Abu Dhabi to build first Harry Potter land featuring both Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley

Construction permits show Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi will become the only theme park globally to host full-scale replicas of both Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley — and the first not operated by Universal Studios

Abu Dhabi is set to become home to the first Harry Potter-themed land in the world to feature both a replica of Hogwarts Castle and the wizarding shopping street Diagon Alley within the same park.

Government-issued construction permits cited by Forbes reportedly reveal that the new attraction will form part of a major expansion of Warner Bros. World on Yas Island. The park, which opened in 2018 as the world’s largest indoor theme park at 153,000 square metres, is expected to increase its footprint by about 26 per cent.

The documents describe a “proposed G 1 Superman coaster and harry potter Diagon Alley, proposed B G 2 Harry potter Castle, proposed G Harry potter Ride and Fores.” The latter is widely understood to refer to the Forbidden Forest location from the films.

The development will mark the seventh Potter-themed park worldwide, but the first not operated by Universal Studios. Universal secured theme park rights under a 2007 licensing agreement with Warner Bros. and has since built Wizarding World attractions at its resorts in Orlando, Hollywood, Japan and Beijing.

At Universal’s Florida resort, Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley are split across two separate parks. Earlier plans for Universal Beijing had suggested combining both areas in one location, but those designs were not implemented. The Abu Dhabi expansion will therefore be the first confirmed instance of both iconic settings coexisting within a single park.

Construction is already under way. Images published on Themeparx show signage for the “Warner Bros. World Phase 2 Expansion” alongside a QR code linking to a permit from the Department of Municipalities and Transport. The permit lists Egis Middle East Engineering as consultant and Zublin Construction as contractor, with themed entertainment specialist TAIT named as creative consultant.

In addition to the Potter land, the expansion will include a roller coaster themed to Warner’s DC Comics character Superman. Barriers around the site feature the logo of LexCorp, the fictional company run by Superman’s adversary Lex Luthor, and the park’s existing 360-degree Superman show has closed.

The project is expected to cost between $545 million and $816 million, according to Middle East business publication, MEED.

The Harry Potter franchise remains one of the most commercially powerful entertainment properties globally. More than 600 million books have been sold, the eight films grossed $9.7 billion collectively, and the most recent video game generated $850 million in its first two weeks. Warner is also rebooting the series for an HBO television adaptation.

It remains unclear whether Abu Dhabi’s attractions will be based on the original film cast or the forthcoming television reboot.

Miral chief executive Mohamed Al Zaabi told Al Etihad News in January that further details are due in 2026.

READ MORE: ‘Ryan reynolds appointed ‘CIO’ at Yas Island Resort‘. Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds has been appointed ‘Chief Island Officer’ at Yas Island, the international tourist attraction in Abu Dhabi.

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