Finally, No Marvel Land For HKDL ?

Some news about HKDL and the Marvel Land project which, finally, is not officially a "go"! You might remember that a Hong Kong official revealed some weeks ago that Marvel super heroes will have their own land in the park and that soon HKDL will be the first to have a Marvel land... 

Well, it seems that this announcement was may be premature as last week Tom Staggs apparently said "we've not confirmed anything about it as yet" adding that the Marvel land is only one among others options for future HKDL additions.

Although Disney is walking back the government’s Marvel announcement, The Wall Street Journal reports there’s said to be a “senior-level agreement” in place... however, nothing is probably set in stone yet. Not a big surprise knowing that it took the shareholders more than two years to settle on the $500 million expansion which added Gizzly Gulch, Toy Story Land and Mystic Point to HKDL.

So, where is the truth in all this? May be the chinese tried to force the negotiations with Disney, or may be the deal is already done and we know that Disney really hates to don't be the one doing the official announcement, specially on such an awaited project as can be a Marvel land.

There might be another explanation, more simple. Mystic Manor is not even officially open yet that medias are starting to talk about the future. But if a Marvel land open at HKDL Tomorrowland - and personally i think it will open - the WDC and HKDL certainly don't want anyone in Asia to wait three more years before coming to the park. DLP marketing uses the same strategy and that's why the WDS Ratatouille ride hasn't be announced yet - except during the shareholder meeting - even if all fans know about it.

As Disney CEO Bob Iger said months ago that WDI had begun to work on concepts that would allow Marvel superheroes to appear in “a few places around the world” i'm ready to bet that in Iger mind was included HKDL. Wait and see, so...

Editing: An anonymous reader has left this comment to the article: 
"There was no "Marvel land" to begin with. All they were going to do was the most cheap/uninteresting option: drop a single Marvel-themed ride into Tomorrowland (not that that makes any sense). And the ride would just be Star Tours redressed to be about the Avengers. Unimaginative and uninspiring."

I double checked and It seems that the info above is true. And i have to agree, too, that there is not much space left in HKDL Tomorrowland, so 1 or 2 ride will eventually fit well, but a real land, no way! If Marvel is going to be a mini land at HKDL Tomorrowland, then the rides part would be just as big as Toy Story Land's rides... Which means that may be the Marvel land or "mini-land" deal is finally not done yet and may be Disney would prefer to keep anything Marvel for HKDL second gate where they will have plenty of room for a "real" Marvel land... 

( end of editing ) 

 A little news now about Shanghaî Disneyland and this one is about the infrastructure of the area leading to the future park as Shanghaî Daily has announced that "Shanghaî will begin building the last section of the Middle Ring Road in the Pudong New Area this year, which will better handle traffic anticipated with the opening of the Shanghai Disneyland in 2015, officials said yesterday.

The new elevated highway, costing more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.62 billion), is being built between the Jungong Road Tunnel and Gaoke Road M. It will be finished in 2015 to make the Middle Ring Road a complete, ring-shaped highway.

The 9.4-kilometer section will have two decks with four lanes on each deck, which should help prevent traffic jams, said Shang Housheng, an official with the Shanghai Construction and Transport Commission.

"The new section will not only improve the traffic conditions in middle Pudong, but also make it easier for large groups of visitors to move to and from Disneyland in the future," Shang said."

See you tomorrow for more news coming from Asia!

Picture: copyright Disney - Marvel

WDI Flying Dragon : Here is how the illusion will work at its best

I'd like to take a minute or two to come back to this amazing animated flying dragon which was seen recently above the Shafter-Minter Field airport in California, during one of its top-secret flight. Everybody did immediately the link with the WDI patent below, and there is no doubt that both are linked.



But many also thought instantly to the upcoming Avatar land at Animal Kingdom and it's indeed reasonable to think that this flying dragon has been created for a use in the Avatar land. Except that the dragon will probably need to be slightly rethemed to have the perfect look of Avatar creatures as, as you can see below, the dragon with its design is not totally identical to Avatar “Ikrans”...



Then John frost of the Disney Blog in one of his recent posts said that the dragon could very well be used during Shanghaî Disneyland grand opening celebrations, and i think John got a good point here. He's definitely right, specially considering how important the dragon is in chinese mythology.

