China Daily reports in its latest article online that "Shanghai Disney theme park seems to be progressing slowly" and there might be some delay for Shanghaî Disneyland opening. Really? What a surprise... And they've got the infos from a SDL insider source. Okay, let me tell this: if there must be a delay, even if we have to wait one more year, let it be. The biggest mistake - a fatal one, in fact - would be to open the park with half the rides working. Chinese are gonna rush to Shanghaî Disneyland as soon as it will be open, and not having all the rides operationals would create a huge mess, long lines, global dissatisfaction and the worst "mouth to ear" reports from the guests which would have been trapped in what would be a half SDL experience. And you know how it is difficult to make people change a mental image once they have it in their head, don't you? It happened before for others Disney theme parks and it took them years to change it. So, i know that Chinese don't like to lose face but in this case Shendi - the joint venture company ruling SDL - must find a good corporate alibi to delay the opening, and everything will be fine. If they don't and decide to open a non fully operational park, it'll be disaster ahead.
That said, Iger recently announced that the final opening date of Shanghaî Disneyland will be announced early 2015 so i suppose we should't have to wait too long to know it. Below, excerpts from the China Daily article that you can read in full HERE. And one more thing: i've got a "gift of the day" for you today as the SDL bird eye view artwork above has been upscaled in a 80 cm poster size, so click on it to get it in big size! And below, a new picture showing the construction of the "dome" over the outdoor track of Tron Lightcycles Power Run. It's called officially "Tron Cover". The image below is not perfectly sharp because the original file was posted in very small size on a chinese website and i had to upscaled it. It's really the best that i could get out of it.
Shanghai Disney theme park seems to be progressing slowly
By Shi Jing (China Daily)
Long-awaited Disney theme park seems to be progressing slowly, reports Shi Jing in Shanghai.
The Shanghai Disney Resort will someday be a place where children and adults can indulge in dreams, but it is not pleasant at all to visit the site at present, especially on a chill winter's day.
At the moment, there is little to be seen on this mostly vacant piece of land spreading over 3.9 square kilometers－and yet security is extremely tight. Even people trying to take a picture across the street where the gate of the resort is located will be stopped by security staff.
The only way to get any rough idea of the progress of construction is to drive round the leveled land. It is hard to visualize how the theme park will look like in less than 12 months. A source familiar with the resort who asked for anonymity said that there might be some difficulty with a 2015 opening.
Shanghai Construction Group Co Ltd, one of the major contractors of the Shanghai Disney Resort, said in early December that the first phase of the theme park would be completed by the end of January 2015. But Disney Resort has told China Daily that no specific completion date has been announced.
In an e-mail sent to China Daily, the company said that the Shanghai Disney Resort's development is being led by a "highly skilled international team of Disney Imagineers", including experts from China and the United States.
"Construction milestones are being reached on a regular basis. The remarkable 'mountain' feature at the resort's Magic Kingdom-style theme park was recently topped-out, and we look forward to celebrating many more milestones in the months ahead," said the e-mail.
"An international team of Disney Imagineers is working hand-in-hand with local contractors to transfer unique Disney techniques, design, rockwork and themed finishing expertise to local artisans to bring the best of Disney to the people of China. We look forward to sharing more details soon," the company said. ( End of China Daily excerpts )
Now, i've got something else for you about Shanghaî Disneyland and it's about a mix of civil engineering staff and year two and year three students who visited Shanghai Disneyland construction site on November 26, 2014.
They had a tour on the construction site and then moved to the Headquarters of Shanghai City Building Engineering Company where they received a presentation on the project and BIM application in Design and Construction of Enchanted Storybook Castle (Disneyland castle).
Lucky them, you say? Sure, but lucky us too as the article talking about their visit also posted this picture below. It didn't took me too long to find what it shows and the yellow and white building on the top is showing a building of of Spice Alley, near SDL lake, which will present a variety of popular Asian cuisines in a casual, yet romantic environment.
If you have a closer look at the picture you'll see a bit of the lake and the high red building in the background on the left is most probably the Walt Disney Theatre, in Disney Town, in which will play The Lion King musical. On the official rendering below you'll see the yellow and white building already built above.
By the way, if this picture was shot in November during the students visit you'll note that , at least for this part of the resort, that the works are well advanced.
That's all for today about Shanghaî Disneyland!
Artwork: copyright Disney - Shendi
Great story!!
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