Disney's partner reaffirms commitment to Abu Dhabi park
Disney's partner in developing the planned new Disney Abu Dhabi resort is reaffirming its commitment to the project.
Dr. Mohamed Al Zaabi, CEO of Miral, is in London meeting with Disney's new President and Managing Director of Disney Parks International, Tasia Filippatos. This is the first publicly confirmed in-person meeting between Miral and Disney executives since the start of the current war in the Middle East.
Miral and Disney announced in May 2025 plans for a new Disney theme park resort on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Miral will pay for the design, construction and operation of the park, working with Walt Disney Imagineering and licensing Disney's IP. That arrangement provides Disney with the opportunity to enter the large and growing Middle East tourism market - with access to additional markets in south Asia, north Africa and Europe - at no financial risk to the company.
However, the current war has disrupted travel throughout the region, as Iran has responded to attacks by the United States and Israel with missiles and drone attacks across Gulf nations, include the UAE. Miral has kept its Yas Island attractions open, but travel into the UAE is almost nonexistent at this point.
With that context, Al Zaabi said that Miral remains committed to the Disney project.
Mohamed Al Zaabi's Instagram post
"Our discussions were insightful, highlighting the importance of strong international partnerships in driving innovation and excellence across the industry," he wrote on social media of his meeting with Filippatos. "As we continue to advance our collaboration on Disney Abu Dhabi on Yas Island, we at The Miral Group are excited to create a truly iconic destination here in the UAE and the region, that brings Disney storytelling to life in new and inspiring ways."
Many people have speculated that the current war could cause Disney to back out of the Abu Dhabi deal. With Disney not paying for the project, the only reason no to go ahead would be if Miral could not or would not be able to make its required payments. Disney is a global company, and the MENA and South Asia regions are major markets for Disney to access. With the state-backed Miral publicly expressing its support for the Disney project, it's hard to see a payment failure happening unless this war becomes an existential threat to Abu Dhabi and the UAE - in which case the U.S. and its allies would have a much bigger problem than the fate of a Disney theme park.
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Replies (8)
Will we get specialty themed Iron Man interceptor drones hovering over the park?
This seems like a save-face kind of move, particularly after the cancellation of the IAAPA-Middle East Expo. I don't doubt that Miral want to preserve the relationship and eventually build the new Disney park, but this is definitely a moving target right now and this feels very much like damage control.
I’m not sure what else they can say at this point. The only way this doesn’t happen is if the Emirates faces a true existential crisis at which point … well, like Robert said, we’ve got bigger problems to deal with than this theme park.
Money talks. Oil money screeches and hisses until you comply.
Headline - Person paying billions of dollars for something says something is still happening.
Blood money
In a related story, ITM (12/20/25): "The global theme park wars are starting to heat up. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Universal and its parent company, Comcast, are in the early stages of planning to bring a theme park to Saudi Arabia. This revelation comes just days after Universal received final approval to begin building its new Universal United Kingdom theme park"
@TH - It does seem that the PIF is trying to score Universal after Disney turned down their offer and went with the UAE/Abu Dhabi.
I understand companies' desire to penetrate the Middle East market - shareholders expect 10+% growth year on year, which is simply not sustainable in mature markets like the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia, so the only way to achieve that level of growth is to tap underserved markets like the Middle East, Africa, and South America. The Middle East represents the best opportunity, but obviously comes with drawbacks.
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A Disney spokesperson said “we don’t care what colour their money is, or even if it’s got strange red spots. We only care they have a lot of it”