Tokyo DisneySea Premiers Fantasmic!

Today, Tokyo DisneySea premiered Fantasmic!. This version is one of the most original out of all of the Fantasmic! shows that have been copied from the original one at Disneyland. Watch the two videos above to see the first ever performance of Fantasmic! at Tokyo DisneySea.

Preview Date for "Mickey's Soundsational Parade" Shows Up Online

Screenshot from Disneyland's website showing Mickey's Soundsational Parade on May 26.

  Disneyland has put a preview date for its new parade, "Mickey's Soundsational Parade" on their website. The website shows two previews of the new parade at 2:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. on May 26, 2011. The official opening date for the new parade is May 27, 2011. After May 27, Soundsational will have two performances: one at 4:00 P.M. and another at 6:30 P.M.  Here is a link to the page to see it for yourself: http://bit.ly/h4e1Bh. If the dates are taken down, come back here for one more screenshot.

Mickey's Soundsational Parade Filming at Disneyland

Today, Disneyland filmed parts of a new parade named "Mickey's Soundsational Parade". A couple of the floats were out for the filming and the first photos are starting to come in over twitter. This page will be updated with more pictures and video as they come out.

Mint crocodile 

Mr. Daps (@mrdaps)

Tokyo DisneySea to Reopen on April 28

Oriental Land Company announced this morning that Tokyo DisneySea will reopen on April 28. The park's hours will bee 9:00 A.M. until 10:00 P.M. Also on April 28, Fantasmic! and Mickey and Friends Greeting Trail will open, but the Tokyo DisneySea 10th Anniversary Celebration has been postponed. OLC also announced that Tokyo Disneyland will extend it's operating hours to 10:00 P.M on April 23. Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights will resume shows the same day. On May 9 through July 7 Nightfall Glow will be performed. Tokyo Disney Resort will continue with power saving methods even though it will be open at night.

Tokyo Disneyland Reopening April 15

Oriental Land Company announced today that Tokyo Disneyland and the surrounding hotels (except for Hotel MiraCosta) will reopen on April 15, 2011. Tokyo DisneySea will stay temporarily closed but is ready for guests. When Tokyo Disneyland reopens on April 15, it will have reduced operating hours: 8:00 A.M. until 6:00 P.M. Along with reduced operating hours, OLC will donate 300 yen from each admission ticket to the Japan Red Cross' relief effort. At the Disney Hotels, OLC will donate 1000 yen per room per night to the relief efforts. Tokyo Disneyland will save power by cutting down on the use of electricity within and around the parks. This page will be updated with more information as it comes out so be sure to keep checking back.

Shanghai Disneyland Groundbreaking

Photo ©Disney

Photo ©Disney

Photo ©Disney

Photo ©Disney

Photo ©Disney

Photo ©Disney

Photo ©Disney

Photo ©Disney

Photo ©Disney

Today Disney broke ground for their new park in Shanghai called Shanghai Disneyland. The new park is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company and Shanghai Shendi Group and will be the first Disney Park on mainland China. Bob Iger revealed more information about the new park during the ground breaking. He announced that he new park would not have a Main St. like the American Disney Parks but instead will include an 11 acre green space with water, trees, and costumed characters. The new park is scheduled to open in approximately five years. The castle will be an interactive castle with entertainment, dining, and performances inside of the castle and each will be unique to Shanghai Disneyland. Shanghai Disneyland will have large-scale venues for entertainment throughout the park. The resort will be located on a 963 acre plot of land in Pudong, Shanghai with room to expand in the future. The press release also notes that there will be means of transportation around the resort which will probably include monorail. Sanghai Disneyland will also include a Downtown Disney-like area for shopping, dining, and entertainment. You can view unconfirmed concept art for that here. For all of the information regarding the budget and how much ownership Shanghai Shendi Group will get in the resort, look below. This page will be updated with more photos and video as they come in from Shanghai.

• There will be an initial investment in the project of approximately 24.5 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) to build the theme park and an additional 4.5 billion yuan (US$0.7 billion) to build the other aspects of the resort, including the hotels and the retail, dining and entertainment area. The investment amounts will be split between Disney and the Shanghai Shendi Group with Disney holding 43% of the shares of the owner companies and the Shanghai Shendi Group holding the remaining 57%. Financing will be proportional to ownership. In addition, a joint venture management company will be formed with Disney having a 70% stake and Shanghai Shendi Group having a 30% stake. The management company will be responsible for creating, developing and operating the resort.

Here is the full press release: 

SHANGHAI (April 8, 2011) - The Walt Disney Company and Shanghai Shendi Group, its joint venture partner in China, have broken ground on the Shanghai Disney Resort following approval from the Chinese central government in Beijing. Both companies marked the start of construction on the first Disney resort in mainland China at a groundbreaking ceremony held earlier today.

