What happened to the proposed Serengeti Disney theme park in Tanzania?

It was touted to be the first ever Disney theme park facility in Africa.

When the project was announced back in November 2019, people behind the concept said the construction works were to begin as early as 2020 and after five or six years, the maiden Disney-like theme Park to be established on the continent, would open gates in Africa.

This global adventure and tourist facility was not to be built in Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria or South-Africa, the most known countries in Africa but the Disney park was to be instituted deep in Tanzania.

And this first continental ‘Disney World,’ theme park was not to be built in either Arusha or Dar-es-salaam, the most famous cities of Tanzania, the rather attractive theme park was set to be erected in Simiyu Region.

During that time the Regional Commissioner of Simiyu was Anthony Mtaka who revealed the plans.

Mtaka, who is now the regional commissioner for Njombe, in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania no longer mentions the project.

The facility was projected to be built at the cost of 6 trillion/- or around USD 2.3 billion/- and once accomplished, the Disney Facility was to totally transform Tanzania and the entire East African tourism industry for keeps.

How he lobbied to have investors behind such a world recognized facility to by-pass Cairo, Nairobi, Arusha and Cape-Town and head straight to Bariadi Simiyu to float the Disney idea is something that the former Simiyu Regional Commissioner, Mtaka, did not explain.

From Kijereshi with theme park love

Anyway, the theme park was to be known as Serengeti Disney and was to be based near the Kijereshi conservancy of Busega District in Simiyu Region.

Located roughly 2.5 kilometers from Lake Victoria shoreline, the Kijereshi Game Reserve covers approximately 66 square kilometers of savanna plains in the Busega and Bariadi Districts of Simiyu.

Gazetted in 1994, Kijereshi Game Reserve is part of Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem which forms an integral part of the Western Corridor for the Great Wildebeest migration.

The proposed Serengeti Disney-esque Park was to be located near Kijereshi, offering visitors the best of two worlds, exciting fantasy adventure and real natural wildlife world. For observers, this would have been a ‘hit.’

The Simiyu commissioner had then explained that a firm from the Republic of Singapore was behind the proposed tourist focused facility.

However, there is no Disney in Singapore though the country boasts a number of other fun theme parks. So, it is possible that what was being built in Tanzania wasn’t exactly part of the popular Disney World facilities but rather something along those lines.

The Presid

The main investor behind the proposed ‘Serengeti Disney,’ was a person named Azhar A. Malik who during that time also visited Tanzania and even toured Simiyu, accompanied by the former Tanzanian ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Ramadhan Dau.

The initial instalment of US$ 500 million was to be floated when the works commenced in 2020.

But the ambitious project never started and fast forward to 2026, the Disney theme park remains an almost forgotten illusion.

Disney with its globally scattered theme parks and widely popular animated films is already a world-famous name and its presence in Tanzania was to further boost the country’s image globally.

The Serengeti facility was announced at the time when Disney rebooted its popular ‘Lion King’ movie in 3D animation with its background setting this time based within the Serengeti, which is Tanzania’s second largest National Park. The film topped charts around the world.

There are a total of 12 Disney theme parks around the globe

These are found in 4 countries, including the United States, China, Japan, and France.

They comprise Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Walt Disney Studios.

Between Disneyland and Walt Disney World, there are six theme parks and two water parks, including Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park in California and Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon Water Park and Blizzard Beach Water Park in Florida.

In addition there are four International Disney Resorts worldwide: Shanghai Disney, Tokyo Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris as well as themed cruise ships.

There are six Disney theme parks within these resorts: Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland in China, Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, and Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park in France.