Shanghai Disneyland

[peaches magee]

Looks like it could be a go?

Shanghai, China appears to be Disney's next stomping grounds for the theme park business. The long rumored Disneyland theme park deal is said to be weeks away from being officially announced.

The deal is two decades in the making, and while Disney spokeswoman in Hong Kong, Alannah Hall-Smith, says that there is "no deal, no announcement", there are some Shanghai officials that say they are just waiting on a final approval from leaders in Beijing.

This is the perfect economic climate to introduce such a large scale project, which will give a boost to both parties involved.

Having a theme park in Shanghai will also equate to Disney media in Shanghai. China limits foreign films brought into the country, so television is the way to go for Disney to gain maximum exposure. They could possibly get a channel there, which would work out to more Disneyland visitors as well as merchandise sales.

The new park will most likely be located near the Pudong International Airport.

Locals seem excited for the new development, but are wondering if the plans will ever come to fruition. Qigan's 52-year-old chief, Kang, said, "We sincerely hope and welcome Disney to come to our village. If Disney won't come, just let us know. But just don't keep us suspended for so long again."

Source: MagicalMountain.net

 

[kirby_is_kyaan]

It seems kinda dumb to put another Disney park in the same country... wait until Hong Kong Disneyland's park is bigger, like when it gets Frontierland and whatever else is in the works, as well as some good E-ticket attractions. It'll just kill attendance there to have all the mainland Chinese being able to go to a much closer park rather than at least considering making the trip to Hong Kong. However, it'll still be some nice news if they do something really unique here.

 

[peaches magee]

I know seems strange but China is a huge market for them I guess.
I heard, while it is small, Hong Kong Disneyland is a gorgeous park.

 

[Jakemeister]

It's because it is another sprawling country and Hong Kong is about a 6 hour flight away from Shanghai. Besides Shanghai is the largest city in China so attendance probably be through the roof.

 

[peaches magee]

Amen... China is HUGE.

 

[Jakemeister]

Amen... China is HUGE.

Pretty freaking much. It's HUGE!!

 

[kirby_is_kyaan]

I just think they should wait until HKDL really hits its stride, you know? Was Tokyo still a fledgling resort when Disneyland Paris was announced?

Whatever, it is true that China's a big country. At the very least, it will provide some more jobs for the area.

 

[RocknGuitar]

Hey, the more Disney, the better! Sure, HKDL is not doing as well as projected, but good things can happen overnight. Great things take a while. As is the case with HKDL. It's already a brand-spanking new and beautiful park, just take a look around the net for yourself. Sure it's lacking some E-Tickets... but once again...in time. If this Shanghai Disney comes to fruition, and it features some Disney-Style creativity that we've some to expect from some of their foreign parks e.g. DisneySea, this could be a really cool Disney location to visit...

 

[Jakemeister]

My question/observation is why would you announce/build a multimillion dollar theme park in a recession. A Global Recession at that. China is going o have a worse recession than America so why there in particular.

 

[kirby_is_kyaan]

I heard on a podcast that it was just a rumor that was denied by Disney but confirmed by a bunch of companies in China that say they're working on it... so there's no guarantee it's true, or Disney's just trying to cover it up until it's officially announced.

 

[RocknGuitar]

I don't think Disney would actively be trying to cover it up if they were going to actively release it sooner or later. If Disney denies it... then I doubt there will be a Shanghai Disney. Plus what Jake said. Although Disney can deal with that...

 

[Jakemeister]

I don't think Disney would actively be trying to cover it up if they were going to actively release it sooner or later. If Disney denies it... then I doubt there will be a Shanghai Disney. Plus what Jake said. Although Disney can deal with that...

Companies cover these type of things up all the time. I'm going to keep an eye on this because it could go either way.

 

[peaches magee]

An update...

Disney, China Agree To Build Theme Park In Shanghai
19 January 2009


After years of talks, Chinese officials and the Walt Disney Company have finalized an agreement on a theme park deal in Shanghai.

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng says Shanghai authorities and the Walt Disney Company agree to build the first Disneyland theme park on China's mainland.

The project is estimated at over $3.5 billion and is scheduled to open in 2014. The first phase of building reportedly covers one and a half square kilometers, out of a total of ten square kilometers earmarked for the park in the southeast suburbs of Shanghai's Pudong area.


Disney executive vice president Bill Ernest dresses in traditional Chinese jacket to celebrate the Lunar New Year with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in Hong Kong Disneyland (file photo)
Disney would own 43 percent of Shanghai Disneyland, while a joint-venture company owned by the local government would own 57 percent. This arrangement would be similar to the Hong Kong Disneyland that opened in 2005. The local Hong Kong government owns a 57 percent stake in that park.

Many analysts have said the attendance figures for Hong Kong Disneyland indicate the park is underperforming. But the chief economist at the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce, David O'Rear, thinks those assessments were based on unrealistic expectations. He says there is room for a Disney park on the mainland.

"Well, it is the biggest growing consumer market in the world and it's one that is grossly under served by Disney type projects or any theme parks of the international stature," O'Rear said.

Shanghai Mayor Han says the municipal government started thinking of a Shanghai Disneyland more than a decade ago. O'Rear says when the Hong Kong theme park was announced almost ten years ago, there was speculation Hong Kong was in competition with Shanghai for the project.

O'Rear says Hong Kong Disneyland was announced in during a financially difficult time for the city.

"For Hong Kong it was something that was announced during a time of great economic crisis, so it did provide a confidence boost," O'Rear said.

Final implementation of Shanghai Disneyland still requires approval by the State Council, China's chief administrative authority chaired by the Premier Wen Jiabao.

Source: VOANews.com

 

[Sal]

Thats great news so far!!!

