Did you catch that story late last month about Shanghai Disneyland? Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong-based newspaper, reported that ” … after 10 years of tough negotiations …” the Walt Disney Company had finally cut a deal to build a theme park in China’s business hub.
What was fascinating about this particular press report was how quickly the Mouse & Chinese government officials moved to deny it. Within hours of this story hitting the wires, a two-tiered denial was making the rounds. With Chen Qiwei, the spokesman for Shanghai stating that this ” … project still needs central government approval and Shanghai will obey Beijing’s decision.” While Disney spokeswoman Alannah Hall-Smith said — in an extremely terse statement — that ” … there is no agreement and there is no deal.”
Not this month, anyway.
But two months from now … To be specific, in September, after the 2008 Olympics are over and China is basking in the glory of having successfully pulled off this enormous event. Then — and only then — will Mickey & central government officials reveal that Shanghai Disneyland is actually a go. That — barring any construction delays — this $3.8 billion project (with its three hotels as well as the largest Magic Kingdom in the world) could be open for business as early as 2012.
Mind you, it’s not as if the Mouse has been all that secretive about its lengthy negotiations with Shanghai officials. Back in February of 2006, Bob Iger accidentally sent Disney’s stock price soaring when — in an telephone interview with a Hong Kong cable news station — he said that ” … On theme parks, we have ongoing discussions, ongoing and ongoing and ongoing with the Chinese government about a park in Shanghai.”
Later that same year, then-Disney Company Chairman George Mitchell — while being interviewed by the China Daily — admitted that these talks were continuing. “(To date), our discussions have been with Shanghai officials … and now (we’re talking) with the national officials.”
And among senior Mouse House officials, it’s well known that Iger is eager to get a second theme park up out of the ground in this country. What with its burgeoning middle class as well as those 290 million consumers under the age of 14 … The financial opportunities that Mainland China represents to the Walt Disney Company are truly, truly huge.
But — then again — so are the risks. Whereas Hong Kong Disneyland was built right next to the most westernized city in China … Shanghai Disneyland (Which is to be built on the southernmost outskirts of that city about 20 minutes away from Pudong International Airport) is virtually out on the frontier. In yet another interview in 2006, Bob talked about how ” … the sheer lack of infrastructure” made projects like this ” … not for the faint of heart.”
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This was one of the main reasons that Shanghai Disneyland’s negotiations dragged on for as long as they did. In order for this theme park / resort project to finally go forward, China’s central government first had to agree to drop some very serious coin in the Pudong District. This includes building a brand-new railway system that will (in theory, anyway) deliver people from more that 50 cities in the Yangtze River Delta straight to Shanghai Disneyland’s door. Not to mention adding a Shanghai Disneyland-specific exit to the A20 as well as making sure that all the necessary utilities (i.e. electricity, water, sewerage lines, etc.) are in place before construction begins on this 6 square kilometer project. All told, the Chinese government has allegedly agreed to spend upwards of $40 billion in & around Shanghai in order to help make this next Magic Kingdom a reality.
“And why is China’s central government willing to spend this sort of money on Shanghai Disneyland?,” you ask. Because they’re going to get far better terms from Disney on the Mainland China Magic Kingdom project than the folks in Hong Kong got. Though the exact terms of this deal are now under wraps (and will likely remain so for years yet to come), according to press reports, “… Disney will provide technology and capital for a 51-percent stake in a joint venture with Shanghai’s government-backed Lujiazui Group company, which will contribute land near the Pudong International Airport.”
As for Shanghai Disneyland itself … Given that Iger — as justification for the Walt Disney Company’s $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios — cited a parade that he watched at Hong Kong Disneyland’s opening ceremony. Where …
“I was … standing with a few thousand other people watching the parade go by. And I realized that there wasn’t a character in (that) parade that had come from a Disney animated film in the last 10 years except for Pixar.”
Taking that into consideration (More importantly, since this will be the first Magic Kingdom that WDI has been able to design since that Emeryville-based entertainment company was acquired) … According to Imagineers that I’ve spoken with, Shanghai Disneyland will be the most Pixar-centric theme park on the planet.
How so? Well, according to a preliminary listing of rides, shows and attractions that have been proposed for this park (Which are — of course — subject to change between now and this project’s 2012 opening date), Woody, Jessie and Bullseye will ride herd on Frontierland while Shanghai Disneyland’s Autopia will serve as the centerpiece of a brand-new “Cars” -themed part of this park.
Don’t get me wrong. There will be Disney characters in Shanghai Disneyland. I’m told that Captain Jack Sparrow will stagger around a Pirates-centric version of Adventureland while Rapunzel & her tower will … Well, tower over Fantasyland.
But as for the rest of the details on Shanghai Disneyland … Those will have to wait until after the 2008 Olympics are over and the Walt Disney Company & the Chinese government officially make their announcement. So … See you in September.
Your thoughts?