Disneyland Abu Dhabi: Disney’s Biggest Parks News in Years

On May 7, 2025, Bob Iger got on Disney’s earnings call and shared something the company had not built in more than a decade: a brand-new resort, from the ground up, in a part of the world where Disney had never had a presence before. Disneyland Abu Dhabi, on Yas Island in the United Arab Emirates. It is the seventh Disney destination on Earth and the first in the Middle East, and it is one of the most exciting things Disney has announced in years.

This is one of the grandest and most ambitious projects Disney has taken on in years, and Disney fans have plenty to be thrilled about.

Who is building it

The structure here is unusual for Disney and worth a closer look. The resort will be fully developed, built, owned and operated by Miral, the Abu Dhabi company already behind Yas Island’s other big draws. Disney’s role is creative. In the company’s own words, its Imagineers will lead the creative design and provide operational oversight. In practice that means Miral finances and runs the place while Disney supplies the intellectual property, the design language and the quality control. It is closer to the Tokyo Disney Resort arrangement, where a local partner owns the parks, than to the company-built resorts in Florida, California, Paris and Shanghai.

The location is a big part of the appeal. Yas Island already carries Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, so Disney is landing inside a purpose-built tourism cluster rather than an empty stretch of coast. Disney’s stated logic is reach: roughly a third of the world’s population, the company says, sits within a four-hour flight of the site. That is a market Anaheim and Orlando cannot touch.

The castle on the water

One of the design details that led the coverage was the castle. Iger described it as the first real modern castle Disney has built, rising from the sand and standing on the water, and reporting at the time framed it as the first Disney castle designed to integrate water directly into its structure. Disney released three concept renderings alongside the announcement, showing a curved, reflective tower on a waterfront. They are striking.

These are concept renderings that show the vision for the resort. At least one outlet has reported that the released art may not reflect the park’s final design, and Disney itself calls this work concept only. Concept art is a way to share an idea and set a tone for what is to come.

The opening date

Disney has not announced an opening date yet. Asked directly in May 2025, Iger pointed to Disney’s usual rhythm of roughly eighteen months to two years of design followed by about five years of construction, and said the company was not making any commitments right now. Add that up and you land somewhere in the early 2030s, though that is a reader’s estimate built on Iger’s general timeline rather than a figure Disney has endorsed.

Disney has kept reaffirming the project. Iger spoke about it again in February 2026. In May 2026 the company said the plans were unchanged. And on the August 5, 2026 earnings call, with regional conflict in the Middle East raising questions, Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said Disney continues to believe in the strategic rationale and is fully committed to seeing the project through. As of today, there is no public confirmation that construction has begun.

The same August call brought an exciting look behind the scenes: Disney announced a Disney+ feature documentary called Disney Worldbuilders, from director Leslie Iwerks, billed as the first behind-the-scenes account of building Disneyland Abu Dhabi. A documentary about the making of a park is a wonderful sign that real work is underway.

All told, Disneyland Abu Dhabi is one of the largest and most ambitious projects in Disney’s current slate. A dazzling announcement, gorgeous concept art, and executives repeating their commitment all point to a resort with enormous potential. When Disney shares an opening date, we will be here to celebrate it.

The latest

As of today, the resort is confirmed and has been reaffirmed by Disney, the only public art is concept only, and construction has not been confirmed as started. We’re tracking this story live and will update it the moment Disney or Miral moves it, including anything revealed at D23 2026.

This is part of our live tracker of every new land and ride Disney announced at D23 2024. See where all eleven stand: D23 2026, live: every Disney parks reveal, and the latest on what is coming.

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