 

[Jakemeister]

That is really good news. If it wasn't for being in China I would probably go. I'm still baffled as why you would announce in a recession though...

 

[kirby_is_kyaan]

Hopefully some unique things will come out, right now it's too early to tell, even if it's good news for a theme park fanatic.

 

[StarTrekGeek]

Bringing back this thread, here are some updates from Screamscape:

Park News - (2/7/11) The early word is that Disney may be ready to finally pull back the curtain on Shanghai Disneyland in early to mid April where a official groundbreaking ceremony will take place for the media.
(1/20/11) According to this report a Shanghai official has confirmed that the long term plan for the resort is to open three separate theme parks at the resort. While nothing has been set in stone, they are currently said to be planning them out as their own versions of Epcot and Animal Kingdom, though a lot can change between now and when they start work on them.
The resort will also feature it’s own special Metro line to get guests into the parks by 2015.
(1/18/11) According to the details listing for this job opening at Disney, they are looking for someone who will be involved with “the design, development, construction, and turnover phases of the two hotels associated with the Shanghai Disney Resort.” So right from the Mouse’s mouth... we now know there will be at least two official Disney Resort Hotels in the Shanghai Disney Resort when it opens.
(1/12/11) Screamscape sources believe that we could see an announcement about Shanghai Disneyland this Spring. The access roads to the property are now slated to be complete by mid April with full construction on the park property to begin in May. They announcement is still being held back while the final terms are being negotiated between Disney and the government regarding budgets and who is paying for what.

(1/6/11) The latest news reports mention that the major construction for Shanghai Disneyland could start this May. Two main access roads to the site are currently under construction and are expected to be complete by April, which will allow proper access to the main resort site. The article also mentions that a fake 60 wide river will be built, and at 10 km in length, will surround the entire resort site.

EDIT: Here's an update back in October from the Theme Park Guy:

http://www.thethemeparkguy.com/park/shanghai-disneyland/

 

[StarTrekGeek]

From Screamscape:

Park News - (2/21/11) According to Disney and More the small mountain looking structure in the artwork for Shanghai Disneyland may very well be a new version of Pirates of the Caribbean. The popular theory, which I’ve heard elsewhere as well, is that the modernized version of Pirates, based entirely off the film series and not the old classic ride, that was designed once for Hong Kong Disneyland may very well be built in Shanghai as one of the premier E-Ticket rides.
Back when it was being served up for Hong Kong the ride had been nicknamed, “Splash Pirates” by a few insides, since the ride system would feature a few large thrilling drops along the way as well that were more in line with the drops on Splash Mountain that what you would see on the American “Pirates” attractions. The Hong Kong plans also left room for a Louisiana style swamp themed land next door to the ride, which was said to contain an all new version of a Haunted Mansions style ride experience, but with a story that would tap into the Pirates story as well. Could all this now be part of Disneyland Shanghai? It certainly would fit the bill of serving up something quite a bit different in this latest version of the Magic Kingdom. Plus it would only make sense in a way to tie any new ride version of Pirates into the films series and less into the original ride story, which isn’t as familiar to the Chinese people as the new films would be.
(2/18/11) I’m not entirely certain, but this seems to be an early but vague piece of concept artwork for Shanghai Disneyland (see below). With the official groundbreaking getting closer, a few early rumors about the park itself are starting to come in. Though in every case, it has been pointed out that the design is still pretty fluid, with very few things locked down.
What has been made clear to me however is that this will likely not be your standard Magic Kingdom style park. While it is still expected to have a classic “hub” style layout the “Lands” themselves will likely not be what anyone expects. The plan is for this park to act as a complimentary experience to the Hong Kong park and not a copy, so expect Shanghai Disneyland to offer new lands and new experiences.
That said, about the closest thing I have to a near-guarenteed land would be one designed to make use of Disney’s newest license, the Marvel comics universe. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Marvel Superhero Land take the place of a Tomorrowland. I’ve also got to wonder if the park may still have a Frontierland as one was designed but eventually cut from Hong Kong, but could be brought back for Shanghai. Just some ideas to think about.

 

[StarTrekGeek]

From Screamscape:

Park News - (3/9/11) Disney and More has posted a graphic showing off the official resort plan for Disneyland Shanghai Resort layout. The giant central lake, where the hotels will go, parking lots, public transit, roads and, of course, the theme park itself, as well as the large open space left for future expansion. According to the rest of the article, the plan also includes an interesting giant fake river that will surround the entire Disney property like a huge moat.

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2011/03/shanghai-disneyland-blueprint-unveiled_08.html

 

[StarTrekGeek]

From Screamscape:

Park News - (3/30/11) I’ve heard a quiet rumor suggesting that a major announcement regarding Shanghai Disneyland may take place sometime late next week.
(3/18/11) For anyone still wondering if Disney may drop their new Marvel characters into a new special land at Shanghai Disneyland, I’m told that there are no plans for this on the table right now. While everyone is still curious to see just what Disney may be planning for these characters, China just isn’t the right market to try it out.
(3/17/11) According to one Screamscape contact, the ‘moat’ seen surrounding the Shanghai Disney resort area on that leaked map image will very likely not be built. According to this source, that map image is old and the man-made perimeter river has long since been cut from the plan.
(3/16/11) With all the problems in Japan, which has forced the closure of the Disney Tokyo Resort parks, it’s rumored that the upcoming official announcement showcasing Shanghai Disneyland may be delayed for a little longer.
In other news, check out the latest update at Disney & More to see exactly what that large square ‘moat’ around the entire Shanghai Disneyland Resort area is supposed to visually represent to the Chinese people. It’s an interesting concept for sure, as you will see it looks very similar to the moat around the Forbidden City, making the resort property seem like it’s very own royal kingdom.