But there is still something bothering me in this flying dragon. Don't get me wrong, i think WDI latest invention is great. If they succeed to have an animated flying dragon, and one who is breathing fire every guest will be amazed. But, still, there is something which will avoid the illusion to "work" totally. What, you ask? Have a look at the picture below. You got it, it's the kite over it . The huge fan behind the pilot can eventually become invisible from a distance, and the sound of it be covered by the sound of the show, but seeing this huge kite over the dragon obviously destroy the illusion.



So, how could they do it? My guess is that the illusion will work well with a use during night shows only. The kite could have a black color instead of white which will help to have it "disappearing" in the night background and they could eventually use one of these giant lights to illuminate and "follow" only the dragon during its flight over the audience. There is one other point, though, which could be a problem. These ultralight aircrafts are notoriously dangerous, and a night flight with these doesn't help to feel it'll be more safe. Except that in this case it will probably never be a "long" flight. The dragon could "lift-of" from a backstage road or parking lot, do a turn at 90 degrees to come over the Avatar land or SDL castle and then after two or three minutes go back and land again backstage. In this case the flying distance will be very short and the risk limited - except during bad weather with strong winds, of course.

So, my bets - just for the pleasure to bet! - are going on a use of this flying dragon during night shows or opening celebrations whether it will be for SDL or Avatar, and in any case, during night shows only. It's definitely there where the illusion will work the best.

Pictures: copyright Disney, Fox

Here is why WDI will not disclose any details about Shanghaî Disneyland rides before 2015

Disney fans were a bit disappointed at D23 Expo last year by the Shanghaî Disneyland model and i have to admit that SDL Imagineers have been pretty smart in what looked like a brilliant "We're-happy-to show-you the-SDL-model-but-without-revealing-anything" demonstration. But you know what? They were right to do it this way. Sure, for Disney fans it was quite frustrating but when you watch the video below filmed one year ago at the Suzhou Amusement Land in China you'll get why the less concept details of Shanghaî Disneyland WDI reveal, the best it will be.

As you will see in a few seconds Suzhou Amusement Land did a perfect copy of It's a Small World. Well, perfect is not really the right word as almost none of the figures are audio-animatronics, but they didn't care about copying the ideas, design, etc...almost everything! And when i mean "everything" its really everything as they even took the It's a Small World song! No kidding. And in complete impunity. That said, let's be fair: all chinese don't spend their time to copy occidental concepts, but for those who do it, nothing is stopping them! As Shanghaî Disneyland is a joint venture between Disney and chinese officials the plagiarists may think twice before stealing SDL designs - may be they're not afraid of occidental corporations but they're probably more of their own officials...

So, i'm sure that after you've watched this video you will accept to wait two or three more years to discover the SDL concepts in details, that's the price to pay to have unique rides that won't be seen anywhere else before SDL opening day. And that's also the reason why i don't post any SDL renderings that were not disclosed officially - but i don't have any secret one anyway...

Go ahead and discover this infamous copy of IASW, just to be aware of how big the copycat problem can be.




Video: copyright Theme Park Review

A closer look to Shanghaî Disneyland model - Pictures by Andy Castro

A Shanghaî Disneyland model was displayed at D23 Carousel of Projects last week. For sure, it was a small model but most of all it was a wonder of non-information!

In case you're still wondering if it was a WDI mistake i can guarantee you that it was not. Though it was not to Disney fans that WDI didn't wanted to provide any information about Shanghaî Disneyland, it was to Disney's chinese competitors. Right now there is several theme parks project which are planned to be build in China, and what Disney wants to avoid at any price is to see some of WDI brilliant ideas for Shanghaî Disneyland copied by these competitors. And even worth, to see bad copies opening before SDL opening in 2015. And in "any price" is include to don't show anything to anyone not involved in the project, even Disney fans.

But, considering that SDL was one of the company's major announcement of the year it was difficult to avoid showing really anything about it at this D23 Carousel of Projects, that's why D23 attendees had "only" this tiny SDL model which delivered virtually no information at all about SDL rides. However Disney released some precious information and new artwork about SDL castle, including the confirmation of an info previously posted on different web sites about the Fantasyland flume ride which will begin under SDL castle.

