Shanghai Disneyland a reality

OK OK this is 2 weeks old news but I'm sure not everyone knows... yet. :) For the city that has (almost) everything, the world's biggest theme park will soon be landing on our shores too.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-11/14/content_6253146.htm

Disneyland plan dusted off in Shanghai

By Zhang Kun (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-14 07:13

SHANGHAI: The authorities have confirmed that the previously suspended plan to build a Disneyland theme park in this city has been revived and preparations are going ahead full steam.

Qian Weizhong, director of the economy committee of Nanhui district, said residents had moved off the land targeted for Shanghai Disneyland, in suburban Chuansha town. The planned theme park will occupy 6 sq km, which is about 4.7 times the size of Hong Kong's Disneyland, according to the original plan.

"Local authorities have received positive feedback from the central government about the Disneyland project," Qian was quoted as saying by the Oriental Outlook.

Representatives of Disney yesterday declined to comment on the development, saying only: "Our focus is on the successful operation of our first theme park in China - Hong Kong Disneyland."

However, Walt Disney Company (Shanghai) Ltd said in a statement faxed to China Daily: "China is a priority for the entire company, and we have a continuing dialogue about a variety of Disney initiatives, including television, motion pictures and consumer products, of which theme parks are only a part."

Qian said arrangements had been made to ease travel to the planned site.

"The Shanghai A20 highway has opened an exit for Chuansha, near the planned east gate of the Disneyland," Qian said.

Foxtown, an outlet mall located near the site of the planned theme park, is one beneficiary of the development.

Lu Qiang, its CEO, said he was glad to hear the Disneyland project had been revived, as Foxtown had won the right to set up shop after several rounds of bidding.

"If the Disney project was aborted, Foxtown would face great difficulties recruiting tenants," Lu said.

He said he had been briefed about the recent developments by Nanhui authorities last week.

The planned Pudong railway will stop at the theme park. Metro line No 11 will also stop there.

When finished, the transportation connecting the park will be the biggest in the country's eastern region, bringing visitors from more than 50 cities in the Yangtze River Delta.

The plan to build a Disneyland park in Shanghai was first floated in 2005, but was soon suspended. Disney signed a statement of intent to build a Disneyland on the mainland in 2002.

Several suburban district authorities competed over the location of the theme park. The municipality compromised by putting the park in both Chuansha and Nanhui.

The Lujiazui Group and Walt Disney Company then set up a joint-stock company, but the plan was suspended. Hong Kong media reported there were widespread fears that having a third Disneyland in Asia, especially if it were in Shanghai, would harm Hong Kong's park.

An unidentified official from the Shanghai economy committee said the Shanghai plan had been suspended in part because of concerns the Hong Kong park would suffer.

My thoughts? If they want it to be a success they really need to un-China-fy it. Thinking back to our visit to the Dino Beach waterpark and our experience at Universal Studios Japan (Osaka) there needs to be:

1) efficient queueing and barriers to prevent queue jumpers
2) none of this pay an entry fee then pay for all the rides (or in our case inflatable tubes) inside crap
3) have more food outlets with different varieties of food (cuisines)
4) have decent gift/souvenir shops selling COOL or cute stuff, not tacky stuff, pleasantly displayed. Not put out randomly or in an ugly untidy fashion
5) an entry fee that is not extortionate
6) friendly, helpful staff that SMILE
7) lockers (not too expensive) and toilets spread out throughout the grounds
8) crowd control in general
9) signs in English and staff that speak English, mutli-lingual and/or pictorial signs would be most beneficial

They say that it's expected to be completed in 2010, the same year as the World Expo. If this is true then 2010 will be a very big year for Shanghai indeed!

Dino Beach

We finally went to the water park yesterday. Had been wanting and meaning to go ever since we got here but time was passing quickly and it would close on 2nd September so we finally made it there yesterday.

This is the fourth water park we've been to in 3 years.

1. Wild Wadi in Dubai, UAE (October 2004)
2. Whitewater World on the Gold Coast, Qld, Australia (January 2007)
3. Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (May 2007)
4. Dino Beach in Shanghai, China (August 2007)

I guess when you've been to a few water parks you tend to have expectations and start to make comparisons, but I'm not going to do that here or else I could be here all day.

We got there about noon, just when the sun was the hottest.

The layout of the park was quite confusing. The area was quite large and they didn't give us a handheld map so a lot of the time we were wandering around not even sure where we were going or what we were looking for.

We started off by riding the inflatable tube down the 'river'. This seems to be a common element in all water parks, but this time the ride was extremely long and dare I say it, I was getting impatient and bored! (this has never happened before). After I got home and studied the map (from the photo I took) I could see just how long it was, it went around the entire circumference of the park but it also went in an out in places too. Mega long!

We then went on a slide where you had to lie on a thin rubber mat face down, hold the finger holes and slide down. The slide was straight down and pretty fun. The second slide we went on used the same mat but the slide twisted and turned and right near the start I did something to my back and I was in pain the whole way down. Thankfully the pain wasn't too serious and didn't last long.

Then, we went to the artificial beach and rode the artificial waves. I had my waterproof case on my camera and filmed us riding the wave. It's so funny to watch in hindsight!

We spent way too long there because hubby lost his cap when one of the big waves pushed us around (and we both fell off our tube!) and he tried to find it (after the waves were turned off of course) but couldn't.

After that, we rode another slide, similar to the twisty turny one we rode before but this one requires you to sit inside the ring and slide down. There was a pretty good view from the top of the stairs and the water park seemed to be built in the middle of nowhere. The whole area (Minhang) seemed to be newer too, like Pudong.

There was something we found that we had not seen at other water parks. There were two of them. The first had cute jungle and forest type animals like crocodiles and frogs (that floated in the water and you could sit on) and the second one had an arctic them with polar bears, and seals. The first one had 'lily pads' which were pieces of foam that floated (but were tied down) and a big long rope above. The aim was to walk across and not fall into the water. Easier than it looked! Both adults and kids loved this 'game'. In the arctic area they were icebergs instead of lily pads - cute! :D It reminded me a lot of an 80's TV game show in Australia called "It's a knockout."

We had a fun day but were glad to be home. It was a bit hellish getting home in peak hour. It was our most expensive taxi ride yet - 47 RMB.