Resorts Shanghai Disneyland (approved!)

[CostaFreak]

My God...they have to put their money in fix what they have now (such as a little disaster known as HKDL). The most retarded thing they can do right now is build a new resort.

[kodiak]

Sweet sassy molassy. This wholwe Shanghai thing just needs to go away. Since you already know my thoughts from previous posts, I'll leave it at that.

[Tom Morrow]

Disney, Shanghai complete talks

Disney, Shanghai complete talks on theme park Reuters Walt Disney Co. has completed talks with the Shanghai government on plans to build a Disneyland theme park in the city and the project will be announced soon, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Thursday, citing people close to the talks. The plan calls for Shanghai Disneyland to open to the public in 2013, the newspaper said, citing an expert involved in the feasibility study for the project. A spokeswoman for the Shanghai government declined to comment. A Disney representative in Hong Kong could not immediately be reached for comment. by Samuel Shen; Edited by Edmund Klamann complete article

Related Link:
Shanghai Disney theme park seen operational by 2013
Forbes

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[Tom Morrow]

No Agreement On Shanghai Theme Park

Walt Disney: No Agreement On Shanghai Theme Park CNN Money Walt Disney Co. (DIS) said Thursday it hasn't signed any agreement with the Shanghai government to build a theme park in the city, denying a Chinese media report. "There is no agreement and no deal has been reached," Disney spokeswoman Huang Chen told Dow Jones Newswires. She didn't give other details. Huang's comment was in response to an article in the state-run Shanghai Securities News on Thursday that cited unnamed sources as saying the entertainment and media giant and the Shanghai municipal government had reached an agreement to build a theme park. The paper said the park will likely start operations in 2013. Jin Jing, Dow Jones Newswires

Sent from Ezra

[Ezra]

The only reason I posted these last two articles is because it's all over the internet. Again!

Once again, the Chinese press reports this as fact, and once again Disney responds with: "There is no agreement and no deal has been reached."

[kodiak]

You mean the Chinese government is manipulating the media to its ow gain?? No!!
Communists manipulating the media? We have NEVER seen that before.

Did my sarcasm drip on anybody? my apologies.

You all know my mind on this topic. if not, take agander up above in previous posts.

[Tom Morrow]

Disney announces Shanghai proposal

Disney plans to build Shanghai theme park Associated Press The Walt Disney Co. said Friday that it was going to submit a plan to build a new theme park in China in a joint venture with the Shanghai government. The family entertainment giant released a statement confirming its plans at about the same time as The Wall Street Journal released a story on its Web site (subscription required) that said Disney was working with Shanghai to build a $3.59 billion park to open as early as 2014. "Discussions have been ongoing about the feasibility of a theme park project in China," said Leslie Goodman, a spokeswoman for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, in the statement. "As part of this lengthy process, we worked on a joint application report with the Shanghai government which will be submitted to the central government for review. No deal has been signed, no project has been approved." The Journal said Disney planned to take a 43 percent stake in Shanghai Disneyland, while a holding company owned by the local government would own 57 percent, citing unnamed sources. The first phase of the project, on about 1.5 square kilometers near Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, would include a theme park, plus a hotel and shopping development and would be built over six years, the paper said. A Disney spokesman declined to comment on the Journal story. complete article

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[Ezra]

According to the full Wall Street Journal article, the document, created by Disney Parks is a "project application report". The article says it's a proposal. It's not really a concrete document that parties sign on to, but its more like a "pitch" to China's central government.

The Disney spokesperson said that it was only the first step in a very long process. At least now we have some names: The application report is signed by an executive vice president for new business development at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts named Nick Franklin, and also a Shanghai district governor named Li Yiping.

[CostaFreak]

*BANG, BANG, BANG*

Oh...ahh...ow. Oh God, I think I just crushed my skull after reading that.

[BCC]

1.5 Sq Km? That's relatively small.

[Tom Morrow]

Shanghai Disney to surpass HK success

Shanghai Disney to surpass HK success Central China TV The Walt Disney Company and the Shanghai municipal government have signed a project proposal to build the first Disney park on the Chinese mainland. The first phase will include a theme park, a hotel and a shopping center, covering an area of 1.5 square kilometers. It will open in 2014, at the earliest. By the conclusion of the whole project, a sprawling complex will be cover an area of six to eight square kilometers. The total investment will be about 24 billion RMB. Analysts in Shanghai are confident that the park there will surpass the Hong Kong success and contribute trillions of RMB to the local GDP. complete article and VIDEO

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[Ezra]

Originally Posted by BCC

1.5 Sq Km? That's relatively small.

That's just the first phase of a much bigger resort complex:

Originally Posted by Tom Morrow (quoting CCTV)

By the conclusion of the whole project, a sprawling complex will be cover an area of six to eight square kilometers.

Of course, this article also says HKDL's business is "booming" so, take together with a grain of salt mixed up in a walnut shell.

Rumor has it that the park built durning the first phase will not be a Magic Kingdom style park, but a much more original park; something more rooted specifically in Chinese culture.

[Tom Morrow]

China's central gov't hasn't recieve proposal yet

China Ministry: Haven't Received Shanghai Disney Park Proposal CNN Money China's Ministry of Commerce hasn't yet received an investment proposal for a Walt Disney Co. (DIS) theme park in Shanghai, ministry spokesman Yao Jian said at a press briefing Thursday. Local media reported last week that the Shanghai government and Walt Disney have signed an agreement to build a theme park in the city, but Disney spokeswoman Huang Chen said no agreement had been reached. by Juan Chen and Aaron Back, Dow Jones Newswires

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[Tom Morrow]

Disney makes an offical statement

Disney Is ‘Optimistic’ Over Shanghai Theme Park Negotiations Bloomberg Asia Walt Disney & Co. said no agreement has been made yet with Chinese authorities on the opening of a Shanghai theme park, although it was “optimistic” as negotiations continued. An application to build the park was submitted to the relevant government bodies after the Burbank, California-based company had completed a feasibility study, Disney Managing Director for Asia Bill Ernest said today in an interview. “We are optimistic both parties will have an ongoing dialogue,” said Ernest after the launch of Hong Kong Disneyland’s Lunar New Year celebrations. “Yet today even with the application project report, we don’t have a deal yet, and we don’t have anything agreed to yet. We are still waiting.” by James Peng complete article

Submitted by Ezra

[Ezra]

This article doesn't specifically say whether that proposal was submitted to China's central government yet or not. I assume that it was. I don't like the way the news media is handling (or mis-handling) this story at all. I want details!

At least someone at Disney is actually making a statement admitting their intentions.

Rick Munarriz at Motley Fool wrote a piece two weeks ago praising Disney for this Shanghai proposal. His reasoning is that other companies are scaling back because of the economic recession, but Disney is focussing on the long term. Here's a link:

Disney's Shanghai Surprise