No more infos on other rides, so, but Screamscape and Blue Sky Disney posted recently new updates revealing what might be some of Shanghaî Disneyland rides. I say "might" as the project is still in "blue sky" mode and the rides concepts are not all finally approved by Disney chinese partners, which means that it's still time to have some changes. In two years from now, in 2013, at next D23 Expo - if there is a new one -we will probably know more about SDL rides.

So let's have a closer look at this non-informative model (!) thanks to some pictures shot by Andy Castro last week-end, and please click on each to enlarge the pictures. Above, two pics showing the full SDL model.





This next close shot shows the entrance, with on its right what might be a night entertainment and shopping and dining area, and of course the SDL castle.



We don't know a lot about shanghaî Disneyland but at least we know that there will be a Fantasyland, an Adventureland and a Tomorrowland and no Main Street and no Frontierland. One of the Imagineers that were close to the model at D23 was asked if it was true that SDL will have "only" three lands and he answered that it was wrong - without mentioning the real number of lands. Except if there is some hidden lands i'm curious to see where will be the others. I suspect them to eventually count the huge garden - with the Dumbo and Carousel rides - in front of the castle and the castle itself as a land...although a closer look at both the artwork released in April and this model seems to indicate that some parts of the park are not include in this model. We'll see... anyway, it's not the number of lands that count but the size of the park and the quality of its theming and attractions.

So, next picture is a close-up on what is supposed to be SDL Adventureland. Will we see in it the new Pirates of Caribbean version once envisioned for HKDL? All i can say is that i hope so!



Next picture is a close-up on what should be Fantasyland. SDL castle is almost in the center, Fantasyland is on its left and Adventureland in the top right corner.



Next shot is a close-up on SDL Tomorrowland and the only thing we can say about it is that everybody seems to agree that there will be no Space Mountain at SDL. Well, when i say "everybody" i don't include the imagineer that was at D23 who said to Andy - before Andy asked him anything - "I can't tell you anything about the rides in the park or I'll have to kill you!". Both laughed and agreed that may be the timing was not the right one to talk about SDL rides, but the Imagineer quote is a good example to show how well briefed these Imagineers have been, and obviously Shanghaî Disneyland rides are for Disney a secret as important as the atomic bomb! That said, here is the picture, and Tomorrowland is on the left side of the castle.



A last picture for the road, shot from behind with Fantasyland on the center left, Adventureland in the back on the top right and Tomorrowland on the center right or so.



All pictures: copyright Andy Castro

D23 Expo : New Shanghaî Disneyland Artwork ! Pictures by Andy Castro

Artwork showing Shanghaî Disneyland are so rare than any new rendering is a blessing. This one, showing a night view of Shanghaî Disneyland Enchanted Storybook Castle was not released officially but was shown yesterday at D23 during Bob Weis presentation about SDL. I found it on a video that you i've added in the Tom Staggs article below, did a screen shot and enhanced a bit the picture, and here it is. Click on it to see it in larger scale.

Edited: Thanks to Andy who took pictures during Tom Staggs presentation, we have a better shot of the new SDL rendering and the good pic is the one above. Now that we see more details it's interesting to note that WDI added on the painting a lot of "little lights" upon the buildings in front of the castle to prevent their architecture to be too easily identified by other chinese theme parks projects competitors.

Also, another shot from Andy is showing the recently released rendering but also enlarged, here it is.



During Bob Weis presentation of SDL was shown an animation. Basically, it began by the castle at the center of the land available and the castle is the first to appear at the center and suddenly all the future others buildings of the park appeared one by one until we arrive to the official rendering that we know. Although you still don't really see what will be what it's interesting to see this and the best is that you enlarge each of the five pictures below.











Artwork: copyright Disney

Pictures by Andy Castro

SDL Latest News : Work Halt at Shanghaî Disneyland Site !

Work was halted on Shanghai Disneyland on Saturday when earth movers being used on the project were found to be both overloaded and operating without a proper license. Apparently the catch was made as part of the city's latest campaign against overloaded or speeding earth mover vehicles, an under appreciated threat. Indeed it's not a big problem and works should resume very soon at the SDL site but it's the kind of thing that Disney may face in China where chineses are not really known for their full respect of regulations... More about this in the full Shanghaî Daily article below:

"Some work at the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone, the site of the city's future Disneyland, has been halted temporarily because local authorities found that the earth-moving equipment being used was overloaded and not licensed.

