Disney fans and Miracle Mandarin students, rejoice – after a slow trickle of news, we’ve finally got some fairly substantial details about what is being planned for the Shanghai Disneyland that is set to open on June 16th 2016.
 
So, there you are. Including these latest details, this is your cheat-sheet list of what we know so far about Disneyland Shanghai:
 
1. The park will be divided up into six ‘themed’ lands
 
The six areas include the Mickey Avenue, the main entrance to the park with designs inspired by Mickey Mouse and other cartoon characters; Gardens of Imagination, an area focused on ‘the wonders of nature and the joy of imagination’ with the classic Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride; a Fantasyland at the centre of the park, which will house the Enchanted Storybook Castle, celebrating all of Disney’s princesses, rather than just one as is standard in Disneylands elsewhere (Phew!); an Adventure Isle that includes fast-paced rides like the Roaring Rapids, as well as a ‘Soaring Over the Horizon’ experience designed to give the experience of flying around the world; a Treasure Cove, a pirate-themed area based on the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ films, with a pirate ship and a canoe ride; and finally aTomorrowland, which is a technology centric-section that can be found at most of its other parks. This science-fiction themed area will have a jet pack flying simulation, a new Buzz Lightyear attraction, and the first ever Tron rollercoaster, where happy thrill-seekers will be able to ride a train of Lightcycles along a twisting track at high speeds through a massive, colour-shifting canopy.
 
In addition there will be a Star Wars Launch Bay, and a Marvel Universe, promising props and memorabilia of the movies and their history.
 
2. It’s Disney with a Chinese twist
 
The ‘distinctly Chinese’ bit looks set to come from the 11 acre Garden of the Twelve Friends, with the animals of the Chinese Zodiac reinterpreted as Disney and Pixar characters – the lambs from Mary Poppins will represent the Year of the Sheep. Visitors will also find a dim sum restaurant in the middle of the park, traditional lucky cloud patterns on the magic castle and agiant glass peony blossom representing nobility and good fortune at the centre of a fairy-bedecked fountain.
Near Disneytown, the largest shopping district planned adjacent to the theme park, there will be a 40 hectare Wishing Star Park, including the Wishing Star Lake, a 2.5-kilometre walking path and ornamental gardens.
 
3. There will be plenty of places to spend
 
There will be a Disneytown shopping complex next to the park (withshikumen-style buildings and a Lego store) and the Wishing Star Park next to that.
 
Shanghai’s Disneytown will also feature the ‘Walt Disney Grand Theatre’, home to the first-ever Mandarin production of the Broadway hit The Lion King. What’s Hakuna Matata in Mandarin? Anyone?
 
4. Two themed hotels will open next to the park
 
Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and the Toy Story Hotel will be located right next to the resort itself. As you’d expect, the proposed décor and facilities will keep things Disney-ish, with Mickey and Minnie statues at the porte cochere of the Disneyland Hotel and characters roaming the restaurants; while the Toy Story Hotel will boast Woody and Buzz Lightyear courtyards, and Toy Story-themed Chinese kites in the café.
 
 
To be continued…
Want to know more about Chinese culture? Join Miracle Mandarin! New semester begins February 22nd.
 
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