A Closer Look at Shanghaî Disneyland Guide Map

On the new version of the Shanghaî Disneyland site you'll find a brand new map of the park and resort. Actually, this new map is most probably the same than the "guide map" that SDL guests will be able to pick up when they'll visit the park starting June 16! And this map reveal here and there details we didn't knew about the park, so let's have a closer look at it. Just make sure to click on each screen captures to see them in big size.

First picture below shows the park entrance on the right and Disney Town on the left.  The Steamboat Willie fountain is located before the entrance on the lower right of the pic. The important point here is on the upper left as you'll see there is a path going from the park to the upper part of Disney Town, meaning that SDL guests will most probably be able to exit the park using this path to enter directly inside Disney Town.



A closer look at the World of Disney Store shows it will have a Mickey in an airplane - probably turning endlessly - on the top.



And nearby the Lakeshore restaurants close to Wishing Star lake have a "Lakeshore" marquee on the top.



Okay, let's go in the park now and the picture below shows Mickey Avenue, with the Carthay Theater at the top left of this little Avenue. By the way, note that each time you'll see a little black hat with stars going out of it it means that it'll be an "entertainment location" whether it'll be musicians, street performers, characters meeting point, or shows.


Next is the map of the Gardens of Imagination. Note the arch at the entrance, when you drive from Mickey Avenue. The fantasia Carousel is the one on the right and the Dumbo ride is on the left.

The picture below shows the whole Fantasyland and Enchanted Storybook castle.

But there is more to see in Fantasyland, so let's have a closer look. First a close-up on SDL castle.

The map of Voyage to the Crystal grotto ride reveal in which order guests will discover each scenes of the boat ride.


Even more interesting, the part of the map showing the Alice in Wonderland Maze, inspired by Tim Burton movie. You'll see where will be located the giant head of the Red Queen, close to the castle, as well as the Mad Hatter Tea Party table, at the other end of the maze. Note the multiple entrances of the maze.

The picture below shows the Fantasyland buildings on the left of the castle with Peter pan's Flight at the very left. The building on the other side, at the top, is the load : unload building for Voyage to the Crystal grotto.


Next picture shows the Seven Dwarfs mine Train. No big surprise here, but note the Winnie the Pooh rides on the left.


Below, the part of the map showing the two Winnie the Pooh rides - the regular dark ride, DL version, not the one of TDL - and the "tea cups" ride with Hunny pots, as well as the Tangled tower and tavern restaurant.


A close up on the Winnie area shows that the entrance should look like the one at Disneyland.

The other building nearby will be where will take place the Frozen Sing-a-long Celebration.


Let's move now to Treasure Cove and its pirates theming! The screen capture below shows of course the POTC fortress..



...and the little pirate village on the right with the entrance to the Barbossa's restaurant.

The next picture shows Treasure Cove lagoon that guests will be able to explore with the canoes...

But if we look even closer we can discover the location of "Skull Island", made with multiple skull rocks...

Let's move to Adventure Isle and its huge Roaring Rapids mountain! If you look at the upper right behind the mountain you'll see a stone arch, the entrance to Soaring Over the Horizon attraction!




A zoom on Roaring Rapids mountain fro a closer look to Camp Discovery and the twist and turns of the Roaring Rapids raft ride.

We still have one more land to look at, and it's Tomorrowland! The Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue rid as well was the Stitch Encounter are located in the "super block" building on the bottom.  Also note this little restaurant on the top left...

...it's called "Celebration Cafe" and you can see painted on the wall Mickey and the gang as well as others Disney characters.

Well, that's it for the exploration of this new SDL map which, as i've said, will surely be the guide map of the park, starting June 16! See you soon for more Shanghaî Disneyland updates and in the meantime, as Disney and more needs your support, if you liked the article any donation is welcome, feel free to use the Paypal button below.

Pictures: copyright Disney - Shendi

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Friends, i know you all enjoy the daily posts on Disney and more and on the D&M Facebook page and the regular articles about Shanghaî Disneyland many times per week. It may not look like but it's a lot of work and takes a lot of time to do all these. The problem is that it starts to put my life in danger because the time it takes is not used to do anything else which could bring me more money. As i enjoy doing D&M as much as you enjoy reading it, for the first time since a long time i'm asking you for a donation that you can do through Paypal if you have a Paypal account or you can also send your donation using your credit card with Paypal even if you don't have a Paypal account. Paypal is the safest way to send money, as you probably know. Anyone can send what he wants, whether it is $5 or $50, even if it's a small amount. 

