Disney put out a press release this evening, which has already led to an article in the New York Times, trumpeting the fact that a deal has been approved for Shanghai Disneyland.
But wait a minute.
No doubt pushed to show their hand by my shocking exposee from two days ago, Disney has done nothing but confirm things we already know. Of course, putting out such a visible and definite statement serves to emphasize the feeling that all but very minor details remain in the final negotiations between Disney and the Shanghai Government. If things still looked iffy after the approval came from the central Chinese government, one doubts that Disney would step out on that limb. For Disney to comment on anything anymore is notable. This could be coming to a head very, very soon.
The only real news from the release is that they speak of the new park as a Magic Kingdom type park. While they might just be speaking in generalities, it could mean that the rumors of a less traditional park layout might come to naught.
This could be an interesting week.
Remember, they approved plans and even bought land for the great Florida project and in the end, it almost never happened. We got Magic Kingdom, but we didn’t get E.P.C.O.T., at least in its true form. Heck, Disney used to send out publications in newspaper form to locals about the planned Port Disney or Disney’s America. I just hope this time, they actually do build a park, and hopefully, it won’t be another “Magic Kingdom”. You would think they would have learned their lesson from EuroDisney? But then again, they have some exact replicas of small American towns in China, so maybe it would work there, from a financial point of view. But from the view of a theme park enthusiast, I hope they come up with something new and exciting, the future of theme parks, and not simply as a way to get the Chinese excited about the Little Mermaid.