Violations were found at the site in the Pudong New Area on Saturday. Fines will be imposed on the construction company based on the amount of the soil it dumped so far. The authority is still investigating the amount.

"Inspectors found the trucks of up to 25-ton capacity carried more than 30 tons of soil in general," said an official with the city urban management team. "The overloaded trucks were unable to close their canopies."

It will take about one week for the company to get licensed after application, the city's public sanitation officials said yesterday. The unlicensed trucks were caught in the city's latest campaign against overloaded or speeding earth-moving trucks which claimed many lives years ago. The inspectors were surprised that such a high-profile project lacked the required licenses.

Construction on the long-sought Disneyland, the first on China's mainland, began in April. The theme park is in the heart of the 20-square-kilometer Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone. The first phase of the Shanghai Disneyland project, to cover 3.9 square kilometers, is expected to open in 2015.

A lot of pedestrians and moped riders fell victim to construction trucks in 2009 when many projects were carried out before the World Expo 2010. Some truck drivers travel too fast and carry excessive loads of construction waste to finish more trips - and thus earn more pay. This has prompted authorities to periodically launch campaigns against speeding and overloaded trucks."

Text: copyright Shanghaî Daily & Shanghaiist.com




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Shanghai Disneyland Gets Loan From Twelve Chinese Banks

Here is some news about Shanghaî Disneyland! Financial news, in fact: Twelve Chinese banks have signed a syndicated loan deal with Shendi Group, Disney Co's local partner, for the construction of the Shanghai Disneyland theme park, the Xinhua News Agency reported late on Friday.

It did not mention how big the loan was but said the lead lenders were China Development Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Bank of Communications. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of China are co-leads of the loan. Other participating banks include China Exim Bank, Bank of Shanghai , CITIC Bank , Huaxia Bank and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank.

As you know, the deal to build the $3.8 billion resort, recently approved by the Chinese central government, gives 43% of the project to Disney and 57% to a trio of state-owned businesses, collectively known as the Shanghai Shendi Group. The project's costs--and profits--are to be divided along those proportions.

Wow, that's a lot of banks. Now that they've got the money, they have to build the park and let us know more about it!


News From Reuters

Artwork: copyright Disney

SDL Artwork high-res files reveal more Shanghaî Disneyland secrets

When Disney released on April 8 the first Shanghaî Disneyland artworks i had, probably just like you, a mixed feeling. I was happy to see - at last - some SDL artwork and on the other hand i was a bit frustrated by the low resolution which didn't helped to see the concept in details. I thought we would have to wait until 2016 to discover high-res artwork, but, no, finally Disney released high-res files of these renderings! And it changes everything, as we can have now a crystal clear view of the SDL project - at least as it is now!

So, here we go again for a new exploration of the SDL artwork and as you will see these high-res files reveals more about what kind of attractions we can expect at Shanghaî Disneyland. First rendering on the top is the high-res version of the full Shanghaî Disneyland bird's eye view of the park.

As you will see when you will enlarge the pictures these renderings are very probably digital paintings. Even more, nothing - except may be the castle - seems to have a definitive design. As we know Disney doesn't want to reveal SDL design too clearly to avoid copycats of the concepts - which is perfectly understandable - but my guess is that WDI SDL Imagineers may still be in blue-sky mode on some of them and, as Jim Hill would say, we'll try to don't get "shanghaied" by what we will see now. However, i think that a big part of the ideas that we can see on these renderings should stay in the final concept.

So, let's begin by the beginning, i.e the entrance. As we know, tihere is no Main street U.S.A but as you'll see on the top of the image, after the main gate and before the big green space area in front of the castle, there is some buildings on the left and the right and SDL might have, finally, something which seems to be as long as half the length of Main Street, with a different design of course.



Before we enter the park, let's have a look at an interesting area located just on the left of the entrance. If the SDL map below is right it should be "commercial facilities", right at the exit of the park, may be a kind of equivalent of our Disney Village at DLP, i.e an area where SDL guests will find merchandise shops and restaurants.



Here is again the SDL map that i've posted last month showing where will be what, including SDL hotels. As you will see an hotel with view on the park is envisioned by WDI Imagineers.



We will come back to the castle with others renderings but apparently the "Fantasyland" part of the park will be, as usual, located behind the castle although there will be some classic Fantasyland rides around it. If you enlarge the image you'll see on the right of the castle something which definitely looks like a labyrinth. Will they put there the Alice's Labyrinth that we have at DLP or will it have another theme?



