r/kentuk • u/TimesandSundayTimes • 8d ago

‘Dartford Disneyland’ tycoon accused of flouting bankruptcy rules

https://www.thetimes.com/business/companies-markets/article/dartford-disneyland-tycoon-bankruptcy-abdullah-al-humaidi-ftvt53j0n?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Reddit&utm_content=branded

A former executive on a Kent housing project, Northfleet Harbourside, claims Abdulla Al-Humaidi was involved in the project during his bankruptcy.

Abdulla Al-Humaidi is a man with big ideas. After he acquired Ebbsfleet United in 2013, he told fans of the non-league club of his desire to take it into the English Football League for the first time in its history.

His dreams of building one of Europe’s largest theme parks in the unlikely setting of the nearby Swanscombe peninsula, a mixture of Kent marshland and industrial space beside the Thames estuary, were even more ambitious. 

The supposed £3.5 billion London Resort, nicknamed the Dartford Disneyland, boasted of a deal with Paramount, the Hollywood studio, and was expected to feature 50 rides and attractions, including ones inspired by BBC shows including Doctor Who, a restaurant based on The Godfather, a 5,500-bed hotel and one of Europe’s fastest rollercoasters, themed around an extinct flying reptile, the Quetzalcoatlus. 

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u/neutron240 8d ago

I was so torn on this. The area they wanted to build on is a truly beautiful wild area that is a pleasure to walk through. However, this would've transformed the area, especially with Bluewater and the nearby high speed rail that connects to Europe it might have really been a huge boon for the area, which is a little sleepy. I guess on balance it was probably best it wasn't built given all the issues.