Disney Confirms Abu Dhabi Castle To Be 'Out On Sea' And Unlike Any Other In The World

For the first time in Disney history, water will form part of the design of an iconic Disney castle - and it will happen in Abu Dhabi.

The revelation was made in the latest episode of Disney's 'We Call It Imagineering' YouTube series, where senior executives at Walt Disney Imagineering discussed the creative vision behind the upcoming Disneyland Abu Dhabi.

“In the context of building our future experiences something like a new region, such as Abu Dhabi, which we recently announced as our latest destination.”

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Zach Riddley, Senior Vice President of Global Creative Strategy, confirmed that the park will follow the Magic Kingdom model, centred on a castle unlike any before.“Abu Dhabi is a city on the water, and so we're really excited about being able to incorporate water for the first time in the design of our Walt Disney castles,” he said.

Ali Rubinstein, Senior Vice President of Global Creative Show Design at Walt Disney Imagineering, added that the project goes beyond replication.“For the first time, we're taking our iconic castle to the sea, literally with our newest ship, the Disney Adventure, and that castle is not a replication of any existing castle in the world. It's inspired by broader nature themes like water, also subtle nods to our princesses Moana, and Elsa and Anna,” she explained.

Disney first announced its plans for a major theme park in Abu Dhabi last year. As reported earlier by Khaleej Times, Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be built on North Yas Island in partnership with Miral, the developer behind several of the capital's top attractions. The project will mark the first Disney-branded theme park in the Middle East and will feature multiple themed lands alongside the landmark castle.

Riddley reflected on the weight of such decisions, noting,“The things that we make have a lasting impact on so many people and that legacy is tremendously rich. But it means that every choice we make has so much weight on it.”

With water at its heart, Abu Dhabi's castle promises to be a defining centrepiece - one that sets the destination apart from Disney's other iconic parks around the world.

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