Let's move on the left. Where we find generally Tomorrowland SDL guests will have their Adventureland! And this is now for sure as we can see clearly on this part of the rendering a Pirates fortress, a gallion in te lagoon close to it and a Mayan pyramid on the very right. All this seems to confirm that Pirates of Caribbean and Indiana Jones Adventure will be part of Shanghaî Disneyland on opening day. I've read on forums that some people were thinking that the big dark mountain on the foreground might be an Expedition Everest but, first, this mountain doesn't look at all like the one of Expedition Everest and, two, may i remind you the feelings of chinese officials about everything linked with Tibet? If there is an attraction that i'm pretty sure we will never see at SDL it's really Expedition Everest, at least in its original theme as WDI could use the track with another theming.



Let's go now on the west part of the park where we find generally Frontierland or Adventureland. Instead, SDL guests will find in this area SDL Tomorrowland as there is no doubts that this is the Tomorrowland area of Shanghaî Disneyland.



A closer look reveals not a lot, except that this big dome building on the left should be SDL Space Mountain. Here, too, the design is obviously not the final design. On the picture above you'll note that a kind of Astro Jets / Orbitron ride might be at the entrance of the land. However i will not be surprised if this land received modifications in years to come, so let's say it's just a first look, which is better than nothing!



Always from this SDL bird's eye view rendering, let's have a closer look at SDL lake and pier. The fountain at the center was already identifiable on the low-res version but we can see clearly that the big boats will not look like American steam river boats. Also, we might have smaller boats moving on the lake like they do on WDW Seven Seas Lagoon.



At the far right of the lake is another pier and, behind, it might be the hotel with view on the park that we saw on the map. I know it doesn't look really like a hotel but WDI is probably keeping secret the original design.



Let's go back to the center of the park and the castle with a new high-res version of another rendering we saw last week.



Here is a close-up on the castle and what looks like multi-colored water falls in the front might mean that there will be a big fountain pond at the foot of SDL castle.



Always in front of the castle the next image shows not only small chinese pavilions but also a path with cherry trees in blossom and, if you look well, an area with Disney characters topiaries!



We already saw them last week but here is a better view of the Fantasyland Carousel. You'll note also on the picture others carousels in the background....



..and the Dumbo ride, both located in this 46,000 square meter of green space at the centre of the park - also designed to be a cultural hub and a reminder of "the themes of sustainability and nature that will be integrated throughout the park" as Iger said.



The third rendering released last week is also available now in high-res and it allows us to have a closer look at the castle. Here is the full picture in its high-res version...



...a close-up on the castle...



...and an even closer view on the castle's entrance.



So, let's see what we know now about Shanghaî Disneyland according to these renderings. If there is no changes SDL guests should find:

- A gorgeous fairy-tale castle with in front of it small chinese pavilions, Disney characters topiaries, Dumbo and Fantasyland Carousel rides as well as others carousels.
- An Adventureland area on the east side of the park with, very probably, Pirates of Caribbean and Indiana Jones Adventure
- A Fantasyland area behind the castle, including an Alice-like or other theme labyrinth
- A Tomorrowland area on the west side of the park with, very probably, Space Mountain as well as an Orbitron ride or similar
- A merchandise and dining area at the left of the entrance

That's not a lot and i wish we knew more about the rides themselves but for now, that's the best we can do with the artwork available!

Artwork: copyright Disney

Shanghaî Disneyland will be 50 percent larger than Hong Kong Disneyland

Latest news from Shanghaî Disneyland! We knew that the park will be bigger than Hong Kong Disneyland but how bigger exactly will it be? Well, now we know: according to a SDL executive interview in a Bloomberg article: "Shanghai's Disneyland will be almost 85 acres, about 50 percent larger than the Hong Kong park at its opening, says one executive." "We learned a lot from Hong Kong," says Bob Iger, "In Shanghai, we're within a three hour's drive of 300 million people. That's a huge opportunity, and we have to be careful about how many will come and their visitation patterns."

We also knew that there will be traditional Disney rides and others based on Chinese culture as Bob Iger revealed but it's interesting to know that the company is now adding Chinese nationals to the SDL "imagineering" team to help develop the park.

