastern hub, to help the country get attention from human rights records.
In order to attract more tourists and foreign investors, the Emirates in 2020 improve women’s protection, relaxed alcohol consumption regulations and reduced the role of Islamic Legal Code in the Justice System. However, the criticism of the government or its leaders remains illegal and can lead to large prison sentences. Immigrant workers are often subject to inhumane conditions, according to human rights groups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Homosexuality is illegal.
In 2022, the Emirates joined other Nations of the Persian Gulf in the ban on “Lightyear”, a large movie from Disney’s pixar, due to a kiss between a pair of lesbian. “Lightyear”, along with some other content with LGBTQ characters, does not appear in Disney+ in the area.
In a statement, a Disney spokesman said: “We respect the countries and cultures where we do business, while always keeping our own standards and values.”
Disney faced a similar situation when it worked with the Chinese government to build Disneyland. In addition to the awkward perspective, the construction of this park demanded the disputed relocation of thousands of suburban Shanghai residents. (Disneyland Abu Dhabi will not have this headache, it will grow on the anthropogenic island Yas.)
Wall Street, however, is likely to welcome – especially given the troubled situation of other Disney businesses, including cable television.
“Are the theme parks now the best media business?” Craig Moffett, founder of the research company Moffettnathanson, wrote in a report last year. “The answer is almost certainly” yes. “
