Disney is expected to begin construction of their new park in Shanghai anytime now, according to reports.
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) will likely begin building its first theme park in mainland China in November, after the Shanghai World Expo ends Oct. 31, the Shanghai Securities News reported Monday, citing unnamed sources.
Land for the theme park in Shanghai has been handed over to the U.S.-based entertainment company, the paper cited the unnamed sources as saying, adding preliminary preparation is near completion.
The Shanghai government received approval from the central government in October 2009 to build the Shanghai Disneyland project in partnership with Walt Disney.
Walt Disney operates several theme parks globally, including a 1.3-square-kilometer park in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong.
Construction of the Shanghai theme park, which spans four square kilometers, could take five to six years, according to earlier media reports.
Hong Kong Disneyland has been strugling, so the decision to build a new park on the mainland represents a reasonable risk. Still, the Chinese on the whole really do like Mickey so in the long run I’m sure it will all work out. 🙂