Universal reportedly close to announcing its first theme park in Saudi Arabia

Two of the biggest American theme park operators are bringing their rivalry to the Middle East.

Within months of the Walt Disney Company and Miral reaching an agreement to build a Disney park in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Wall Street Journal reported exclusively on Sunday that Universal Studios is in “early planning stages” to build a new theme park in Saudi Arabia.

In its report, the WSJ quoted people with knowledge of the matter and said: “The Comcast unit is doing initial concept work for the park, which might be financed by a Saudi government-backed entity as part of a licensing deal with Universal”.

Saudi Arabian officials did not confirm the report to Reuters, and Universal did not respond to the agency’s request for comments.

Universal plans Saudi theme park

Brian Roberts, Comcast’s Chief Executive, was in Saudi Arabia last month for an investment conference and visited the entertainment and sports megaproject Qiddiya, which is being touted as a venue for a possible Universal park.

At the time of his visit, Roberts told Saudi Gazette: “Universal Studios is in the early planning stages of building a new theme park in Saudi Arabia. The project is currently in initial concept work, not yet finalised or under construction… Qiddiya could be the location for such a park.”

Qiddiya will host Six Flags Qiddiya City, the Kingdom’s first theme park, which is scheduled to open on December 31, 2025.

If this holds, Universal will succeed in its plans to enter the Middle East after an earlier agreement with Dubailand fell through in 2009, at the peak of the financial crisis.

Universal, which has theme parks in Orlando, Los Angeles, Singapore, Beijing and Osaka, hasn’t yet completed a deal for the Saudi park, the WSJ added, and said a potential multibillion-dollar project likely wouldn’t be finished until the 2030s. Comcast is aggressively expanding its theme parks business, which has bigger profit margins than other parts of its NBCUniversal media unit. Its Epic Universe park, which opened in May in Orlando, significantly increased its ability to compete with Disney for visitor dollars there, the paper added.