Disney Plans To Build Park In Abu Dhabi

In 2022, Disney drew a cultural battle line in Florida over what was dubiously branded the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Critics, fueled by activist spin and amplified by legacy media, painted Governor Ron DeSantis as a jackbooted authoritarian silencing gay Americans — a claim that collapsed under even the slightest scrutiny. The actual legislation was a modest and focused piece of law that empowered parents, removed sexually explicit content from elementary school libraries, and rightly shielded children from gender ideology in the classroom.

But the facts didn’t matter. Disney executives and their media properties went all-in against the bill, treating it like an existential threat to human rights. ESPN hosts held awkward moments of silence. Corporate statements flowed with buzzwords about “inclusivity” and “standing with the LGBTQIA+ community.” Disney, we were told, was a righteous warrior for progressive causes.

Statement from The Walt Disney Company on signing of Florida legislation: pic.twitter.com/UVI7Ko3aKS

— The Walt Disney Company (@WaltDisneyCo) March 28, 2022

Fast forward to 2025, and the mask has completely fallen.

The same Disney now preparing to open its first new theme park in 15 years — not in California, not in France, but in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. A nation where homosexuality is criminalized, where same-sex relations can land someone in prison for over a decade, and where cross-dressing or being transgender can result in prosecution and imprisonment. The very people Disney claimed to defend in Florida would face state-sanctioned punishment simply for existing in this new “magical” location.

Where are the moments of silence now?

Today during the Women’s NCAA Tournament, ESPN’s Carolyn Peck and Courtney Lyle remained silent for two minutes in opposition of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

“There are things bigger than basketball … Our LGBTQIA+ teammates at Disney asked for our solidarity and support.” pic.twitter.com/d0xISZvNUh

— The Recount Alt (@therecountalt) March 18, 2022

This move makes clear that Disney’s opposition to the Florida bill was never about principle. It was always about posturing, about signaling allegiance to a cultural agenda that had little to do with parental rights or children’s safety and everything to do with attacking DeSantis. It was convenient politics dressed up as moral urgency.

And now, that manufactured urgency is outmatched by a new, more pressing imperative: profit. Disney isn’t launching in Abu Dhabi because the UAE has suddenly become a beacon of tolerance. It’s doing so because there’s money to be made. Lots of it. And when the choice is between progressive posturing in the West and billions in Gulf state investment, Disney’s moral compass conveniently recalibrates.

A whole new world awaits Disney and Miral have announced an agreement to create the seventh Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi. https://t.co/Z3II42opKF #YasIsland #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/7MskZjXuvz

— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) May 7, 2025

This is more than hypocrisy — it’s corporate cowardice. Disney’s executives will thread the needle, praising Abu Dhabi’s “rich culture” while staying conveniently silent on the brutal treatment of the very groups they claim to champion. Their LGBTQ-friendly branding stops at the water’s edge.

They never cared about protecting gay kids in Florida. They cared about pushing a narrative. They don’t care about oppression in the Middle East. They care about expansion opportunities. What’s left is a soulless contradiction: a company that champions drag queen story hour at home and builds castles in countries where those same drag queens would be imprisoned.

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