Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi is the world's largest indoor theme park in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, owned and developed by

Miral Asset Management Miral is a real estate development, management and investment company responsible for the development and management of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. In addition, the company owns and operates Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World Ferrari W ...

at a cost of $1 billion. The park features characters from

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

's franchises, such as

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

, and others. The park is located on

Yas Island Yas Island ( ar, جزيرة ياس) is an island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It occupies a total land area of . It is a popular leisure island and one of the top tourism projects in Abu Dhabi. Yas Island holds the Yas Marina Circuit, wh ...

near

Ferrari World Ferrari World Abu Dhabi ( ar, عالم فيراري أبوظبي) is a mostly indoors theme park located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is the world’s first Ferrari-themed park and features Formula Rossa, the world's fast ...

, Yas Waterworld and CLYMB Abu Dhabi, and is the third Warner Bros.'s theme park. An adjoining

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

is also being built at the center of Yas Island. The park contains 29 rides, and shows.

History

Plans for the park began in 2007, but were halted by the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

. Warner Bros. had signed a development contract with

Aldar Properties Aldar Properties PJSC (شركة الدار العقارية ''Sharikah al-Dār al-`Iqāriyyah'') is a real estate development, management and investment company with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The company's shares are traded ...

in that year. In May 2015, Miral signed the general construction contract with Belgian contractor

Six Construct BESIX Group is a construction group based in Brussels, one of the world's leading international contractors according to the ENR ranking. Active since 1909, BESIX operates in Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, Africa, North America and Asia. Its ...

, thus resuming construction that year. On April 19, 2016, Miral and Warner Bros. announced plans for the park's first phase to open in 2018. Miral announced in February 2017 that ride delivery and installation had begun with many of the 29 rides being tested. On April 25, 2017, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Miral announced that the park was on schedule at 60% completion, and revealed information about its six themed lands. On July 24, 2018, the park was inaugurated by Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE Sheikh

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ( ar, محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم, links=no; ; born 15 July 1949) is the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, vice president, prime minister, and minister of defence of the United Arab Emir ...

, and the then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh

Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( ar, مُحَمّد بِن زَايد آل نَهيَان, Moḥamed bin Zāyed Āl Nahyān; born 11 March 1961), colloquially known by his initials as MBZ, is the third president of the United Arab Emirates ...

now the UAE president. On November 10, 2022, a

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

themed land was announced to be coming to the park.

Design

The theme park is indoor and fully air-conditioned, as is typical of most major theme parks in the region due to the extreme heat in the summer. Standing at 1.65 million square feet, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi was named the world’s largest indoor theme park by Guinness World Records in 2019. The facade features a tower inspired by the iconic

Warner Bros. Water Tower The Warner Bros. Water Tower is a historic water tower located at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Built in 1927, it stands tall. The tank, which had a capacity of , is no longer used to hold water and has the WB shield on eithe ...

in Burbank, California. The theme park was designed by

Thinkwell Group Thinkwell Group is an experience design and production agency that was founded in 2001 with headquarters in Los Angeles, California. It specializes in the creation and master planning of theme parks, destination resorts, major branded and intelle ...

Layout

Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi features six themed lands; Gotham City, Metropolis, Cartoon Junction, Bedrock, Dynamite Gulch and

Warner Bros. Plaza Warner Bros. Plaza is a themed land at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. The area is inspired by the 1930s Golden Age period of Hollywood and hosts attractions themed to this concept, including The Starlight restaurant, and the Cinema Spectacular ...

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...

and

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

are based on the fictional settings of

super heroes

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

and

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

, respectively, with attractions and live performers featuring costumes based on

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

's character designs. Warner Bros.'s ''

'' and

cartoon libraries are represented in Dynamite Gulch and Cartoon Junction, along with Bedrock, which is themed around

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

. Warner Bros. Plaza is meant to mimic the Hollywood of the past.

Rides

Bedrock

*The Flintstones Bedrock River Adventure

Dynamite Gulch

Fast and Furry-ous ''Fast and Furry-ous'' is a 1949 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on September 17, 1949, and stars Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, in their debut. This wa ...

*The Jetsons Cosmic Orbiter *Marvin the Martian Crater Crashers

Cartoon Junction

* Tom and Jerry: Swiss Cheese Spin *Scooby Doo: The Museum of Mysteries *Cartoon Junction Carousel *Daffy Jet-Propelled Pogo Stick *Tweety Wild Wockets *Ricochet Racin' with Taz *Ani-Mayhem *Acme Factory

Gotham City

*Batman: Knight Flight *Scarecrow Scare Raid *The Riddler Revolution *The Joker Funhouse *Rogues Gallery Games

Metropolis

*Justice League Warworld Attacks *Green Lantern: Galactic Odyssey *Superman 360: Battle for Metropolis *Teen Titans Training Academy

References

{{BedrockParks Amusement parks in the United Arab Emirates Amusement parks opened in 2018 Indoor amusement parks 2018 establishments in the United Arab Emirates Tourist attractions in Abu Dhabi Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences The Flintstones in amusement parks Scooby-Doo in amusement parks