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New Awesome Shanghaî Disneyland Aerial Pictures Shows that SDL Park and Resort Should be Ready for June 16 Grand Opening

As promised yesterday i've got a great Shanghaî Disneyland article for you to start the week, and it's brand new awesome aerial pictures of the park and resort, shot as usual early morning by Chinese with a drone, which by the way is the reason why the sky is never blue on these drone pictures. But what they reveal is good news as the construction of the park and resort is more advanced than we thought. Note: if some images don't appear with your browser, right click on them to open the picture link in Photobucket.

Some of you, because of the lack of vegetation and the big mess still visible on the construction site started to doubt they could be ready for the June 16 grand opening. Well, doubt no more as what they still have to do - apart the indoor rides tests that of course we can't see on these pictures - will be done for sure in the next five months. As for the vegetation there are plenty of trees already in place all along the resort roads and Wishing Star lake, as well as grass and bushes in Shanghaî Disneyland Hotel garden, and in the park plenty of trees are already there. But five months to plant more trees and flowers is more than they need so, personally, i'm pretty confident that they will be ready on June 16. Probably there will be some rides technical issues, as usual, but that's inevitable and the only thing we can do is to cross our fingers they'll be able to resolve them for opening day. Oh, and one more thing: let's also cross our fingers that the sun will rise on June 16 on clear blue sky!

Let's now have a look at the pictures, shall we? And the two first pictures above and below show of course SDL Enchanted Storybook Castle. Note on its right the Alice in Wonderland Maze and, behind, the Voyage to the Crystal Grotto ride, for both vegetation is already there. We can see trees, too, on the hills of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride as well as in the back of Fantasyland near the limit with the backstage area, precisely to hide the backstage buildings. Sure, it don't seem there is a lot of vegetation yet in the Gardens of Imagination, but, again, it will come soon and they don't need years to put it.

The drone then fly over Tomorrowland providing a great view of this land almost completed. Not too much vegetation here too, but trees are in place behind the Jet Packs ride near the backstage road, and i think there will be mainly grass at the land entrance, so no big problem too to be on time.

A closer view over the TRON Lightcycles Power Run dome, showing a structure still in construction between  the dome and the show building. Yes, it's still a big mess down there and pathways pavement still has to be done, but it should be fine in five months.

The next drone picture shows Disney Town in the center, the park entrance on the right, the World of Disney store in the foreground - it's the one with the big green dome - and the buses and taxis parking lot on the left. Here, the pavement is finished, trees are mostly in place and it's probably the part which is the closer to be totally completed.

Another shot over Disney Town with the park entrance on the right. See the trees at the entrance before the turnstiles?

Next shot shows the buses and taxis parking lot. I know that's not the part which interest you the most but you're wrong. If you come to Shanghaî when you'll arrive at Shanghaî Pudong Airport, located just a few kilometers from the park, chances are that you'll take a cab, so it's always good to know where the taxi driver will leave you when you'll arrive to SDL.

The two next shots bring also good news as they show the five stars Shanghaî Disneyland Hotel and we can see the progress of the vegetation on the side of the lake. I wouldn't say it's 100% ready but they surely don't need more than five months to finish what remains to be done.

This next aerial shot shows Wishing Star lake, Spice Alley restaurants in the middle and Disney Town in the background, on the right. Also note in the background the trees already in place on both sides of the main road as well as grass near Spice Alley.

The two next aerial pictures coming from a different Chinese article, this first one below showing Tomorrowland, the Toy Story Hotel behind and the buses and taxis parking lot on the left.

And this next shot shows the Toy Story Hotel with its own parking lot on the left and backstage construction houses above. Not sure these will be removed before opening day...

We're not done yet as here is a third series of drone pictures, screen captures enhanced by me of a new drone video shot January 11, so less than one week ago, and that you can see on Youku HERE - if you succeed to open the page as it hasn't been easy for me to watch it. As usual, definitely enlarge each pictures.

