Friday, May 24, 2013

Work Starts On Shanghaî Disneyland Castle, SDL Opening Scheduled For End 2015 !


According to chinese newspapers, "Construction began today on Shanghai Disneyland's Castle, setting another milestone in the development of the amusement park. The Enchanted Storybook Castle, designed to be the world's tallest and largest Disney castle, is going to be the centerpiece of Shanghai Disneyland. Workers today sank the first pile into ground to build the castle's foundation.

The Enchanted Storybook Castle, in the heart of the theme park, will combine entertainment, dining and performance into one. Its winding staircase will lead visitors on a "Once Upon a Time Adventure" with unforgettable experiences.

The castle will also delight visitors with a boat ride that goes through a secret underground chamber in which fountains of light will dance in shimmering pools and surround visitors with magic, music and color".

WDI Imagineer Bob Weis who is at the head of the Shanghaî Disneyland project posted today on his blog some pictures that you can see HERE.


More infos have also been released on SDL opening date and so far it is now scheduled for end 2015, which is just in two and a half years from now so i suppose that SDL Imagineers will be really busy in the next 30 months to be ready on time!

Don't miss too my huge artwork report on the future Paramount Park in Spain! Part one is HERE and part two is HERE!

Artwork: copyright Disney

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can see some photos of the construction over at Bob Weis' blog:

http://www.bobweis.cn/2013/05/construction-begins-on-shanghai-disneyland-castle/

-Matt

xavier said...

On my recent trip to HK, I spent time with local friends. Their point of view was interesting.

- The tiny castle of HK is a big joke for them. So that's may be a reason for Shangai they went in reaction with an overblown castle on top of a hill...

- They told me the recent success attendance of HK was mostly from mainland chinese. As HKer's snub the park. But that's a good thing for the success of Shangai.

- Bad reputation for the food.

Marco Antonio Garcia said...

Disneyland was entirely built in a year in the 1950's, so I wonder why Disney takes so long to build parks and attractions nowadays.

And Xavier, if what you are saying is accurate, it's good news for SDL, but terrible news for HKDL and not a very smart decision from Disney to create a competition that may potentially destroy one of their own Resorts.

They have also lost a good opportunity to build a nice restaurant in Mystic Point and improve the park's food reputation, but instead they chose to build another counter service...

danielz6 said...

I agree. 2 disneylands in China seems a bit foolish to me. Just because they have the people doesn't mean they have the interest. Time will tell. Look at Japan. A fraction of China's population yet two massively successful Parks. Because the interest is there. And you can't say its because Disney sea is great as Disney sea wasn't built until a whole 18 years after Tokyo Disneyland.