Always from the article, "Disney isn't likely to repeat the cultural faux pas it made when it opened Disneyland Resort Paris in 1992, where food sales suffered because the park initially didn't serve wine with meals. In Hong Kong, Disney has cut the number of hot dogs in its restaurants in order to serve more dim sum and noodle dishes, says a Disney executive, and there is likely to be plenty of local fare in Shanghai. "Disney is paying a lot more attention now to cultural differences," say Evercore Partners (EVR) analyst Alan Gould".

"For Disney, which will own a 43 percent stake in the 963-acre resort (three state-owned companies own the rest), Shanghai is a $1.9 billion wager on a growing Chinese middle class who the company projects will spend $200 billion annually on leisure travel by 2015. It's also a bet that Disney's characters and 55-year history of running theme parks can be adapted to a culture it may not fully understand. Disney "has too much riding on China to let either Hong Kong or Shanghai fail."

Finally, we also know which company won the Shanghai Disneyland Insurance Policy and it's the China Pacific Insurance Group which will be "in charge of all risk and third-party obligation insurance for construction work on the first phase of Shanghai Disneyland". A total of 2.31 billion yuan will be insured by Pacific Insurance Group, which you will agree, is quite a lot of money.

I'll be back soon with a new great update about Shanghaî Disneyland, don't miss it!

Shanghaî Disneyland : Why Bob Iger was not the only one to be pleased by SDL groundbreaking event

When Walt Disney bought - in secret - the massive property in Florida which is now known as Walt Disney World, he had more than one goal in mind. Not only did he want enough property to build several theme parks and hotel resorts, but he also really wanted to avoid something which had driven him crazy at Anaheim, i.e to have non-Disney hotels built close to the park, taking advantages of Disneyland's success.

Since then, each time the WDC builds a new theme park and resort they remember Walt's lesson. In Paris, for instance, DLP has enough land to not only build at least three theme parks, but also to keep any hotel competitor from building too close to the resort. In Hong Kong it's even better as there is no land too close to the resort where someone could build a non-Disney resort, as the land where HKDL is now was only ocean ten years ago.

In Shanghaî it's a bit different. Obviously the deal that Disney has with the Chinese administration includes enough land to build three theme parks and many hotel resorts, and, as you will see, Bob Iger was not the only one last friday to be pleased by Shanghaî Disneyland groundbreaking event. As a matter of fact, the beginning of Shanghaî Disneyland construction means "good news" for a lot of others people nearby.

In an interesting Shanghaî Daily article called "Pudong eyes Disney windfall" Liang Yiwen reveals all of what should happen in the Pudong area - Pudong being the district where SDL is currently being built. No one can beat the Chinese on pragmatism and Chen Zhongmao, deputy director of Pudong New Area Commission of Commerce asked: "Disneyland is expected to attract 7.3 million visitors a year. Where will the visitors stay at night and where will they go during the day?".

Well, I suppose that Disney expects them to go to the park and stay at the SDL hotels, but it's not a stupid question as SDL guests might be interested to discover other things outside the resort.

Apparently, the Pudong New Area Commission "found that many visitors to last year's World Expo stayed in Puxi due to the lack of sightseeing and commercial facilities in Pudong" and it seems that the commission learned something out of this. And so: "the government plans to remove the rice paddies around the future Disneyland site and build high-end tourist sites with a 'local flavor' to keep amusement park guests in Pudong".

No kidding? They want to try to keep SDL guests in the area? What a surprise.

And Chen Zhongmao added: "Overseas tourists will be interested in the towns with distinct local culture. Disneyland embodies Western culture and the ancient towns represent Chinese culture - a perfect match ... One of the planned attractions is Xinchang Ancient Town, a water town more than 1,000-year-old where director Ang Lee filmed scenes for the film 'Lust, Caution'. Beautifully carved wooden window frames and elaborately painted signboards are common sights along Xinchang's main street, which was first built during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Another attraction will be Hengmian Ancient Town, which remains relatively unknown among modern complexes. Both towns will be given a face-lift."

To be honest, I, who likes archeological sites, will be interested to discover authentic old Chinese cities. I've spent too much energy being angry because China is destroying most of its old areas in Beijing or in other cities, so I think I welcome the possibility to visit genuine old Chinese towns when i will come to Shanghaî Disneyland. So, one good point for them on this idea.

