Credit: DisneyWhen Walt Disney first conceived of EPCOT, he envisioned a work/play/live community completely interconnected by a transit system, allowing residents to park their cars and never use them again. However, after Walt’s death, EPCOT was turned into a theme park, but his transportation system remained with Disney World’s monorail system.
Now, more than 50 years later, parts of Walt’s dream are finally coming true with Disney’s new park coming to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Earlier this week, the UAE announced the new park’s location on Yas Island and its new transportation system.
This week, the Abu Dhabi Transport Company (ADT) announced the development of a tram system that would connect the new Disneyland Park to Zayed International Airport and other local attractions and homes. The tram system will run in a loop, but inside the loop, “pod-like” vehicles will take passengers to destinations within the loop.
The “pod-like” system was used in Paris during the Olympics, but sounds similar to an expanded people mover that runs off a track and can take guests door-to-door for popular attractions and homes. With the heat of Abu Dhabi, the trams and pods will be air-conditioned and are expected to be used frequently. While most of the attractions on Yas Island are within walking distance, the heat makes that impossible.
ADT also unveiled a new map of Yas Island, showing the location of the new Disneyland Park. Miral has pledged $10 billion to build the new indoor park.
Miral will own and operate the new theme park, with Disney providing its intellectual property and Disney Imagineering providing the oversight and creative design. Disneyland will be on the beach on the north end of the island.
The waterfront resort will be located on Yas Island in the UAE. The location was chosen specifically because the UAE is within a four-hour plane ride of one-third of the world’s population and boasts the world’s largest airline hub, with more than 120 million passengers passing through the country annually.
However, some weren’t thrilled with the new park’s location, especially members of the LGBTQ community. The UAE has criminalized homosexuality and banned gender-affirming care.
The new tram system appears to complete Walt’s dream, allowing an Abu Dhabi company to make it happen.
What do you think of the new tram system at Disneyland Abu Dhabi? Let us know in the comments.