Media and theme park giant Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) is headed to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with a new theme park coming.
The new theme park resort set for Yas Island will be the seventh major theme park under the Disney name. Here's a look back at Disney's past theme park openings and how the stock has performed.
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Abu Dhabi Theme Park: Alongside second-quarter financial results, Disney announced it will open a future theme park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Disney is partnering with destinations and experiences company Miral, which is a leader in Abu Dhabi in the sector. Miral will develop and build the theme park with Disney and its Imagineers leading creative design.
"The collaboration between Abu Dhabi and Disney demonstrates the remarkable results of combining visionary leadership and creative excellence. What we are creative with Disney in Abu Dhabi is a whole new world of imagination -- an experience that will inspire generations across the region and the world," Miral Chairman, His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak said.
Miral has opened several theme parks in the region, including the first SeaWorld outside of North America that opened on Yas Island in May 2023. Miral has also partnered with Ferrari, Warner Bros. and others on other theme park and destination resorts.
"As our seventh theme park destination, it will rise from this land in spectacular fashion, blending contemporary architecture with cutting-edge technology to offer guests deeply immersive entertainment experiences in unique and modern ways," Disney CEO Bob Iger said.
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro said the new theme park will be the most advanced and interactive destination of any Disney theme park.
Yas Island is located 20 minutes from downtown Abu Dhabi and 50 minutes from Dubai. Over 120 million people travel through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year, with the UAE the largest global airline hub in the world. The UAE is within a four-hour flight for around one-third of the population of the world, which makes the region a key to future tourism.
There is no date for the planned opening, with a strong likelihood that the newest Disney theme park will come in the 2030s.
Disney's Theme Park Growth: Disney opened Disneyland in California on July 17, 1955, as its first theme park, ushering in an era of being able to highlight its intellectual property to families and new fans.
Disney later opened Disney World on Oct. 1, 1971, in Florida, five years after initial plans were announced. The theme park is the most visited in the world today and one of the keys to the current and future success of Disney.
Here are the six existing Disney theme park locations with their opening dates and how the stock traded at open, the end of the year the park opened, and one year after the park was opened. Disney stock price is adjusted for stock splits and dividends.
| Theme Park | Opening Date | DIS Stock Price At Open | Dis Stock Price End Of Year Opened | Disney Stock Price Year After Opened |
| Disneyland (California, U.S.) | July 17, 1955 | Not Public | Not Public | Not Public |
| Disney World (Florida, U.S.) | Oct. 1, 1971 | 74 cents | 92 cents | $1.22 |
| Tokyo Disneyland (Japan) | April 15, 1983 | $1.16 | 74 cents | 92 cents |
| Disneyland Paris (France) | April 12, 1992 | $9.23 | $10.42 | $10.18 |
| Hong Kong Disneyland (Hong Kong) | Sept. 12, 2005 | $20.15 | $19.43 | $24.49 |
| Shanghai Disneyland (China) | June 16, 2016 | $91.68 | $98.59 | $99.81 |
As shown in the chart, the openings of theme parks in Florida, Japan and France didn't have a huge positive impact on the share price of Disney.
Fast forward to 2005, when a theme park was opened in Hong Kong and Disney stock gained 21.5% in one year from the park's opening date.
The opening of Shanghai Disneyland may have also helped boost the Disney stock price, with shares gaining 8.8% in one year.
Why It's Important: According to AECOM, Disney has eight of the top 10 most visited theme parks, counting the smaller regions of individual Disney theme park locations.
Here are the top-visited locations, based on visitors from 2023:
- Magic Kingdom (Disney World): 17.7 million
- Disneyland Park (Disneyland): 17.3 million
- Universal Studios Japan (Comcast-owned, not Disney): 16.0 million
- Tokyo Disneyland: 15.1 million
- Shanghai Disneyland: 14.0 million
Disneyland Paris ranks ninth at 10.4 million visitors with Hong Kong Disneyland ranking 17th with 6.4 million visitors. Park locations such as Epcot, which is part of Disney World, also rank on the list with Epcot 8th at 12 million visitors in 2023.
Theme parks in the Middle East are a newer item to watch, with Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi opening in 2018 and SeaWorld opening in 2023. Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi had an attendance of 1.75 million in 2023. SeaWorld had attendance of 1.3 million in the seven months of 2023 it was open.
For Disney, the theme park will likely have millions of visitors annually and the partnership with Miral could bring in annual high-margin licensing revenue, depending on how the deal was structured. More importantly, the new theme park could put Disney characters in front of millions of people around the world, which could help boost movie revenue, streaming revenue and consumer product revenue.
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