“Today marks a significant milestone in the history of The Walt Disney Company,” said Robert A. Iger, President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “Our Shanghai resort will be a world-class family vacation destination that combines classic Disney characters and storytelling with the uniqueness and beauty of China. Working with our Chinese partners, the Shanghai Disney Resort will be both authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese.”

“We’re incredibly excited to build a Disney resort in Shanghai, one of the world’s most vibrant cities,” said Thomas O. Staggs, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “We are hard at work designing Shanghai Disneyland, which when complete will be a special place where guests of all ages will discover a world of imagination, creativity, adventure and thrills.”

Today’s groundbreaking ceremony paid homage to the culture and people of China. Traditional Chinese drum music, a female soloist singing in Mandarin, a 50-voice Shanghai children’s choir and Mickey Mouse dressed in a traditional Chinese costume were on hand to mark this special occasion. Following the entertainment and remarks, Iger and Staggs were joined by Shanghai Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng and Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng to officially break ground on the project.

The new Shanghai Disney Resort is slated to open in approximately five years.

The Shanghai Disney Resort will be home to Shanghai Disneyland, a Magic Kingdom-style park that will blend classic Disney storytelling and characters with all-new attractions and experiences tailored specifically for the people of China. The park will feature several themed lands complete with exciting, iconic Disney attractions and experiences. At the heart of the park will be an interactive Disney castle that is truly an attraction unto itself with entertainment, dining and performance experiences that will be unique to Shanghai Disneyland. The park will also contain other large-scale entertainment venues, indoor and out, that can be used for various purposes throughout the year.

A beautiful, 11 acre (46,130 square meter) green space at the center of the theme park will differentiate Shanghai Disneyland and reinforce the themes of sustainability and nature that will be integrated throughout the park. The space will also be a place where friends and family can enjoy local cultural celebrations and customs together.

On Opening Day, the Shanghai Disney Resort will be located on a 963 acre (3.9 square kilometer) site in Pudong, Shanghai, with additional room to expand in the future. At opening, the resort will include Shanghai Disneyland, two themed hotels, a large retail, dining and entertainment venue, recreational facilities, a lake and associated parking and transportation hubs.

There will be an initial investment in the project of approximately 24.5 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) to build the theme park and an additional 4.5 billion yuan (US$0.7 billion) to build the other aspects of the resort, including the hotels and the retail, dining and entertainment area. The investment amounts will be split between Disney and the Shanghai Shendi Group with Disney holding 43% of the shares of the owner companies and the Shanghai Shendi Group holding the remaining 57%. Financing will be proportional to ownership. In addition, a joint venture management company will be formed with Disney having a 70% stake and Shanghai Shendi Group having a 30% stake. The management company will be responsible for creating, developing and operating the resort.

About Shanghai Shendi Group 

Shanghai Shendi (Group) Co., Ltd. is a 100% state-owned, joint venture investment holding company formed by three sponsors - Shanghai Lujiazui (Group) Co., Ltd., Shanghai Radio, Film and Television Development Co., Ltd., and Jinjiang International Group Holding Company. Shanghai Shendi (Group) Co., Ltd. is involved in project investment, construction, and operation through two full subsidiaries: Shanghai Shendi Tourism and Resort Development Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Shendi Construction Co., Ltd.

About The Walt Disney Company China 

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a diversified international family entertainment enterprise with five business segments and is a Dow 30 company with revenues of nearly $38 billion in its most recently reported fiscal year. Disney’s first animation screened in China in the 1930s and today our long association continues with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with over 1000 employees. The Company has a broad range of businesses including publishing, broadcast, mobile, web, retail and its English language program, Disney English, which launched in 2008. Nearly 24 hours of Disney television programming is now available in China every week, reaching 300-360 million people each month. In September 2005, Disney opened its doors to its first theme park in China, Hong Kong Disneyland.

About Walt Disney Parks and Resorts 

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are where dreams come true. More than 50 years ago, Walt Disney created a new kind of entertainment families could experience together, immersed in detailed atmospheres and vibrant storytelling. His vision now includes a collection of five of the world’s leading family vacation destinations – Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, Calif.; Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; Tokyo Disney Resort, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan; Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallée, France; and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, located on Lantau Island. In addition, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts includes the world-class Disney Cruise Line; Disney Vacation Club; Adventures by Disney, a guided group vacation experience to some of the world’s most popular destinations; and Walt Disney Imagineering, which creates and designs all Disney parks, resorts and attractions.

