Shanghaî Disneyland Update

A little update about Shanghaî Disneyland today with an interesting info coming from the official SDL website. At last D23 Expo Tom Staggs revealed that there will be a Fantasyland boat ride which will go or start from under SDL "Enchanted Storybook Castle" before moving outside for a slow cruise in SDL Fantasyland. The very first rendering showing one of the boats was shown, is now posted on the SDL website and thanks to a closer look at the caption we can learn interesting details about this particular scene which will in fact be happening in the finale of the "Fantasyland boat ride": "In a secret chamber beneath the castle, fountains of light ( will ) leap and dance in shimmering pools, surrounding the boat with magic, music and color". This should make a nice finale.

Also, as revealed last week by Doris Woodward, senior director and producer, Shanghaî Disneyland castle "will be the biggest among Disney's castles worldwide. Instead of being home to any single princess, the castle in Shanghai will be home to all of Disney's princesses, including Snow White and Pocahontas". Good to know, but where exactly these princesses will be located in the castle? We can learn this with a look at the caption of the picture below: "In the heart of Enchanted Storybook Castle a magnificent winding staircase that leads guests on a " Once Upon a Time Adventure", featuring the Disney Princesses". In two words, it will be located in the upper floor of the castle and it is supposed to be a walk-through and not a ride. Don't know yet if each princess will be an audio-animatronic or if the whole thing will be just a Princess meet and greet...



Talking about Shanghaî Disneyland, Screamscape had a good scoop last week when he posted a SDL map which seems to be the real thing - although it's impossible to know if its the final version of the SDL project or not. Unfortunately for you - but fortunately for WDI - the picture is not sharp enough to see the attractions titles. Still, Screamscape succeeded to find interesting infos and we can see a bit more of the track of some SDL rides like this Fantasyland boat ride which will have some twist and turns like the Jungle Cruise ride have except that this one is located in the heart of Fantasyland and have a Fantasyland theme.

On the same map we can see that a Toy Story Land has been added, and that's not good news. Don't get me wrong, i don't dislike Toy Story Land, but not in a Magic Kingdom. What i specially don't like about it is the visual intrusion of the RC Racer half pipe coaster ride as well as the Parachute Drop towers. What i also don't like in TSL is that almost each time it was added to the park it was for cost reasons, to save money. It was the case of course at the WDS where a Toy Story Mania was previously envisioned exactly where TSL was finally built, and for the reasons we know about DLP they've built instead Toy Story Playland. Okay, it was also a good way for the WDS to have three new little attractions instead of one, but TSL was also costing much less money than TSM. At Hong kong Disneyland where there is a Toy Story Land too it's a bit different. Basically it seems that the HK administration wanted to add several new rides and mini lands and don't exceed a certain amount. And that's one of the reasons why the great Pirates of Caribbean land was cancelled, because the cost of it was not allowing to have others and different rides/lands. So WDI came with the Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor concepts and needed a third one which ended to be Toy Story Land. As i've been told a while ago that some cuts had to be done in the Shanghaî Disneyland original concept this might explain why - again for money reasons - Toy Story Land has been added. TSL is very successful everywhere it's built, that's not the problem, but i still think it doesn't have its place in a Magic Kingdom.

It's not enough clear on the SDL map to be sure but on the left of Fantasyland, behind the castle, i think that the building on the very left, close to TSL, might be the one for Peter Pan's Flight as i know the ride will be at SDL. Would WDI Imagineers have the good die ago create an "expanded" and longer version of the ride? That would be a good idea.

That said, a closer look at the Adventureland part of this SDL map reveal a huge Adventureland and what seems to be a big Pirate land too with, as we know, a new version of the POTC ride and may be, too, a POTC stunt show. Screamscape think that the pirate boats that we have seen on previous renderings located in the Adventureland lagoon might be used for this stunt show and if it's right it's not a bad idea. I don't know if you remind the free pirate stunt show which was played in front of the Treasure Island Hotel at Las vegas - in which a huge pirate ship was even sinking at the end - but if you've seen it you know that there is something good that WDI could do with a POTC stunt show located in the lagoon.

That's all for now about SDL and those of you who have never seen this Las Vegas pirate stunt show - which was not created by WDI - can discover its original version on the video below posted by gregman01.




Pictures: copyright Disney

Shanghaî Disneyland will have Unique Rides and Attractions, says Tom Staggs

Here is some interesting news about Shanghaî Disneyland! According to China Daily latest article:
"When the Shanghai Disney Resort opens in 2015, all the attractions will look amiable and adorable.
But the process that helped create them was the product of creative opinions, challenges and discussions involving many different voices and backgrounds, including leading Chinese artists and designers.

More than 500 designers, or what Disney calls "imagineers", have worked for years to create the design concept for the first Disney resort on the Chinese mainland, in the hope of making the 3.9-square-kilometer resort 100 percent Disney, but with distinctive Chinese flavors.

For these Disney imagineers, who have already designed five Disney resorts, ensuring their designs are genuinely Disney is not as much of a challenge as ensuring Chinese elements and consumer tastes are appropriately considered and incorporated.

To achieve that goal, the designers launched numerous focus groups and undertook countless field research trips to hear from audiences, and witness and experience Chinese culture firsthand. They also welcomed into their design group top Chinese creative talent to ensure Chinese participation in the project from the very beginning.

During a lunch at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, the Shanghai Disney Resort's creative head, Bob Weis, and three LA-based Chinese imagineers shared with China Daily some of the exciting stories about their work on the Shanghai project.

According to Weis, many of the designers involved with the Shanghai resort have visited China multiple times to experience Chinese culture, and have incorporated elements into their work and discussed improvements with colleagues. Every design in the Shanghai Disney Resort is subject to critical review and debate. "We encourage the exchange of ideas so we can select the best concepts while recognizing there are no stupid ideas," he said.

One of the most debated designs has been of the main castle, the centerpiece of every Disney resort. To ensure a perfect castle for the Shanghai theme park, the team pinned many drafts on a giant wall to solicit opinions from visitors and partners. Lead castle designer Doris Woodward, a senior director and producer who traces her family background to Shanghai, said Shanghai's castle will be the biggest among Disney's castles worldwide. Instead of being home to any single princess, the castle in Shanghai will be home to all of Disney's princesses, including Snow White and Pocahontas.

Beijing-born and raised Yu Xuan, one of the LA-based imagineers, is in charge of organizing creative design focus groups and the immersive trips across China. "We get ideas of what Chinese audiences want through questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with thousands of people in many cities. One key thing we have found is that they all want to take away from their Shanghai Disney Resort experience a collective memory that can be shared among family members throughout their entire lives," she said.

Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said some of the designs in the Shanghai park have been pinned down but some are still up for modification. Designs will be constantly improved and refined during the development phase and visitors will be "surprised" when they enter the park at the end of 2015, he said. He added that the Shanghai park will also feature plenty of rides and attractions, many of which are newly designed and cannot be found at other Disney theme parks.

Text: copyright China Daily

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