Disney’s theme park announcement in Abu Dhabi will most certainly have house hunters and investors in the U.A.E capital saying “Yas.”
Yas Island, that is.
The roughly 10-square-mile man-made landmass in the Arabian Sea got a massive boost when Disney announced its first theme park in the Middle East, Disneyland Abu Dhabi.
When it opens, in 2032 or 2033, it’ll be Disney’s seventh theme park—joining international locations like Paris and Tokyo—and experts say the attraction will undoubtedly raise both demand and home prices for a part of Abu Dhabi that was already on the rise.
“Right now all the talk is about Disney,” said Ali Ishaq, head of Savills’s Abu Dhabi office. “Everybody looks like Mickey Mouse.”
Prices and Housing Stock
The news already has Yas Island homeowners feeling lucky, as asking prices began to rise in the days following the Disney announcement in early May.
“Overnight it’s already changed,” Ishaq said. “Some things jumped 10%, that’s just from the announcement day. That’s not including anything that’s still coming.”
For instance, major developer Aldar seized on the news less than two weeks later as it launched sales of the forthcoming Waldorf Astoria Residences Yas, a collection of 133 furnished apartments. Units hit the market on May 22 with a starting price of AED 3.8 million (US$1.03 million).
Housing on the island spans both villas and apartments, but the luxury segment—such as the Waldorf-branded project—is still very much under development, Ishaq said.
Despite the buzz, luxury homes on Yas Island are still a value compared to high-gloss Dubai, which has one of the strongest super-luxury segments of any major city in the world.
“There’s a small luxury villa market,” based around the island’s two golf resorts, centrally located Yas Acres Golf & Country Club and the waterfront Yas Links Abu Dhabi, he added.
The average Yas Island home (excluding off-plan deals) sold for AED 1,461 per square foot in the first quarter of this year, 19% higher than the Abu Dhabi average, according data provided by Haider Tuaima, managing director and head of real estate research at firm ValuStrat.
“Notably, five years ago, prices on Yas Island were well below AED 1,000 per square foot,” Tuaima said. Yas Island accounted for more than one-fourth of all home sales, excluding off-plan, in Abu Dhabi at the start of this year, surging from only 4% of the city’s deals just five years ago.
Who Lives There
Foreigners have played an outsized role in driving the boom on Yas Island. Buyers there were once split evenly between local Emiratis and foreigners, Ishaq said, but now expats and foreign investors account for about 70% to 75% of demand.
Investors who buy to rent or hold units looking for future upside play a large role across the U.A.E. About half of Yas Island buyers are investors, though that is likely to increase as people look to capitalize on Disney’s future resort.
“Investment might overtake end use,” Ishaq said.
Amenities and Lifestyle
Indeed, Yas Island was already Abu Dhabi’s leisure hot spot, which the government specifically designed as a tourism megaproject. It’s chock-full of attractions, hosting the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009.
Fittingly, Ferrari World, a racecar-themed amusement park, is also located on Yas Island in addition to a SeaWorld theme park and aquarium and a large water park. There’s also a major mall on the island, as well a marina and bay for boating and water sports.
Celebrity residents have yet to make a splashy move to Yas Island the way stars, like soccer icon Neymar, have bought in Dubai. However, the largest indoor performance venue in the U.A.E., the Etihad Arena, is located on Yas Island and regularly hosts A-listers on its stage, from Blackpink to Guns N’ Roses.
And perhaps the afterparty held for Disney foreshadows the kind of star power the brand might have for Yas Island. A random assortment of big-name actors and models came to celebrate the theme park announcement, including Naomi Campbell, “Gossip Girl” actor Ed Westwick and Lebanese superstar Nancy Ajram, according to a news release from Disney’s local partner, Abu Dhabi-based Miral.
Outlook
“Everything that used to happen in Dubai, it’s now coming to Abu Dhabi,” much of it centered around Yas Island, Ishaq said.
The existing leisure and event venues have already fueled demand for housing on the island from workers to investors and tourists, Tuaima added. “The upcoming Disney Resort is expected to further amplify this demand, particularly within the hospitality sector,” he said.
For a detailed perspective on the property market, visit: Dubai - VPI Residential Capital Values - May 2025
