Resorts Shanghai Disneyland (approved!)

[Tom Morrow]

Report: Shanghai Disneyland likely

Report says Disney theme park for Shanghai likely to move ahead soon, but company denies deal International Herald Tribune A long-anticipated plan to build a Disney theme park in Shanghai is likely to move ahead soon, a state-run newspaper said Friday, though the company denied the report. The Shanghai Securities Journal, citing an unnamed official, said the park is due to be built in the southern outskirts of Shanghai's Pudong district and has already received needed government approvals. "In the past it was all speculation, this time it's for real!" the paper said. However, Walt Disney Co.'s spokeswoman in Asia, Alannah Hall-Smith denied the report. "There is no agreement and there is no deal," Hall-Smith said. She reiterated that Disney has been discussing various initiatives in China for years, including theme parks, community programs and business operations. "China is an important market for (Disney)," she said. The company, which has set up offices in a sleek new Shanghai commercial complex, has repeatedly emphasized that for now it is focusing on developing its Hong Kong theme park, which opened in 2005 but has not lived up to expectations. The report lifted shares in Shanghai-based property companies Friday, analysts said, despite the local market's overall weakness. Associated Press

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[stevo505]

Why do they need to build a park in Shanghai when they have one in Hong Kong? If they're even building one there?

[DisneyFanatic13]

^Because Hong Kong is not part of China anymore. Hong Kong is called Hong Kong Island (I think. My sister told me).

[CoryTheRaven]

Last I checked, Hong Kong is still a Special Administrative Region in China. But as for why they need two Disneylands in China, it might be worth pointing out that the United States has a population of 300 million and has two Disneylands. China has a population of 1.3 billion. If we take the rule of one Disneyland per 150 million people, China has room for nine Disneylands.

[stevo505]

Originally Posted by CoryTheRaven

Last I checked, Hong Kong is still a Special Administrative Region in China. But as for why they need two Disneylands in China, it might be worth pointing out that the United States has a population of 300 million and has two Disneylands. China has a population of 1.3 billion. If we take the rule of one Disneyland per 150 million people, China has room for nine Disneylands.

Wow I never thought about it like that.

[CoryTheRaven]

It's fun!

For example, Japan has about 130 million people, so they're good with their one Disneyland.

Europe has about 730 million people, so they technically could have another four Disneylands... But let me tell ya', Disneyland Paris wasn't exactly packed when I was there. Of course, that was in January...

Africa as a continent has about 900 million people, which equates to six Disneylands, but I don't think they quite have the political stability to pull that off. India has a little over 1 billion people, so they could have seven Disneylands if they wanted. Imagine "Expedition Everest" as an actual expedition to Everest!

Unfortunately, Canada only has 33 million people, so we don't deserve a Disneyland yet. I guess we'll have to keep piggybacking off the two American resorts.

[kodiak]

Wheeee! way to further reward and empower the last and largest communist superpower on the planet with a park. Way to give our political enemies another means to boost their economy over ours.

Way to show the rest of the world... Australia, south pacific, south america, etc. exactly what we think of them by further ignoring them.

ugh...

[Tom Morrow]

Shanghai re-applies to build Disneyland

Shanghai applies to build its own Disneyland: mayor Reuters Shanghai has applied to the Chinese central government to build its own Disneyland, Mayor Han Zheng said on Thursday, ending long-standing speculation on whether it would opt for such a park. Plans for a Shanghai Disneyland emerged in 2005 but were suspended when the city's Communist Party boss, Chen Liangyu, was implicated in a corruption investigation in 2006. Recent state media reports had said that while Shanghai still planned to build a major theme park by 2020, it had yet to decide on any specific project. "We have applied to the National Development and Reform Commission (the economic planning agency), but so far we have not received any notice of approval," Han told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament. "Any big-scale project of this kind has to receive central government approval, and Shanghai will of course abide by the central government's decision," he said, adding that the location of the proposed park was not yet fixed. Walt Disney Co signed a statement of intent to build a Disneyland on the mainland in 2002, and then set up a venture with Shanghai's Lujiazui Group to develop the site, which would be about 4.7 times the size of Hong Kong's Disneyland. The mainland plan was soon suspended, partly because of concerns that the Hong Kong park, which opened in 2005, would suffer, state-owned newspapers have reported. Hong Kong's Disneyland, the second magic kingdom in Asia after Japan, has struggled since opening in 2005, falling well short of attendance targets. The park had around 4 million visitors in its second year of operation, a drop of more than 20 percent from its first year. Reporting by George Chen and Simon Rabinovitch; Writing by Jason Subler

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[Tom Morrow]

Rumored Shanghai Disneyland announcement at '08 Olympics

Shanghai to Welcome Disneyland Trading Markets US-based Walt Disney Company has decided to build a Disneyland at Chuansha town, Pudong, Shanghai, expected to be announced around the period for the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, according to reliable news. An insider pointed out that the to-be-built Disneyland, a large tourism project able to accept customers to stay for two nights, would double the Shanghai tourism industry's current revenue, which was good for China's domestic tourism in spite of a certain impact on Hong Kong Disneyland. Stock News complete article

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[Ezra]

The foreign press keeps reporting this as fact, and every time Disney is solicited for comment they say "There are no plans at this time. We are currently focussing on building the brand in our existing parks, especially Hong Kong Disneyland."

[Jabberwock]

I agree with Ezra...

[toratorakisa]

Originally Posted by kodiak

Wheeee! way to further reward and empower the last and largest communist superpower on the planet with a park. Way to give our political enemies another means to boost their economy over ours.

You do know that our economy is nearly completely dependent on China's and vice versa, right?

[AraBrokenDreamer]

Excellent point, toratorakisa, and just because China has more people in its army than we have in our entire country doesn't mean we should hate them so much. They give us cheap prices for cheap products, and as long as it's not edible or for kids, you should be fine.

and toratorakisa, I like the avvie. I <3 carbs too, especially bread... hmmm... french bread... darn it, now I gotta go eat!

-Ara

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[kodiak]

Originally Posted by toratorakisa

You do know that our economy is nearly completely dependent on China's and vice versa, right?

and that makes everything they do alright?

it has nothing to do with population. its their governement.

[Tom Morrow]

Shanghai locals anticipate real estate boom

Disney Rumors Spur Money Grab In a Chinese City Locals See a Payoff If Shanghai Gets Park Wall Street Journal Disney fever is sweeping Shanghai, and it has little to do with giddy anticipation of Mickey Mouse and company. It's about cash. Homeowners and businesses in the Shanghai village of Jinjia, where the rumors are focused, expect their properties will be bought up to make way for a Shanghai Disneyland. Residents expect that compensation will be proportional to the size of their houses, and even the number of trees on their property. In crowded China, such megaprojects entail a costly and thorny process of enticing residents to leave. Forced eviction remains common in China. But compensation is required, and the mere rumor of a development scheme can spark opportunism. So, in a country with a well-known weakness for gambling, people are putting up new homes or adding extra rooms — sometimes in defiance of local development laws — for the shot at a payday. by James T Areddy and Peter Sanders complete article

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