For years, Disney fans have joked about Disney controlling the weather. Sometimes this has been accompanied by comments about closing the dome. Now, it appears that this might be more of a reality than anyone ever expected. Earlier this week, The Walt Disney Company and Miral announced the creation of Disneyland Abu Dhabi. This new Disney theme park and resort will be on a waterfront property on Yas Island. It will be built and operated by Miral with Walt Disney Imagineering behind the design and Disney providing operational expertise and oversight.
Beyond some concept art, very little is known about this new park and resort. The concept art seems to show a crystal-looking castle rising alongside the sea. Disney Experience Chairman Josh D’Amaro said about the new venture, “Our resort in Abu Dhabi will be the most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio. The location of our park is incredibly unique – anchored by a beautiful waterfront – which will allow us to tell our stories in completely new ways.”
All of this was still very vague. However, Miral Group CEO Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi spoke about the new resort on Dubai Eye, a local radio station, on Thursday. Disney will be indoors,” he confirmed. “As you know, we have done all our theme parks indoors.”
He also shared that the Disney resort would be the most advanced in the world. “I would say it’s too early to share details about the design, but I will say it’ll be the most advanced Disney theme park in the world. Expect local tech companies to be involved, as well as Disney’s experience from around the world. It’s a resort, so it’ll include so many features and so many elements.”
While this indicates fairly clearly that Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be inside. It might not be entirely inside. “We’re being incredibly ambitious in terms of the architecture, use of indoor and outdoor space,” D’Amaro told CNBC this week. “One of the great things about the piece of land that we’ll be building on is it’s right up against the water and so we’ll be pulling water into this resort.”
The heat could be a challenge for the future Disneyland Abu Dhabi. In the summer, temperatures can easily pass 100°F. At times, the temperature can reach 120°F. Heat management technology has been worked on in the region. Earlier this year, the first air-conditioned street was revealed. In Dubai, another resort claims to have created the first outdoor street where it can rain on command.
At this point, Imagineers are hard at work conceptualizing and designing this new Disney resort. A timeline for opening has not been revealed yet. “We’re not pinning down a date yet,” Iger said on the matter. “It typically takes us between 18 months and two years to design and fully develop and approximately five years to build, but we’re not making any commitments right now.”
With this new Disney resort being the world’s most advanced, Disneyland Abu Dhabi may be mostly or entirely indoors. It is also quite possible that new technology will offer the possibility for a hybrid indoor/outdoor experience. A this point, anything is possible and nothing is confirmed. One thing is for sure, when this new Disney destination opens, it will be unlike any that has been experienced by Disney fans before.
