This year, the theme park war between The Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios truly went global. Universal received permission to build a United Kingdom park to rival Disneyland Paris, and both theme park giants announced major projects coming to the Middle East. Disney announced that it is building a new theme park complex in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while Universal recently announced a new project in Saudi Arabia. Credit: DisneyIn both cases in the Middle East, neither Universal nor Disney will own and operate the park; however, both companies will lend their expertise in creating the parks, including their intellectual property, to the new ventures. This gives both companies some creative freedom, while they don’t have to pick up the tab for the parks, but it shows how much these two countries want Disney and Universal to build there. Another Asian country is watching this theme park boom and wants in on it. According to a report by Lifestyle Asia, the government of Thailand is setting aside a large tract of land to build an 80,000-seat stadium that would host major sporting events and concerts, but the staple of the complex would be a significant “Disneyland-style” theme park. Credit: DisneyWhen Disney CEO Bob Iger announced the company’s new project in Abu Dhabi, he mentioned that over 500 million “income qualified” people live within a four-hour flight of the new park. Building in Thailand would put at least that many people within a three-hour flight from the new park. Disney already has theme parks in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, while Universal has parks in Osaka, Japan, Singapore, and Beijing. The concern could be oversaturating the Asian market, but with 60 percent of the world’s population living in Asia, there are enough people to support another park. Credit: Inside The MagicThailand has the world’s 20th largest population, ahead of the United Kingdom and France, both of which have or are getting major theme parks. However, Thailand only has the world’s 31st largest economy. Going in its favor is that Thailand has long been a popular tourist destination, as seen in season 3 of The White Lotus, which was filmed in Koh Samui. Officials believe that a “magnet attraction” like a Disneyland-style theme park could draw investors and tourists to the area outside the nation’s capital, Bangkok. Credit: UniversalCurrently, the Government of Thailand is exploring how to attract Disney or Universal to build a theme park/resort in the country and how to secure funding from investors for the necessary infrastructure projects to support such a park. However, as Disney and Universal have shown, if there’s money to be made and someone else is footing the bill, they might be willing to build another Asian theme park. What do you think about Disney or Universal building a new theme park complex in Thailand? Let us know in the comments. The post Report: Disney and Universal Looking To Expand Their Global Reach as Another Asian Nation Lobbies the Theme Park Giants To Build There appeared first on Inside the Magic.