Miral and Warner Bros. confirmed three Harry Potter lands for Abu Dhabi on Sept. 7, totaling 678,000 square feet and targeting 2029. One of them has never been built as a standalone land anywhere.
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is building three Harry Potter lands: Diagon Alley, Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest.
Miral and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences made it official on Sept. 7, with the three lands spanning roughly 63,000 square meters, or 678,000 square feet, and construction targeted for completion in 2029.
The Forbidden Forest is the one that has never been done this way.
Nobody has built the Forbidden Forest as its own land
It has appeared plenty of times. Never as a land.
At Universal Orlando, the forest is the setting for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, where riders encounter Fluffy, Cornish Pixies, a centaur and Blast-Ended Skrewts. But that is a ride inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Hogsmeade, not a separate area.
Universal Studios Hollywood went further this spring with Forbidden Forest: Search for the Hippogriff, an interactive walkthrough built for Universal Fan Fest Nights. Guests followed a Hogwarts professor in, cast spells and ran into Acromantula, Devil’s Snare and Cornish Pixies.
That ran 12 nights, April 23 through May 16, and then it was gone.
Abu Dhabi’s version is permanent. Attractions Magazine made the point first, and it holds up against the record.
The project tripled in size
This started as one land.
When Warner Bros. Discovery and Miral first revealed the Harry Potter project in 2022, the plan was a single extensive themed area. Four years later it is three connected lands.
Miral says the Potter expansion, combined with the previously announced Kryptonite Collider and Superman Up and Away DC attractions, adds about 70,000 square meters of park space and grows Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi by more than 50 percent.
The park opened in 2018 and already holds six lands: Warner Bros. Plaza, Bedrock, Dynamite Gulch, Cartoon Junction, Gotham City and Metropolis.
What rides are going in?
Unknown, and that is the frustrating part.
Miral confirmed the lands will carry world-exclusive Harry Potter rides built only for Abu Dhabi rather than versions ported from Universal parks. No names, no ride systems, no storylines, no attraction count.
The official Warner Bros. World site says more details are coming.
One clue surfaced early. A promotional video released ahead of the announcement featured the flying Ford Anglia, which points toward an attraction recreating the Whomping Willow and the giant spider sequence from Chamber of Secrets.
How did this leak before the announcement?
A construction permit.
Forbes reported that a government-issued permit described the work as a proposed expansion comprising a Harry Potter Diagon Alley, a Harry Potter castle, a Harry Potter ride and a forest. That document, plus aerial coverage from local theme park watchers, had the outline public before Miral confirmed anything.
Official Harry Potter social channels then posted the confirmation directly.
Does this mean Universal is losing Harry Potter?
No, and that is worth being clear about.
Universal continues operating its Wizarding World lands in the United States and abroad. Nothing in the Abu Dhabi announcement changes that.
What it does mean is that Harry Potter theme park attractions will exist outside Universal’s network for the first time in roughly 16 years. Warner Bros. owns the property, and it is now building with a different partner in a different market.
Warner Bros. World is entirely indoor and climate-controlled, which is not a footnote in Abu Dhabi. It also means the theming runs floor to ceiling in a way outdoor parks cannot manage.
Three years out, with no ride names and a 2029 target, the only safe prediction is that the date moves. Theme park timelines usually do.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Miral and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences (Sept. 7, 2026), the official announcement, the land names, the square footage and the 2029 target
Attractions Magazine (September 2026), the Forbidden Forest precedent research including the Hagrid’s setting and the Universal Fan Fest Nights walkthrough dates
Forbes (Sept. 1, 2026), the construction permit description and the Ford Anglia promotional video
Inside the Magic (September 2026), the 2022 single-land origin and the 70,000 square meter combined expansion figure
Main St. Magic (Sept. 7, 2026), the existing six lands and the indoor park context
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