Marvel in Dubai

[Tom Morrow]

Disney licenses Marvel characters for Dubai them park

Disney to introduce Marvel characters in Middle East theme park Los Angeles Times Disney plans to introduce the Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man and other Marvel characters in a theme-park setting for the first time since acquiring the comic book company in 2009. The Marvel Adventure family entertainment center is expected to open in late 2013 in the United Arab Emirates with superhero-themed attractions, restaurants and shops. The eight-acre indoor mini theme park will be part of the $5-billion City of Arabia entertainment, commercial and residential development in Dubailand. Disney, for its part, is taking an arms-length approach to the project. The corporate parent of Marvel has gone to great lengths to make clear that the Dubai project is strictly a licensing agreement not involving Disney theme parks or Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of the company. Marvel Adventure was designed by Los Angeles-based Rethink Attractions for Dubai-based IMG Group. by Brady MacDonald complete article

Submitted by Ezra

[Ezra]

I'm going to take this as a sign that Disney has no interest in Imagineering projects of their own in the Middle East. If they did, this licensing arrangement would be in conflict — just like the Florida situation. (Disney can't bring Marvel to Walt Disney World, because there's already a pre-Disney licensing deal with Universal Orlando.) Disney would avoid this kind of potential conflict if they had any interest in the Middle East. So, no Dubai Disneyland.