Walt Disney Company’s leadership has moved to reassure investors that its planned theme park in Abu Dhabi remains a live commitment, addressing the project directly in a shareholder letter accompanying the company’s most recent quarterly earnings.
The letter, signed by CEO Josh D’Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston, is the first public reaffirmation of the development since hostilities erupted in the region on February 28 with the start of the US-Israel-Iran war. Disney said the “strategic logic” behind the Abu Dhabi project is unchanged, while noting that major theme parks are inherently long-range undertakings.
“We have multiple experience expansions underway using a capital-light model,” the letter read. “Major new theme parks are necessarily long-term in nature given the lead time of these projects, and this investment approach has consistently benefited our business.”
Announced in May 2025, the Yas Island development will be Disney’s seventh park worldwide and its first in the Middle East, joining existing locations in California, Florida, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Under the arrangement, Abu Dhabi-based Miral will handle development and operations while Disney retains control over creative design and attraction development.
Activity on the partnership front has continued in the months since the announcement. In March, Miral Group CEO Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi posted on X about meeting with Tasia Filippatos, who recently assumed leadership of Disney Parks International, describing “insightful discussions on partnership, innovation, and what’s ahead for Disneyland Abu Dhabi.” Al Zaabi added that Miral is “excited for what is next.”
Walt Disney Company chief executive Robert “Bob” Iger had offered an early glimpse of the site in January, sharing photos of himself walking the coastal location on Instagram. “Lots of work ahead, but all very exciting,” he wrote at the time.
Iger has previously described the planned resort as potentially the most advanced and interactive destination in Disney’s portfolio, with the waterfront setting expected to open storytelling possibilities not available at the company’s other parks. He has also said the park will carry a distinctly Emirati character while retaining the Disney identity.
Construction remains in its earliest stages, with formal groundbreaking and detailed timelines anticipated to take shape through 2026 and beyond. Industry projections place a possible opening in the early 2030s.
