The hugely popular tourist destination Disney won't open a theme park in
With its amazing natural landscapes and beautiful cities, it's one of the world's most popular holiday destinations - attracting 7 million visitors in 2024 - but Australia is unlikely to get a Disney theme park in the near future.
While the Land Down Under has plenty of its own brand parks, including its biggest, Dreamworld, on the country's Gold Coast, the most famous theme park brand in the world is yet to be tempted to open up there.
Disney currently has six theme parks across the globe, including its original parks in the US - Disneyland Resort, California and Walt Disney World Resort, Florida - Disneyland Paris in Europe and three in Asia, in Japan, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
And, to great fanfare, a new opening was announced last month, with plans unveiled for a Disney theme park in United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi - the brand's first major new theme park in nearly a decade and its first in the Middle East.
Disney fans in Australia though are likely to have to wait a long time for an attraction on Oz soil, with executives confirming there are currently no plans in the pipeline.
The reason? Disney doesn't believe Australia has a big enough population to keep a Disney park prosperous - and the demise of Sega World, which famously opened and then failed in Sydney in the 90s, is likely all the evidence the brand needs.
A gaming mecca that was dubbed 'Sydney's Disney' at the time, Sega World opened at Darling Harbour's Pavilion and was said to have cost more than AUS$80million (around £38million)...but by the turn of the millennium, the indoor park was closed.
While Australia has a population of around 26.5 million - plus 7.6 million tourists, it still small fry numbers compared to other destinations that do have a Disney park; Greater Tokyo, for example, has a population of 37 million.
There have been plans for a park in the past, with a Gold Coast park rumoured back in the 90s, but China was later preferred as a natural step for expansion by the US brand.
And now, it seems the Middle East has eclipsed Australia. While the city of Abu Dhabi has a population of about 2.5 million, Yas Island, where the park will open 'in the early 2030s' recorded more than 34 million visits in 2023, a 38% rise compared to the year before, Miral has said.
'We've always been interested in this part of the world - to bring our Disney stories to new, younger fans,' Disney's Experiences unit Chairman Josh D´Amaro told Reuters in May, adding, 'Abu Dhabi was an ideal location for us.'
Miral, the Abu Dhabi-based leisure and entertainment group responsible for developing Yas Island, will finance, build and operate the resort.
The creative and technical professionals who design Disney's theme parks, known as Imagineers, will lead creative design and provide operational oversight.
The Abu Dhabi park, Disney´s first since Shanghai Disneyland opened in 2016, represents a continuation of the company´s plans to 'turbocharge' its Experiences unit, which includes its six global theme park resorts, a cruise ship line and a family resort in Hawaii.
In 2023, Disney announced it would commit $60 billion over a decade to double the size of its Disney cruise ship fleet and invest in its theme parks.
It also took a minority stake in Epic Games, creator of the online game Fortnite.
Miral initially approached Disney to talk about their plans for creating a tourism hub in Abu Dhabi, said D´Amaro. That conversation led Disney executives to visit the prospective theme park site last September.
'We saw where our potential park might go, and had some serious conversations about what this could mean to our 'turbocharging',' D´Amaro said.
After a return trip to the region in February, D´Amaro said the parties entered into serious discussions that culminated in a deal. The amount of Miral's investment was not disclosed.
Miral Group CEO Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi issued a statement hailing the addition of a Disney theme park to Yas Island as a 'historic milestone' in the company´s efforts to build the island into a global entertainment destination. (Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Henderson and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
HOW TO GET MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK AT DISNEY THEME PARKS
When it comes to family fun, few destinations rival Disney. Who can resist high-octane rides, thrilling entertainment and a cartoon cast for every generation?
But wherever you embark on your Disney adventure, costs can quickly spiral. Here's our guide to getting the best bang for your buck at Disney theme parks all over the world.
Disneyland Paris
Highlights of Paris' two parks include the recently spruced-up Sleeping Beauty Castle, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Peril and Ratatouille: The Adventure.
Best value time to visit: Where possible, swerve seasonal celebrations like Easter, Halloween and Christmas. French school holidays differ from ours, too, so do your research to get a better deal. Failing that, prices in January, February, September and November are likely to be much lower. Ditto with weekdays over weekends.
