With this week’s announcement of the opening of Shanghai Disneyland’s Toy Story Land on April 26, 2018, the resort released some photos of two of the new attractions.
The Slinky Dog Spin, a caterpillar-style ride, is currently under testing, according to the resort.
Testing has also begun on Rex’s Racer, where guests will climb into a RC Racer vehicle that runs on the U-shaped track.
The ride vehicle for Rex’s Racer will seat up to 16 guests.
The half-pipe coaster is from Intamin Amusements, which also built the RC Racer attractions in the Walt Disney Studios Park at the Disneyland Paris Resort and in Hong Kong Disneyland.
A large Rex figure being painted at Shanghai Disney Resort’s Show Production Center will be one of over 400 toys produced for the new land. In the storyline of the Rex’s Racer attraction, Rex hosts the ride along with his stegosaurus friend, Trixie.
Effective June 6, 2018, ticket prices for Shanghai Disneyland will increase and a third tier, Peak Holiday, will be added to the pricing structure. Admission prices are currently based on only two tiers, Regular and Peak. The price increases are set to take effect shortly after the opening of the new Toy Story Land area of the park on April 26, 2018.
Regular admission will increase to 399 RMB (approximately $58 dollars) from 370 RMB (approximately $53.70). Peak admission is charged during periods of high demand, including summer holidays, weekends, and many designated holidays. Peak admission will increase to 575 RMB (approximately $83.50) from 499 RMB (approximately $72.50). The current prices remain in effect through June 5, 2018.
The new Peak Holiday tier is reserved for the Chinese New Year and China National Day holiday periods, and will be set at 665 RMB, or approximately $96.50. (U.S. dollar rates are based on current exchange rates.)
The current 25% discount for children (above 1.0 meter to 1.4 meters), seniors age 65 and older, and guest with disabilities, will remain in place. Infants (children 1.0 meter or below) will continue to receive free admission.
Tickets for admission to Shanghai Disneyland are currently, and will continue to be, date-specific and valid only for the date purchased.
Shanghai, November 30, 2017 – One of The Walt Disney Company’s most popular franchises will have an even bigger presence at Shanghai Disney Resort’s theme park, Shanghai Disneyland, when the park expands to include its 7th themed land. Shanghai Disney Resort today revealed details of the highly anticipated Disney Toy Story Land, the first post-opening expansion of the resort. The new land will feature attractions and entertainment celebrating fun and imagination for guests of all ages, and provide yet another reason for them to be immersed in the unparalleled storytelling and creativity of Shanghai Disneyland for multiple-day visits. Disney Toy Story Land is a sign of the early success of Shanghai Disney Resort, and demonstrates the confidence the joint venture shareholders have in the growing consumer demand for themed entertainment in China.
Based on the Disney•Pixar motion picture series, Disney Toy Story Land will be a high-spirited, colorful world where guests will feel as if they’ve been shrunk down to the size of their favorite Toy Story toys for laughter and fun with family and friends in the backyard of Andy, the boy from the movies. Woody, Buzz and their Toy Story friends come to life and play in this fully immersive land, which features three new attractions and a uniquely themed character greeting area.
Slinky Dog Spin: Slinky Dog has been amusing the toys all day long by chasing his own tail round-and-round a giant dog dish filled with toy bones – and soon Shanghai Disneyland guests will be invited to become the “honorary toys” in Disney Toy Story Land, where they will be able to take a seat inside Slinky Dog’s springy spirals and race around a wavy roundabout.
Rex’s Racer: Rex, Andy’s insecure Tyrannosaurus Rex toy enjoys playing with RC Racer almost as much as he likes playing video games. With help from his Triceratops friend Trixie, Rex will invite guests to climb into RC for a thrilling ride on the U-shaped track. With Rex at the controls, RC Racer, with guests aboard, zips forward and backward at ever increasing heights and exhilarating speed.
Woody’s Round-Up: Sheriff Woody has rounded up a herd of ponies, each one pulling a cart, in a ranch set up by Andy. Guests can climb aboard the carts as the ponies start a little square dance swinging their carts to and fro in time to the lively music.
Meeting Post: Next to Woody’s Round-Up is Old West, a town made up of a hitching post and façades for various enterprises, such as the sheriff’s office, the saloon and the bank. Here, guests can meet and pose for photos with some of their favorite Toy Story characters, including Woody, Jessie and Bullseye.
Guests can extend their Disney Toy Story Land experience with the fun, immersive shopping and dining opportunities in Al’s Toy Barn, the merchandise shop where some of Andy’s toys have been purchased, just like in the movie, and Toy Box Café, a restaurant themed to Andy’s packing boxes for Buzz Lightyear, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head and Lotso Hugging Bear.
Characters and stories from the Toy Story franchise have strongly resonated with Chinese guests. Shanghai Disney Resort has the only Toy Story-themed hotel in the world, while Shanghai Disneyland is home to the popular Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue attraction, a guest favorite which features the most advanced Buzz Lightyear targeting system at any Disney park in the world.
With unique experiences guests can only enjoy at Shanghai Disneyland, the new Disney Toy Story Land is set to open by summer 2018.
