Disneyland Abu Dhabi
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Mohammed Al Zaabi, CEO of Miral, recently visited Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California, as part of ongoing development for Disneyland Abu Dhabi. In a personal reflection shared on Instagram and LinkedIn, Al Zaabi recalled his first visit to Disneyland Paris 25 years ago and expressed pride in now working as a partner to bring Disney to the UAE.

“Two extraordinary moments in my life, separated by a quarter of a century, but they share the same feeling of joy and reassure me that dreams don’t just come true—they grow with us.”

Photos from the visit show Al Zaabi at Imagineering headquarters, signaling continued collaboration between Disney and Miral as the project advances.




https://www.linkedin.com/posts/malzaabi_wearemiral-abudhabi-yasisland-activity-7341851252261109761-LHKu
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLIKd21xD3Q/

"We're at the early designing and visioning stages right now."

"We know that indoor theme parks are very successful here. We know from our experience that an outdoor theme park would never work. You've seen Ferrari World, you've seen Warner Bros World, we have done it with SeaWorld, which by the way was a mission impossible," says Al Zaabi. "We know for sure that Disney will be hybrid, it will be indoor and outdoor. At this stage, it is too early to decide, but I reckon a good percentage of it will be indoor."

Source: https://www.forbesmiddleeastmagazine.com/flipbook/2025/06/english/#p=28

At this point the location of Disneyland can be considered confirmed. We have another source also stating that the private announcement on the beach took place at the future site itself:

At the future resort site, our team provided discreet audio and comms systems for a private photo shoot with Disney executives and Abu Dhabi ministers.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/clairglobal_last-month-yas-island-in-abu-dhabi-hosted-activity-7336862594781138946-ggSy

The interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9n9tdgOaOU) in which Mohamed Al Zaabi said "Disney will be an indoor theme park" has been edited to remove that statement. This leads me to believe that either A. Disneyland Abu Dhabi being an indoor theme park like the others on Yas Island is a detail that was not intended to be public yet, or B. The design of Disneyland is still being determined, including to what extent is indoors.

Originally Posted by Michael

This photo released by the Abu Dhabi Media Office shows that the official announcement of Disney Abu Dhabi took place in the North Yas/Yas Open Beach area. In the background of the photo is Yas School and Yas Village. In a new article from Adgully Middle East (https://adgully.me/post/10746/disneys-yas-island-debut-powered-by-momentum-initiative-weber-shandwick) the announcement is described as "the official announcement at the future site of Disney Abu Dhabi". This further points to this being the location of Disneyland.

We've already got a construction tender for Disneyland called "Disneyland Theme Park & Resort Project - Yas Island". The description is "Construction of new theme park and a resort."

Sources: https://metenders.com/ProductResult.asp?PID=10558 and https://metenders.com/CategoryResult.asp?CID=39 and https://metenders.com/RequestInfo.asp?TID=1137103

Revealed: Key Disney Imagineer Behind New Park In Abu Dhabi
www.forbes.com/sites/carolinereid/2025/05/15/revealed-key-disney-imagineer-behind-new-park-in-abu-dhabi/

An aerial view of the potential site:

Disneyland Abu Dhabi being heavily promoted throughout the United Arab Emirates, including on Yas Island:

The widely speculated site of Disneyland Abu Dhabi is the plot of land on the northwest part of Yas Island's coast. Miral has previously referred to this plot of land as "Yas North" and "Yas Open Beach":

Yas North will be a vibrant residential community that incorporates year-round leisure and entertainment precincts, anchored by key attractions and a prime beachfront location.

Once completed, Yas North will feature a significant waterfront destination with unequalled amenities that provides both a unique living environment for residents and an exclusive destination for visitors.

• Final masterplan on Yas Island
• Features a 3 km north-facing shoreline of outstanding beauty
• Complementary mix of residential, leisure, entertainment, F&B and hospitality

A current on the ground look at the site:










The potential site highlighted on the Yas Island masterplan:



Source: https://miral.ae/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Miral-Investment-Brochure-English.pdf