Park tickets: As a rule of thumb, the more days you visit Disney parks, the cheaper the price. For deals, check third party outlets like attractiontickets.com.
Budget stays: A night at Hotel Marne-la-Vallée Val d'Europe, a ten-minute drive from the park, is £117 with breakfast for a family of four in the summer (hotel-bb.com). For a real budget option, happy campers can stay under canvas on a pitch with electricity at the Camping International de Jablines, a 20-minute drive from Disneyland Paris, from £14pp/pn (camping-jablines.com).
Eat for less: The Earl of Sandwich serves everything from breakfast to salads and sandwiches, with most items under a tenner. Packed lunches are allowed inside the park.
Disneyland California; Disney World Florida
The first site to open, Disneyland California is home to the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty Castle. Walt Disney World, in Orlando, is the bigger – and arguably better – sister of the original, with over 173 rides to choose from.
Best value time to visit: Disney offers official deals throughout the year, with January to May ones generally better than those around winter holidays.
Tickets: Shop around discount providers for the best deals. Opting for '1 Park Per Day' tickets, rather than 'Hopper' tickets should save you some cash.
Budget stays: For Disneyland, some off-property hotels are just as close to the action as pricier on-site offerings. A 25-minute walk from the park, doubles at DoubleTree Suites by Hilton start from £105 (hilton.com). For Disney World, you're better off at the value resorts onsite, such as the All-Star Movies Resort, where doubles start from £118, and two children under 18 stay for free.
Eat for less: Food is allowed inside the park. If you do eat onsite, avoid table-service restaurants to keep costs down.
Disneyland Tokyo
Japan's capital has two parks, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, as well as six hotels all within easy reach. The train from central Tokyo takes 24 minutes and costs around £2.
Best value time to visit: Currently, the yen is very weak, so if Japan is on your travel wish list, don't put off a trip. Mid-January to mid-March is considered off-peak.
Tickets: Only one-day tickets are currently available and it's cheapest to use the official website, tokyodisneyresort.jp/en. It's £44 for adults, £37 for children aged 12 to 17 and £26 for ages four to 11 (under threes go free). Weekdays Tuesday to Friday see the smallest crowds.
Budget stays: Family rooms at Mitsui Garden Hotel Prana Tokyo Bay cost from £117 in high season, with a free 15-minute shuttle to the park, gardenhotels.co.jp. The same night in the Hotel MiraCosta at DisneySea costs £440.
Eat for less: International fast food options will fill bellies without a huge outlay – a small salami pizza at Pan Galactic Pizza Port in Tokyo Disneyland costs around £4. Otherwise, don't miss Ikspiari mall, located at the park's gateway; it's open late and has much cheaper options, plus a great supermarket, ikspiari.com.
Hong Kong
The smallest theme park in the empire, Hong Kong Disneyland is a 30-minute MTR train from both the airport and city centre. Comprising eight lands, the newest of them, World of Frozen, opened in 2023.
Best value time to visit: Avoid holidays such as Golden Week (May and October) and Lunar New Year (January or February), as well as local school holidays and weekends. Mondays and Fridays are the busiest weekdays.
Tickets: This Disneyland's succinct size means you can do it in a day, which keeps ticket costs low. Find savings on klook.com, which has adult tickets at £59.85 and children/seniors at £45.69, saving around £14.
Budget stays: Stay in central Hong Kong for the best deals; a room for four at the Dorsett Tsuen Wan hotel in Kowloon is just under £100 a night, dorsetthotels.com.
Eat for less: Packed lunches are allowed inside the park. Citygate Outlets is a ten-minute cab ride away in Tung Chung and has 40 dining options.
Shanghai
The newest Disney park has eight lands, including Toy Story Land and Zootopia, plus two hotels and Disneytown for entertainment, dining and shopping.
Best time to visit: November to May has the smallest crowds and cooler weather – but avoid weekends and major holidays. A 20-minute cab ride from the airport costs around £11 with the DiDi app, which works like Uber. From central Shanghai, the subway takes up to an hour but costs just a few pounds.
Budget stays: If you're travelling with young children, the Toy Story Hotel is hard to argue with, particularly as rooms start from around £150. Otherwise, The Courtyard by Marriott, which has a free park shuttle and comes in at £136, is a good option, marriott.com.
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