Three Harry Potter Lands Coming to Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi
Miral and Warner Bros. Discovery reveal three Harry Potter Abu Dhabi lands opening 2029 at Warner Bros. World, with exclusive rides.
Abu Dhabi just had its own Back to Hogwarts moment. Miral and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences confirmed today that Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is getting not one, not two, but three new Harry Potter-themed lands: Diagon Alley, Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest. Combined, they’ll span roughly 63,000 square meters (about 678,000 square feet) of the world’s largest indoor theme park, with construction targeted for completion in 2029.
If you’ve been tracking the rumors since the original single land was teased back in 2022, today’s reveal is the good kind of over-correction. What was expected to be one themed area has grown into a three-land wizarding world takeover, and Miral says the wider expansion (Potter lands included) will boost the indoor park’s total footprint by more than 50 percent.
Harry Potter Abu Dhabi: What’s Actually Coming
Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and the Forbidden Forest will operate as three connected but distinct lands rather than one combined zone, joining the park’s existing six areas (Warner Bros. Plaza, Bedrock, Dynamite Gulch, Cartoon Junction, Gotham City, and Metropolis). Miral is promising world-exclusive Harry Potter rides built specifically for the Abu Dhabi site rather than ported over from the Universal parks, and since the whole thing is indoor and climate-controlled, expect the kind of elaborate, ceiling-to-floor theming that Warner Bros. World has built its reputation on.
The reveal video leaned hard into one very specific piece of Potter lore: Arthur Weasley’s enchanted flying Ford Anglia, last seen dodging the Hogwarts Express and getting swallowed by the Whomping Willow in Chamber of Secrets. The footage shows the light blue car soaring past the park’s water tower at dusk, and it’s since become the centerpiece of the whole campaign. Reporting out of Abu Dhabi suggests the Anglia won’t just be a mascot moment either. It’s expected to headline its own attraction, something Universal has notably never built despite having six Potter lands of its own to draw from.
For a franchise this heavily merchandised, that’s a genuinely clever gap to fill. Wand shops and Butterbeer carts are basically guaranteed wherever Harry Potter goes. A ride built around a sentient flying car dodging a homicidal tree is not, and it gives Warner Bros. World a reason to exist that isn’t just “Diagon Alley, but in the desert.”
The People Behind the Harry Potter Abu Dhabi Announcement
Miral Group CEO Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi framed the expansion as the fulfillment of a promise made back when Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi first opened its doors in 2018, when Miral leadership and Warner Bros. executives reportedly sat down before the grand opening to map out what would come next for the park. Miral Chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak called the project a milestone for Yas Island’s broader tourism push, tying it to Abu Dhabi’s economic diversification goals.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Simon Robinson, President of Global Experiences and Studio Operations, described the three lands as an extension of the company’s long-term investment in location based entertainment, and said the goal is to deepen the connection between WBD’s franchises and the fans who already show up for them.
Not Just Wizards: DC Is Expanding Too
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands are the headline, but they’re part of a larger buildout at Warner Bros. World that also includes new DC additions. Miral has already been rolling out DC content at the park, including the Kryptonite Collider attraction, and reporting on the broader expansion plan points to a pair of new DC attractions arriving alongside the Wizarding World push. Suggests a pair of new DC attractions will arrive. Between Gotham City, Metropolis, and now an expanded DC lineup, Warner Bros. World is quietly becoming one of the most IP-dense indoor parks on the planet, and that’s before Diagon Alley opens a single shop.
Concept Art and the Fan Reaction
The concept art released alongside the announcement leans into moody, atmospheric wizarding world visuals, including that now famous shot of the Anglia banking over the park at dusk. It’s the kind of image built for social media, and it’s working. Early reactions from Potter fans and theme park accounts have skewed enthusiastic, with plenty of comparisons to Universal’s Wizarding World and genuine excitement over an indoor, exclusive ride lineup that doesn’t exist anywhere else.
Not everyone is fully sold yet. A smaller contingent of fans have pushed back on the concept art itself, questioning whether the renderings capture the same texture and grit Universal’s Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are known for, and whether “world exclusive” attractions can really compete with a decade plus head start elsewhere. It’s a fair question with 2029 still years away and detailed ride specs, capacities and formats still unannounced. For now, all anyone has to go on is a countdown clock, a very good car, and a lot of promises.
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is set to become the first Harry Potter destination operated directly under the Warner Bros. banner rather than through Universal’s license, and the first indoor Wizarding World anywhere. Whether it can match two decades of Universal’s theming pedigree is the question that will define the next three years of construction updates, but a three land buildout with exclusive rides is a serious swing. For more information and to sign up for the latest updates on the Harry Potter-themed lands, please visit: www.wbworldabudhabi.com/en/harry-potter
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