The video starts over the Shanghaî Disneyland hotel and provide fantastic wide angle views on the hotel, the lake, and then Disney Town and the park in the background. On the way, note all the trees already in place on the roads and around the lake.

A turn of the drone camera on the right reveal the SDL train station near the lake.

Let's move toward the park entrance, shall we?

Below and above, Disney Town, the parking lot for buses and taxis and Tomorrowland on the right in the background.

We'll end with this great shot showing Adventure Isle and Treasure Cove in the background, the drone didn't went further over he park , probably because it started to be out of range.

I've got more Shanghaî Disneyland awesomeness for you coming later this week, so stay tuned on Disney and more!

New Shanghaî Disneyland Rendering Reveal SDL Future Hotels

As usual i have a Shanghaî Disneyland article for you for the week-end and this one is about Shanghaî Disneyland future! A new rendering showing "Wishing Star Lake" - i.e SDL lake - has been released recently and this one is particularly interesting by what it shows.

As you know, so far, at its opening, Shanghaî Disneyland will have two hotels only, the five stars Shanghaî Disneyland Hotel and the Budget Toy Story Hotel. Only the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel will be near the lake, the Toy Story Hotel being located more or less behind SDL Tomorrowland, outside the park.

Now, what we can see if we have a closer look at this new artwork is that many more hotels are envisioned to be built neat the Wishing Star Lake. Actually, right on the left of the current Shanghaî Disneyland Hotel - which is on the right - another one with the same shape is supposed to come, and it may be another wing of the same hotel. 

Also at least one more is located at the left of this second hotel / wing, and all of them will be facing the park which si on the other side of the lake, so not visible on this rendering. And behind, on the other side of the road, others buildings can be seen in the background, though it's not possible yet to be sure at 100% that these will be hotel too - but they could be.

That's it for the SDL post of the week-end, and do not miss the next D&M article also about Shanghaî Disneyland as i have something great for you!

Pictures: copyright Disney - Shendi

Major Changes at Walt Disney Imagineering as Disney Names Bob Weis President of Walt Disney Imagineering!

Major changes at Walt Disney Imagineering yesterday as Disney named Bob Weis as new President of Walt Disney Imagineering!

From the N.Y Times: The Walt Disney Company on Friday installed new leadership at its linchpin Imagineering division, which is responsible for designing and building rides, hotels and restaurants across Disney’s $16 billion global theme park empire.

The changes, which come as Disney prepares to open a $5.5 billion resort in Shanghai, its first on the Chinese mainland, consolidate power under one leader. Bob Weis, most recently overseeing the Shanghai project as an Imagineering executive vice president, will become president of the division. A new leader for the Shanghai park, set to open on June 16, will be named at a later date.

Mr. Weis replaces two executives. Bruce Vaughn, who has served for the last eight years as chief creative executive for the Imagineering unit, will leave Disney after a transition period of several months. Mr. Vaughn’s counterpart for construction, Craig Russell, will remain at Imagineering, but not in the same kind of leadership role.

Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, announced the changes in an internal memo. “Since creativity is at the heart of what we do,” the memo said, “we need to relentlessly innovate and evolve our organization.”

The Imagineering unit has its work cut out for it over the coming years. Among other projects, Disney has announced multiple “Star Wars”-themed park expansions; a major “Avatar”-themed addition at Walt Disney World in Florida; and “Frozen”-themed areas at Tokyo Disney Resort and at Epcot.

Mr. Weis has considerable theme park experience. He helped design Disney’s Hollywood Studios park in Florida in the 1980s. More recently, Mr. Weis oversaw a successful redesign of Disney’s struggling California Adventure park.

Text: copyright New York Times

Great New Documentary “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow: The Futurism of Walt Disney”

“Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow: The Futurism of Walt Disney” is a great brand new documentary about Disney and his pursuit of futurism. Featuring interviews with Disney Legends, Imagineers and Historians, "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" looks at the various technologies Walt Disney used and developed over the course of his life. From creating the first sync sound animation in 1928 to his unrealized dream of E.P.C.O.T., an experimental city that passed on with him in 1966, this film shows Walt Disney as the futurist he truly was!