Duffy’s artsy cat friend Gelatoni has arrived at Shanghai Disney Resort, and Disney is celebrating by launching a new line of Gelatoni merchandise, as well as food items.
All the new merchandise can be found at the Whistle Stop Shop located on Mickey Avenue. Everything from plush toys, to pins, shirts, home décor, and more are now available for all your Gelatoni shopping needs.
As for food, new Duffy, Shellie May, and Gelatoni panna cottas and cupcakes are available, as well as ice cream cones at Mickey and Pals’ Market Café, Remy’s Patisserie, and Il Paperino.
Gelatoni is Duffy’s cat friend that uses his tail to paint intricate paintings. When he first met Duffy, the Disney bear had dropped his ice cream, and Gelatoni used the spilled treat to paint a picture for Duffy. I’m not making this up. That’s honestly how they became friends. I don’t understand the logistics of substituting paint with ice cream, but that story is so cute.
A tale as old as time is coming to the Walt Disney Grand Theatre stage at Shanghai Disney Resort next year, and the award-winning hit Broadway musical will be performed in Mandarin.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast has been produced in 37 countries and enjoyed by more than 35 million people since its premiere in 1994.
One of the longest-running and highest-grossing Broadway shows of all time, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will come to life with talented performers from across China, as the resort continues its commitment to showcase local music theater talent and deliver spectacular world-class live entertainment that is authentically Disney and also distinctly Chinese.
Shanghai Disney Resort will collaborate with Disney Theatrical Productions to bring this story to the stage, following the incredible success of THE LION KING Mandarin production which will play its final performance next month.
Access to Club 33 locations is usually members-only, but Adventures by Disney offers a visit to Shanghai Disneyland’s Club 33 location as part of the “Enchanted China” tour. Heather Concannon went on that trip with her family in August, and took some photos inside Club 33 that she shared with WDWNT.
Shanghai Disneyland’s Club 33 is located at the top of Mickey Avenue (Shanghai’s version of Main Street).
Shanghai’s Club 33 has two floors, Heather explained. “The first floor had a small reception area, while the second floor was the dining area.”
The stairway to the second floor; like the entire location, it’s decorated in an elegant Fantasia theme.
“The second floor consisted of the main dining room and several private dining areas,” according to Heather. “The dining area could probably seat about a hundred people.”
The private dining areas could be closed off with curtains.
Heather’s party was seated at a large table in the main dining area, also called the Garden View Room. According to Heather, the service was impeccable. “The cast members were kind and accommodating to our group,” she reported.
“The food was good,” Heather told WDWNT. “Because we visited with Adventures by Disney, we were provided with a fixed menu, which felt authentic to the Chinese culture.”
The hamachi and grapefruit sorbet with green apple wasabi granité appetizer.
The Australian wagyu short rib entree.
“In comparison with other Disney restaurant dining experiences, Club 33 really seemed to stand out,” Heather said. “The closest comparison I can draw is the experiences I had at Palo and Remy on the Disney Cruise Line.”
The dining room opens onto a balcony with an excellent view of the park. Heather’s group was able to view Shanghai’s “Ignite the Dream” nighttime spectacular from here.
“Besides being able to say I finally visited a Club 33 location, my favorite part of experiencing this exclusive space was the firework viewing area,” Heather shared. “It was private to guests visiting Club 33, therefore it felt intimate, allowing us to really enjoy the fireworks.”
There’s a small gift shop on the second floor, where Heather picked up a few souvenirs before she left.
Club 33 at Shanghai Disneyland was a “very elegant and one-of-a-kind experience,” Heather said. While Disneyland in California and Tokyo Disney Resort also have Club 33 locations, all three are themed very differently. Club 33 locations are currently being built in all four parks in Walt Disney World as well.
Heather added that this was her first visit to Shanghai Disneyland and it was “unlike visiting any other Disney theme parks. With its innovative attractions, intricately themed lands, and authentic Chinese influence it is certainly a place all Disney fans should visit in their lifetime!” Heather’s Adventures by Disney itinerary also included stops in Hong Kong, Beijing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Guilin, and Shanghai, where they visited notable sites including Victoria Peak, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors and Hong Kong Disneyland. You can see more of her trip in Heather’s YouTube video below.
The World Premiere of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”was held in Shanghai, China, at Shanghai Disney Resort on Thursday, May 11, marking the first time a Hollywood movie premiered in Mainland China. Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer attended the gala event.
The red-carpet event took place in Disneytown at the Shanghai Disney Resort. After the red carpet, the “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” screening was held at the Walt Disney Grand Theatre at Disneytown. Shanghai Disney Resort is also home to Shanghai Disneyland, featuring Treasure Cove, the first pirate-themed land at a Disney park, inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES is in theaters in 3D May 26, 2017!
As a part of Shanghai’s Pin Trading Fun Day, Shanghai Disneyland has released over 20 new pins for guests to trade and collect.
First up we have the Chinese Zodiac series which is featured above. These pins are based off of the Chinese Zodiac (as well as the characters from the Garden of the Twelve Friends at the Shanghai Disney Resort). Each features the characters with a hidden Mickey symbol.
