The HKDL Source

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Countless media outlets are reporting confirmation of what has been rumoured for some time now - Disney and China have reached a formal agreement for a Shanghai Disneyland by 2014.

It woud be difficult to keep running this site and not mention one of the biggest Disney stories of the year. Not long after I visited my fourth Disney resort in Tokyo over Christmas, Shanghai and Disney have gone and announced plans for a sixth resort in Shanghai by 2014.

The China Daily reports: "Local authorities in Shanghai and the Walt Disney Company have reached an agreement on major issues behind the building of the first Disneyland theme park on the Chinese mainland, Shanghai mayor Han Zheng said over the weekend". They place the estimated cost at $3.59 billion. However, the park may not be as large as originally hoped for. The paper goes on to say: "Sited on the east bank of Shanghai's Huangpu River, bordering Pudong district's Chuansha town and Nanhui district, the journal cited unidentified sources close to the project as saying. Previous reports said 10 sq km of land has been set aside for the park. Its first phase will reportedly include a theme park, a hotel and a shopping center, covering an area of 1.5 sq km."

So what makes this different from other rumours that have circulated over the last few years. After all, those of use following this from the beginning have grown used to hearing 'confirmation' of plans only to be denied by Disney. This time, Disney actually seem to be talking. The Los Angeles Times reports that Disney are expected to submit plans for the park imminently. The paper also cites Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Spokeswoman Leslie Goodman as saying: "Discussions have been ongoing about the feasibility of a theme park project in China...We worked on a joint application report with the Shanghai government which will be submitted to the central government for review." This confirms that Disney has probably been planning this for some time, and all of those rumours were at least partially true. Red tape is a bastard, isn't it?

The only real question this little website has is 'Where does that leave HKDL?'. Xinhua seems to have the answer to that: ""The Hong Kong Disneyland will have its loyal customers from southern China, and I'm sure Guangdong residents would prefer Hong Kong to Shanghai," said Cathy Yuen, spokeswoman, Hong Tai Travel Agent."

When all is said and done, I guess we'll just wait and see with everybody else...

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