Disney’s New Abu Dhabi Park: Could Tickets Be Cheaper Than U.S. Parks?

Disney is planning a new theme park in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. So far, details are scarce — and one big question is how much tickets will cost when the park finally opens, which could take seven years or longer.

The park, announced May 7, 2025, will be the Walt Disney Company's first-ever destination in the Middle East and the seventh globally. It will be built on Yas Island — already home to SeaWorld, Ferrari World and Warner Bros. World — and promises to blend Disney’s characters with “distinctly Emirati” cultural elements.

What we don't know

Beyond those details, there's a lot we still don't know:

When the park will open. Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an interview with CNBC that it typically takes approximately 18 months to two years to design plus five years to build a park, but noted Disney wasn't making any commitments on timing at the moment.

How big the park will be, and how much of it will be indoors. Summer temperatures can climb up to 120° Fahrenheit, so an indoor park would make it a more appealing destination in the hotter months. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and Warner Bros. World are both indoor theme parks.

How much tickets will cost. The United Arab Emirates is known for its lavish displays of wealth, and Disney parks are also known to be pricey — so you might think the two combined could be super expensive. But currently, Abu Dhabi's theme parks are a bit less expensive than their U.S. counterparts.

If current trends hold, the new park might also be slightly less expensive than U.S. Disney parks when it finally debuts. But that's a big if. Construction costs, inflation, exchange rates and other economic factors could all affect the final price. And with several years to go before opening, a lot could change.

How much do other UAE theme park tickets cost?

While Disney is still far from revealing pricing for tickets to the Abu Dhabi resort, we looked at other theme parks in the United Arab Emirates to see how the prices compared to U.S. prices.

Take SeaWorld and Legoland, two brands that operate parks both in the U.S. and in the UAE (Legoland Dubai is about a 45-minute drive from Yas Island). NerdWallet analyzed base, one-day adult ticket prices for sale online in May 2025 and found that tickets to their UAE locations are consistently cheaper. We converted the UAE prices in dirhams to USD for comparison.

While the price differences aren’t massive, they’re noticeable — especially for families buying multiple tickets.

There's also the Big Mac Index, a metric developed by The Economist to compare purchasing power parity around the globe. As of January 2025, a Big Mac costs just 18 dirhams (about $4.90) in the UAE, compared to $5.79 in the U.S. That means a UAE Big Mac is 15% cheaper than one in the U.S. — a proxy suggesting goods and services (like theme park admission, food and lodging) could cost less in the UAE.

Still, the dollar might not stretch as far in the UAE as in some other countries, like Japan, which ranks on NerdWallet’s list of cheap places to travel in 2025 and is home to two Disney theme parks.

Don’t forget the flight — but points can help

Of course, Abu Dhabi is a long-haul trip for most Americans — about 7,000 miles and 13 hours in the air from New York. That’s not a weekend getaway like Disneyland or Disney World.

But airfare might not be a dealbreaker if you’re strategic.

For starters, there are many options for getting there. The planned Disney theme park in the UAE is close to two major airports. Combined, they make up the world’s largest global airline hub with 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year.

Here’s how you might fly to the UAE using points:

• American Airlines AAdvantage: Use miles to book flights on Etihad, with off-peak award pricing from the U.S. to the Middle East starting at 35,000 miles one-way in economy.

• Capital One miles: Transfer Capital One miles to partners like Etihad Guest or Flying Blue (KLM/Air France), both of which frequently run promotions to the Middle East.

• Chase Ultimate Rewards®: Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® to Emirates Skywards and book flights from JFK to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, especially if you time it during award sales. Emirates famously has among the fanciest business and first class offerings (certain aircraft even have showers with heated floors), but even Emirates premium economy is quite luxurious.

And once you’re there, lodging might not break the bank either. Abu Dhabi offers a robust selection of points-friendly hotels, including Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt properties.

(Top image courtesy of The Walt Disney Company and Miral)