Shanghai Disneyland - When Will It Open?

[DVCOwner]

I have seen a lot of rumors about when the Shanghai Disneyland Resort will open. Today ShanghaiDaily.com run this article:

Shanghai Disney to basically finish construction in 2015: mayor
Jan 30,2015

SHANGHAI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Construction of Disney's first park on the Chinese mainland will be basically finished this year, Shanghai mayor Yang Xiong said Thursday.

Shanghai Disney Resort's opening is being discussed, Yang said.

He said methods are being studied to properly handle the large number of tourists expected to visit the park.

The Shanghai Disney Resort is Disney's sixth resort destination worldwide. Construction began in 2011 in Shanghai's Pudong New District.

Apart from the "Treasure Cove", the first Pirate-themed land in any Disney park, Shanghai Disneyland will also feature many Chinese elements, like the "Garden of 12 Friends", based on the 12 animal signs of Chinese horoscope.

 

[DVCOwner]

The above article does not make me think that the park will be opening in December 2015 as was planned. I am planning a May 2016 trip, but will not do anything until an official opening date is on the official Disney web site.

 

[peep]

^Same, I'm planning on going in 2016. Although late 2015 is being touted it is bound to have lots of teething problems. December does seem to be the month that is mentioned a lot around but it also sounds like construction is behind schedule?

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Someone close to the project recently told me spring 2016 at the very earliest.

 

[AndyS2992]

'methods are being studied to properly handle the large number of tourists expected to visit the park.'

Lets hope so, given that Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland both failed to meet attendance targets on opening year by quite a margin.

 

[DVCOwner]

With the large growing middle class in the Shanghai area and over 3 million people living within a 2 hour train ride of where Shanghai Disneyland is being built, I do not think they will have to worry about not meeting expectations on crowds. I think that this one is going to be more like Tokyo Disneyland and buying tickets in advance will be the norm. Only time will tell.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Unlike HKDL, this park is being planned with the cultural mores of Mainland Chinese in mind - so it will be super interesting to see the differences from the "normal" Disney theme park experience once it opens.

 

[AndyS2992]

Lots of images of the construction in this article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...isney-s-theme-park-construction-Shanghai.html

Was expecting it to be much further along than that

 

[DVCOwner]

The castle looks huge!

 

[peep]

It does look far from finished but then it's amazing what will be possible within the next 12 months.

 

[brb1006]