New Shanghai Disneyland Concept Art Released

New, clearer concept art shows more rides and a new castle. Photo ©Disney

 All Artwork ©Disney

  Disney has released three new pieces of concept artwork for Shanghai Disneyland. This release comes the same day as they break ground for the new park. The first concept artwork piece as shown above shows a new layout for the theme park. It combines the hub and castle theme from Disneyland and a lake like Tokyo DisneySea. If you look at the bottom left of the photo below, click on the photo to make it bigger, you can see what looks to be a copy of the Dumbo Ride at Disneyland.

                            

                                  The ride circled in this art shows a ride that looks like Dumbo.

There also looks to be a waterfall underneath the front of the castle in the artwork below but in the other two pieces of artwork below, you can see that there are no waterfalls underneath the caste. The art above also shows no new attractions, only one that looks like Dumbo and  one that looks like the King Arthur Carousel.

The new design of Shanghai Disneyland's Castle.

This next piece of artwork shows the walkway up to the castle for Shanghai Disneyland but does not show the waterfalls as seen in the artwork above. The top of the castle as seen below has different designs from many different castles and does not have one main castle's theme.

The middle and bottom of the castle follow the same design choices as the top of the castle: many different castles' designs mixed into one. You can see the middle part of the castle's artwork below.

The last piece of artwork released today is a clearer version of the one that was released earlier this year. 

 

It shows what the park layout will look like minus the new version of Pirates of the Caribbean. It looks as if the park will be about the size of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World with extended areas to both sides of the castle. The artwork shows an area that will be called Shanghai Disneyland and will include the theme park, two themed hotels, a Downtown Disney-like area, a lagoon, and outdoor recreation areas. Shanghai Disneyland is scheduled to open in 2015. Stay tuned for the official press release from the ground breaking. 

Downtown Disney Mini Update

This update is a mini update from Downtown Disney that shows what new shops are coming and what has changed over the past months. 

First off is Blink by Wet Seal. Blink when it opens will be a store that will be focused mostly on women's jeans. Blink started off as a pop-up shop at Tyler in Riverside and will now be opening a more permanent shop in Downtown Disney. Below is what the store will look like when completed and the store's entry sign. 

 The next shop that is opening soon is Sanuk's flagship location. Sanuk sells flip flops, surf sandals, yoga mat flip flops, and other beach footwear.

Next, posters for the movie Prom have gone up at the AMC Downtown Disney. 

Lastly, here are the banners that are around Downtown Disney promoting Spring at Disneyland.

The next major update will be coming this June that will showcase new attractions and entertainment that will premier at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure such as Star Tour 2, Mickey's Soundsational Parade, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure, and if open: Goofy's Sky School and the new dining options at Disney California Adventure. 

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 World Premiere at Disneyland

Pirates of the Caribbean premiere concept photo. Photo ©Disney

Disney announced today that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides would premiere at Disneyland on May 7. Guests are allowed to line up along the red carpet starting at 6:30 A.M. to view the arrivals of the stars around 5:00 P.M. To get into the premiere, Disney is offering a $1000 ticket that will give you admission to Disneyland at 6:00 P.M., access to Frontierland, Adventureland, and New Orleans Square, the red carpet, pirates pre-party, and access to the world premier screening. All income from ticket sales will go to the Boys & Girls Club of America. Here is the ticket link: Tickets. Get them while you can!

An Update on the Current Condition of the Tokyo Disney Resort

Tokyo DisneySea on March 28. Photo ©Disney 

  Oriental Land Company Came out with a report showing what little damage that was caused by the 9.0 earthquake on March 11. There was no major damage to the resort but minor craks were found and are in the process of being repaired. The parking area was damaged but has been repaired with sand and gravel and now ready to be used. An interesting part of OLC's update was that they said "The Parks are ready for opening at any time". There has been no other damage across the resort and Ikspiari reopened on March 28.  Here are all of the buildings included in the recent update provided by OLC.

All photos © Disney (All pictures were taken March 24 and 25)

Tokyo Disneyland:

• World Bazaar: No major damage to the buildings and facilities.

• Adventureland: No major damage.

• Westerland: A section of the rocky surface of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is being repaired.

• Fantasyland: No major damage.

• Critter Country: No major damage.

• Tomorrowland: No major damage.

• ToonTown: No major damage.

• Parking Lot: Liquefaction occurred in a section of the Guest Parking Area. This has been repaired with sand and gravel, and is now ready for use.

Tokyo DisneySea:

• Mediterranean Harbor: One acoustic tower was bent and has been removed.

• American Waterfront: No major damage.

• Port of Discovery and Mysterious Island: No major damage.

• Mermaid Lagoon and Arabian Coast: No major damage. 

• Lost River Delta and Parking Structure: No major damage.