Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and the Forbidden Forest: Everything We Know About Abu Dhabi’s Harry Potter Lands
Keep your eyes on the skies, because the Ford Anglia has finally landed. Miral and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences confirmed on September 7 that Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is getting three Harry Potter–themed lands — Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and the Forbidden Forest — with construction targeted for completion in 2029.
When we wrote about this last week, the reporting was split: most outlets had the three land names from official social channels, while The National insisted locally that nothing had been named and those areas came from planning documents. We said to treat the names as likely but unconfirmed until Monday. Monday has arrived, and the names hold up.
The scale is the surprise. The project was announced in 2022 as a single themed land, and construction that began in 2025 was reported as a roughly 40,000 square metre expansion. The confirmed build is considerably bigger: the three Potter lands alone cover about 63,000 square metres (678,000 square feet), and the wider expansion adds around 70,000 square metres of new space to the region’s largest indoor theme park on Yas Island.
The three lands
Warner Bros. hasn’t released a ride-by-ride breakdown, but it has now published a short description and a first look at each of the three lands. The names alone are a milestone: no theme park anywhere has ever put Hogwarts Castle, Diagon Alley and the Forbidden Forest under one roof. At Universal Orlando, seeing Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley means visiting two separate parks and buying a park-to-park ticket. The Forbidden Forest has turned up in walkthroughs and touring experiences, but has never had a permanent theme park land of its own.
Diagon Alley
The park describes it as a legendary wizarding street “filled with magic, mischief, and untold surprises.” Diagon Alley currently exists as a theme park land only at Universal Studios Florida, which makes Abu Dhabi just the second park in the world to build one.
Hogwarts Castle
Billed as the school of witchcraft and wizardry holding “more secrets than you might expect.” A castle has anchored every Hogsmeade land Universal has built — Orlando, Hollywood, Osaka and Beijing — though not its Diagon Alley or Ministry of Magic lands, which sit elsewhere in the wizarding world. Earlier reporting had the castle pegged as the centrepiece in Abu Dhabi too.
The Forbidden Forest
An ancient woodland where, in the park’s words, “not everything is meant to be seen.” This is the real first: the Forbidden Forest has never been given its own permanent land at any theme park in the world.
The official FAQ confirms all three lands will feature world-exclusive Harry Potter rides created only for Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, plus themed dining and retail. Ride names, ride types and attraction details are all still under wraps.
Where things stand
- Lands: Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest
- Size: roughly 63,000 sqm (678,000 sqft)
- Location: Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, Yas Island — fully indoor and climate-controlled
- Construction target: 2029
- Opening date: not announced
- Operator: Miral, in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences
- Already open: a Harry Potter retail space, converted this year from the park’s Treasures of Hollywood store
That 2029 figure is worth reading precisely. The park’s own wording is that “construction of the new Harry Potter-themed lands is targeted for completion in 2029” — a construction target, not an opening date. The two are not the same thing, and Warner Bros. World has not announced when guests will actually walk in.
The Potter lands are part of a larger buildout that also includes two previously announced DC attractions, Kryptonite Collider and Superman Up and Away. Together they grow the park by more than 50 percent, adding around 70,000 square metres of new space to the six lands already there.
Why this one is different
Every other Wizarding World land on the planet — Orlando, Hollywood, Japan, Beijing — is operated by Universal, which licensed the theme park rights from Warner Bros. back in 2007. Abu Dhabi will be the first Harry Potter land inside a park with the Warner Bros. name over the door.
It is also the first one indoors. That is primarily a concession to Abu Dhabi’s heat, but it has a happy side effect: scenery that never has to survive sun, wind or rain can be built to a level of detail outdoor parks can’t match.
Miral’s chairman, HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, called the announcement “a significant milestone in the continued evolution of Yas Island and the emirate of Abu Dhabi,” adding that the expansion “underscores our commitment to delivering world-class experiences that inspire, engage, and create lasting memories for visitors and residents for generations to come.”
Simon Robinson, President Global Experiences & Studio Operations at Warner Bros. Discovery, said the project “reflects our long-term vision for immersive entertainment experiences that set new benchmarks for the industry.”
About that flying car
The reveal campaign has leaned hard on one specific piece of lore: Arthur Weasley’s enchanted Ford Anglia, which soars past the park’s water tower in both the September 1 teaser and today’s video. Fans immediately read that as a hint at the flagship ride, and Forbes has reported the car is expected to anchor a thrill attraction recreating the Chamber of Secrets sequence — chasing the Hogwarts Express, tangling with the Whomping Willow, escaping the Acromantulas.
Nothing about a Ford Anglia ride has been officially announced. In fact, Warner Bros. World has added a question to its own FAQ asking whether the Ford Anglia is part of the new lands, and then answered it without mentioning the car at all — just the same line about world-exclusive rides and details coming in future announcements. When a company writes the question itself and still declines to say yes, that is worth noting.
Forbes has also reported that TAIT’s Thinkwell division — the studio behind the Warner Bros. Studio Tours in London and Tokyo — is consulting on the project, and that a designer who worked on it in 2024 described building interactive experiences into each environment. Treat that as credible reporting on a project still years from opening, not a feature list.
What we still don’t know
No opening date. No ride names. No confirmation of a wand-interactivity system. No per-land concept art beyond the single aerial hero image released today. Warner Bros. World is directing fans to register for updates on its official Harry Potter page, and says more will be shared in future announcements.
Looking for more Harry Potter events? Check out our Things to Do page for everything else on the calendar.
Would you make the trip to Abu Dhabi for this? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to follow along for more Harry Potter news.
Source: Forbes
