As the second Disney theme park to open in Greater China and the third in Asia, the new Shanghai Disney Resort – slated to open its doors to public on 16 June 2016 – will span over 963 acres, approximately three times the size of Hong Kong Disneyland.
Shanghai Disneyland is part of the construction of the resort, together with two themed hotels and other recreational facilities. Two more theme parks will follow in the additional phases in time to come.
Want to know more? Here is a more in-depth look of the rides, hotels and other attractions in the soon-to-be-opened Shanghai Disney Resort.
The actual Shanghai Disneyland theme park is built similarly to Disney’s other Magic Kingdom-style parks and it will have activities and rides catered to accommodate Chinese guests. Two in-resort hotels will launch on the same day as the theme park – Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and Toy Story Hotel – to cater to a more specific demographic.
The entire project costs approximately US$5.5 billion to build, so you can expect state-of-the-art technology and the full ‘Disney magic’ experience here.
HOTELS
In typical Disneyland fashion, a Disneyland hotel will be built right beside the actual theme park so that guests can conveniently check in and out of a room and enjoy a thematic experience altogether. The Shanghai Disneyland Hotel will have a total of 420 rooms and guests can take a complimentary water taxi service across the ‘Wishing Star Lake’ to the theme park itself.
What excited us more is the launch of the Toy Story Hotel – a fully themed 800-room hotel that will delight people of all ages. Besides the whimsically-styled rooms, you can also expect themed restaurants and meet-and-greets with the Toy Story characters.
RIDES & ATTRACTIONS
Now, here comes the exciting part – the rides. Whether you are a full-grown adult or a kid, you are never not going to be impressed with Disney’s magical themed rides. There are already so many that got us all excited!
Star Wars fans, be prepared to be swept off your feet with the Star Wars Launch Bay, where you can relive your fantasies of being in the Star Wars universe with interactive displays and more.
Also, Space Mountain ain’t everything now because there will be even better indoor roller coasters to try at Shanghai Disneyland.
Inside the epic and futuristic Tommorowland, the main highlight of the entire area is the TRON Lightcycle Power Run where you can simulate yourself in the world of TRON and race your friends at ‘light speed’.
Marvel is universally-loved and the new theme park will include a Marvel Universe where you can get deep inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While not much has been revealed about this attraction itself, it is still an exciting piece of news following Hong Kong Disneyland’s soon-to-be-launched Iron Man Experience.
Besides thrilling rides, children and the whole family can gather and try out some rides in the Gardens of Imagination or Fantasyland. The latter has rides such as Hunny Pot Spin, Peter Pan’s Flight and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The Mine Train is a slightly less daunting outdoor roller coaster if you are still looking for your thrill rides.
The Alice in Wonderland Maze is another feature in Fantasyland that is great for the whole family. Experience the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, Alice and more in this exciting maze journey.
Thrill-lovers might also be happy to know that there are more thrilling rides in Adventure Isle, including the outdoor Roaring Rapids and an indoor thrill ride – Soaring Over The Horizon. There are a ton more rides to choose from in the theme park and most of them are one of a kind.
ENTERTAINMENT
The iconic The Lion King Show is said to be made into a Chinese-dubbed one for the audience. And for the little kids out there, there will also be a Frozen Sing-Along show.
Of course, any Disneyland theme park is not complete without the daily magical fireworks display and Shanghai is no exception, with the lights an fireworks showcase – Ignite the Dream – A Nighttime Spectacular of Magic and Light.
All images from Shanghai Disney Resort