However, the word "money" means the same in China as in occidental countries, and: "Other facilities, such as a shopping center that will include the country's biggest outlet mall, are also listed on Pudong's new commercial development blueprint, which was released yesterday."

There we are.

Want more details? "To compete with mature commercial magnets in Puxi, Pudong now plans to add about 700,000 square meters of commercial facilities, mostly retail space, annually through 2015. A large-scale outlet mall, which will be accessible by Metro Line 2, will be built in Chuansha area by 2013."

How far will it be from Shanghaî Disneyland, you ask? "It will be about 10 kilometers from Disneyland and close to Pudong International Airport. The excellent geographic position and convenient transportation facilities will help the outlet mall attract locals and tourists" Chen Zhongmao said.

"Excellent geographic position and convenient transportation facilities"? You bet. With Shanghaî Disneyland located just six miles from this future mega outlet mall and the transportation system which will be build specially for SDL available, it's for sure "an excellent geographic position"!

And, because the Pudong New Area Commission wants to build this the right way "the government has invited US-based Chelsea Property Group, Japan-based Mitsui and Italian fashion retail giant RDM to draft a blueprint for the outlet mall". In two words, it means that on your future trip at Shanghaî Disneyland you'll be able not only to enjoy a new kind of Magic Kingdom but also to discover ancient cities and also to buy your favorite Armani underwear at Chinese prices.

I agree that said like this it's less poetic than a WDI rendering but I suppose that's what we call reality.


Part of the text: copyright Shanghaî Daily

Many thanks for the text editing to Nate Walz!

First Shanghaî Disneyland concept-art - and why Disney don't want you to see too clearly this awaited theme park

Yesterday, Tom Staggs did his presentation on the future of Disney parks and resorts at the Walt Disney company's 2011 investor's conference and the first Shanghaî Disneyland concept-art was shown to the attendees. Since then, the whole Disney fans blogosphere is buzzing about it, trying to see more clearly in the artwork...in vain as this Shanghaî Disneyland bird's eye view is almost "undecipherable" if you're not a WDI Imagineer!

Still, we're going to try to guess what is what in this first artwork, but it's true that it's the first time that i see a WDI project bird's eye view so difficult to understand. If we take, for instance, the one released for Animal Kingdom - picture below - at least it was possible to see clearly the different lands, where was the entrance, the different buildings, etc... In this SDL concept-art it's not the case and there is a good reason why Disney don't want us to see too clearly the SDL project and i will tell you why in a few seconds.



But first, let's try to see more clearly in the artwork - just for the pleasure to guess as there is big chances that i might be wrong! The picture on the top and below has been enlarged by me - so click to see them in big size - and although the original definition was not sharp enough here is what we can see: on the bottom right i think we have an avenue leading to the park's entrance where SDL guests should find a fountain before entering the park. Always on the bottom right, right before this avenue we can see what looks like giant flowers/mushrooms... Could it be a kind of SDL "Downtown Disney" or like DLP's Disney Village?



Let's come back to the park where a Mickey's face silhouette seems to be located at the entrance... The SDL castle, although not clearly visible, is on the artwork, right under - as usual - the fireworks. Obviously there is a lot of water in this park - which is good - and on the land on the right we can see a kind of mountain with what seems to be a big drop. Did they put in SDL the new Pirates of Caribbean version designed by Tim Delaney which was first envisioned for HKDL? Also, no train track seems to be visible on the artwork. Would it mean that SDL will not have a train going around the park?

Many questions remains to be answered and the best is probably to don't try to find in this artwork the usual iconic attractions like Space Mountain, Big Thunder, etc...which doesn't mean they are not include in the project but from what we know WDI Imagineers designed a park really different than what we've ever seen before. For instance, as it was revealed by an Imagineer during the D23 members private visit of WDI last December "there will be no Main Street" in this park. So, don't waste your time to try to find it on the artwork.

Let's talk now about the reason why Disney don't want us to see too clearly how will look this awaited theme park. Well, you see, it's not to YOU, Disney fan, that Disney wants to hide details of Shanghaî Disneyland, it's to some other people. From what i've been told what Disney REALLY wants to avoid by all means is to see SDL original concepts copied in others chineses theme parks before SDL opening. The truth is that Disney's biggest fear is to see cheap copy of SDL great ideas being built in cheap chinese theme parks. This is why you can't see clearly the castle on the artwork, and i'm curious to see if they will show it more clearly during the official presentation expected early April...not sure, though.

