Some news about HKDL and the Marvel Land project which, finally, is not officially a "go"! You might remember that a Hong Kong official revealed some weeks ago that Marvel super heroes will have their own land in the park and that soon HKDL will be the first to have a Marvel land...
Well, it seems that this announcement was may be premature as last week Tom Staggs apparently said "we've not confirmed anything about it as yet" adding that the Marvel land is only one among others options for future HKDL additions.
Although Disney is walking back the government’s Marvel announcement, The Wall Street Journal reports there’s said to be a “senior-level agreement” in place... however, nothing is probably set in stone yet. Not a big surprise knowing that it took the shareholders more than two years to settle on the $500 million expansion which added Gizzly Gulch, Toy Story Land and Mystic Point to HKDL.
So, where is the truth in all this? May be the chinese tried to force the negotiations with Disney, or may be the deal is already done and we know that Disney really hates to don't be the one doing the official announcement, specially on such an awaited project as can be a Marvel land.
There might be another explanation, more simple. Mystic Manor is not even officially open yet that medias are starting to talk about the future. But if a Marvel land open at HKDL Tomorrowland - and personally i think it will open - the WDC and HKDL certainly don't want anyone in Asia to wait three more years before coming to the park. DLP marketing uses the same strategy and that's why the WDS Ratatouille ride hasn't be announced yet - except during the shareholder meeting - even if all fans know about it.
As Disney CEO Bob Iger said months ago that WDI had begun to work on concepts that would allow Marvel superheroes to appear in “a few places around the world” i'm ready to bet that in Iger mind was included HKDL. Wait and see, so...
Editing: An anonymous reader has left this comment to the article:
"There was no "Marvel land" to begin with. All they were going to do was the most cheap/uninteresting option: drop a single Marvel-themed ride into Tomorrowland (not that that makes any sense). And the ride would just be Star Tours redressed to be about the Avengers. Unimaginative and uninspiring."
I double checked and It seems that the info above is true. And i have to agree, too, that there is not much space left in HKDL Tomorrowland, so 1 or 2 ride will eventually fit well, but a real land, no way! If Marvel is going to be a mini land at HKDL Tomorrowland, then the rides part would be just as big as Toy Story Land's rides... Which means that may be the Marvel land or "mini-land" deal is finally not done yet and may be Disney would prefer to keep anything Marvel for HKDL second gate where they will have plenty of room for a "real" Marvel land...
( end of editing )
A little news now about Shanghaî Disneyland and this one is about the infrastructure of the area leading to the future park as Shanghaî Daily has announced that "Shanghaî will begin building the last section of the Middle Ring Road in the Pudong New Area this year, which will better handle traffic anticipated with the opening of the Shanghai Disneyland in 2015, officials said yesterday.
The new elevated highway, costing more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.62 billion), is being built between the Jungong Road Tunnel and Gaoke Road M. It will be finished in 2015 to make the Middle Ring Road a complete, ring-shaped highway.
The 9.4-kilometer section will have two decks with four lanes on each deck, which should help prevent traffic jams, said Shang Housheng, an official with the Shanghai Construction and Transport Commission.
"The new section will not only improve the traffic conditions in middle Pudong, but also make it easier for large groups of visitors to move to and from Disneyland in the future," Shang said."
See you tomorrow for more news coming from Asia!
Picture: copyright Disney - Marvel
