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28 March 2024

Superman, Batman shake for $1bn mega theme park in UAE

Published
By By Bindu Rai and Parag Deulgaonkar

Step inside the Gotham City and Metropolis in Abu Dhabi. Meet your superheroes - Superman and Batman – in the UAE capital.

How?

Abu Dhabi-based Miral and US-based Warner Bros. on Tuesday officially announced the launch of Dh3.67 billion ($1 billion) Warner Bros.-themed destination on Yas Island, which is home to the world’s first Ferrari-branded theme park.

Construction is already underway on the Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi theme park with rides in production, which opens in 2018. Phase 2 will house a Warner Bros.-branded hotel and an immersive theme park.

The theme park will bring together stories and characters from DC Comics super heroes universe such as Batman, Superman and Wonder Women as well and cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo and Tom and Jerry. Visitors of all ages will be able to step inside Gotham City and Metropolis and experience the cartoon worlds of Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and more, all under one roof.

The theme park is expected propel the number of annual visitors from 25 million in 2015 to 30 million in 2018, reinforcing Yas Island’s position as a leisure and entertainment destination.

“It is incredibly exciting to announce that we are bringing the iconic Warner Bros. brand to Yas Island. Miral’s investment in the Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi theme park is estimated at $1 billion dollars and is a milestone in the emirate’s journey to put Abu Dhabi on the global map and become one of the world’s leading tourist destinations,” said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman, Miral.

He revealed that Miral was central to this development and has a number of exciting projects in the pipeline.  No details were given.

Miral is developing Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi under licence from Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman, Warner Bros. Entertainment said: “Warner Bros. has been entertaining audiences for more than 90 years with the world’s most-loved characters and franchises.  Working with our partners at Miral, we’ll bring this expertise to Yas Island to create a fully-interactive, innovative and unique experience that will allow fans of all ages to experience the most exciting aspects of Warner Bros. in a completely immersive environment.”

The themed destination will create over 1,000 jobs in the emirate.

The first theme parks in UAE will open in October 2016, which includes Dubai Parks and Resorts’ Motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai and Legoland Dubai. Six Flags will open up in Q4 2019. IMG World of Adventure is also slated for opening soon.