And you know what? I think they're right to be afraid of that. Considering how important in China the SDL project is, there is no doubt that some might want to use some of SDL concepts to make money out of it before SDL opening. As a matter of fact it happened in Tokyo when a park inspired by Disney concepts opened one year before Tokyo Disneyland opening - not sure that this park is still existing now...

Although i have the greater respect for chinese civilisation we all know how they can be good to copy almost anything and how nothing stops chineses to copy a concept when there is a lot of money to make out of it. And sometime they do very good copies! In this case i doubt that anyone will put the amount of money that Disney will put in SDL concepts but even a cheap version of them would be very destructive for the whole SDL project.

For all these reasons i'm afraid we might have to wait a bit more before Disney releases more detailed Shanghaî Disneyland artwork. Until then, the little game of what-is-what on this SDL concept-art will continue for all Disney fans!

All artwork: copyright Disney

Last news about Shanghai Disneyland !

Shanghai Daily.com posted today some news about Shanghai Disneyland. It's all about the beginning of the works, so don't expect rides details but at least it proves that the project is on its way:

"LARGE-SCALE construction of the Shanghai Disneyland project could start as early as May with work on two major roads leading to the future theme park due to be completed in April, officials said yesterday.

Hangcheng Road and Tanghuang Road in the Pudong New Area are part of the 40 billion yuan (US$6.1 billion) infrastructure budget for the first Disneyland Park on China's mainland - a sum equal to Pudong's spend on infrastructure for last year's World Expo.

"A lot of construction vehicles and earth-moving vehicles will enter the plot through the two roads," a Pudong Construction and Traffic Bureau official surnamed Wang said yesterday.

"The two roads will be closed to the public, with only construction vehicles allowed to use them," he said.

All construction related to the Disneyland project is expected to be finished in 2014. The park is due to open in 2015.

Houses on the 3.9-square-kilometer site have all been cleared after residents were relocated in the middle of last year.

Work to expand three other related roads - Nanliu Road, Zhoudeng Road and Liufeng Road - will start in June, while work on Xiupu Road should start within the year.

The infrastructure projects include eight roads which will be the major routes to the Disneyland park and will cost about 10 billion yuan, Wang said.

A new elevated road is to be built on Shenjiang Road. Meanwhile, a river about 10 kilometers long and 60 meters wide is being created around the park area. "The river will make the theme park an enclosed area," Wang said. "It will facilitate the management of the park and adorn the landscape." Another water feature, a 0.39 square kilometer lake, will be built inside the amusement park.

Shanghai announced in November 2009 that it had gained central government approval for the Disneyland project.

The park will cover about 1.16 square kilometers, while facilities such as parking lots and dining areas will occupy up to 2.74 square kilometers."

Text: copyright Shanghai Daily.com

Asia: The Theme Parks battle is about to begin !

I went back from vacation last friday, and as usual i had a choice of magazines when i entered in the plane. So, i choose the last issue of TIME magazine and also another one called ASIA News. And the big surprise was on the front cover not only with Mickey and Schrek, but also the title: "The Battle of Theme Parks"!

Incredible, i thought. I'm going back home and theme parks news are "falling from the sky" before i even asked for them! In this long and interesting special report ASIA News reporters details the theme park battle which is about to begin in Asia. Well, as a matter of fact it already began with the new Universal Studios Singapore but in the next years South Korea should have three new theme parks from Paramount, Universal and MGM, China is awaiting Shanghaî Disneyland, India will have a Bollywood theme park, etc....

So, below, you'll find the full ASIA News report, starting with the first article called "Mickey vs Schrek". Just click on each page to get them on bigger scale, the reading will be more comfortable.





The next article in this interesting special report is about Hong Kong Disneyland. HKDL financial results are not fantastic yet but it's a bit logical as the first of HKDL new attractions will open only in 2011 with Toy Story Land.





Next article is avout Universal Singapore and a interesting list of all the upcoming theme parks in Asia and South East Asia. Strangely, they forgot Shanghaî Disneyland but perhaps it is because the final opening date is not officially announced yet.





One thing is sure: in the next five years theme parks development in Asia is going to be huge. And it'll be very interesting to see who will win the battle which is about to begin!

All pages: copyright Asia News