Lastly, we have the Pin Trading Fun Day 2017 designs. These designs feature Toy Story, the Lion King, Mickey Mouse and many more classic Disney characters. There is also a unique mystery box set that will give you a surprise pin of the Pin Trading Fun Day 2017 designs.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the original Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland (tomorrow, March 18th), I have decided to celebrate the occasion with 50 fun facts you may or may not know about the rides and the movie franchise. The list will countdown to what I think are the coolest facts about Pirates of the Caribbean, from fifty down to one.
50 Fun Facts about Pirates of the Caribbean
#50: Pirates of the Caribbean at the Disneyland Resort was the very last ride Walt personally oversaw before he dies in December 1966.
#49: Original plans for the attraction actually were for a wax museum of famous pirates. It became an audio-animatronic ride after the great success of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and “it’s a small world”.
#48: In the Disneyland version, there is a total of 122 audio-animatronic figures, which includes 68 humans and 54 animals.
#47: On the facade at Disneyland, there are the initials “WD” and “RD” carved into the wrought iron fence on the balcony upstairs, where Walt’s apartment would have been. The “WD” stands for Walt Disney and the “RD” stands for his brother Roy Disney.
#46: Staying on that topic, the “Disneyland Dream Suite” above the Pirates attraction at Disneyland was actually supposed to be a 3,000 square-foot apartment for Walt Disne and his family. It didn’t get finished before Walt died, and Roy then did not want to use it. For some time it was used for VIPs, and then it became The Disney Gallery. Now it is home to the “Disneyland Dream Suite” and soon the 21 Royal offering.
#45: A total of $8 million was spent on the attraction at Disneyland.
#44: The Magic Kingdom Pirates of the Caribbean ride opened to guests on December 15th, 1973.
#43: There is a total of 4 Pirates of the Caribbean rides across all the Disney Parks. You can count 5 if you are counting the one in Shanghai called Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, as it’s very different from the other attractions.
#42: The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Tokyo Disneyland opened to the public on April 15th, 1983.
#41: The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland Paris opened to the public on April 12th, 1992.
#40: The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland opened to the public on March 18th, 1967.
#39: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl made $654 million worldwide.
#38: Robert De Niro was originally offered the role of Captain Jack Sparrow. However, he turned down the role because he thought that the film would do poorly at the box office.
#37: The entire scene where the attack on Port Royal happened was all shot in one take.
#36: The Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise features 4 movies so far, with one more and the final one on the way coming May 26th, 2017.
#35: Keira Knightley felt very unqualified for the role of Elizabeth Swann.
#34: Filming for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales took place in Puerto Rico and New Orleans.
#33: Hans Zimmer is actually not recording the soundtrack for the 5th film; one of his proteges, Geoff Zanelli is doing it. Hans has recorded the soundtracks for the other 4 films.
#32: Filming officially ended for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales on July 21st, 2015.
#31: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was never expected to succeed. In fact, Disney thought that the 2003 film The Haunted Mansion would be the bigger hit.
#30: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was the number 1 film of 2006, making almost $1.8 billion at the worldwide box office.
#29: In total, the film franchise has made $3.73 billion, not including the 5th one coming in May.
#28: The Interceptor ship from Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl was actually a real ship named the Lady Washington.
#27: During filming, Johnny Depp wore contact lenses that acted like sunglasses so he wouldn’t have to squint while facing the sun.
#26: Davy Jones’ tentacles were partially real, the rest was CGI.
#25: Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom almost never happened. Imagineers thought that the attraction wouldn’t be popular in Florida with the proximity to the Caribbean. So many guests complained that Disney decided to build the ride in Florida instead of the unique Western River Expedition.
#24: Only the Disneyland and Disneyland Paris versions of Pirates of the Caribbean have 2 drops, while Magic Kingdom, Shanghai, and Tokyo Disneyland only have 1.
#23: The Magic Kingdom version of the ride is actually 7 minutes shorter than the Disneyland version. In fact, the Disneyland version is the longest out of all the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions across Disney Parks. The total run time for the Disneyland version is 15:30 while in Magic Kingdom it is 8:30.
#22: Arrow Dynamics manufactured the both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland versions, while Intamin manufactured the one in Disneyland Paris.
#21: In total, there are 630,000 gallons of water pumping throughout the Disneyland attraction.
#20: In order to renovate/refurbish the Pirates at Disneyland, it takes a total of 3 days to empty the ‘bayou’ and 3 days to fill it back up.
#19: Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides was shot on 5 different islands which included Kauai, Oahu, Puerto Rico, Palominito, and Great Britain.
#18: The Queen Anne’s Revenge from Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides, was the first historical ship that was represented in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.
#17: Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest, as of right now, is the highest grossing film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise which made $1.66 billion in the worldwide box office.
#16: The lowest grossing film in the Pirates’ franchise is Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl, which only made $654 million.
#15: The Disneyland version of Pirates of the Caribbean actually used to have real human bones… yep human bones. They did eventually take them all out, however to this day, it is rumored there is one human skull left in the ride but has not been confirmed.
#14: While riding the Disneyland version, pay very close attention to the voice of the Auctioneer. He may sound familiar… maybe too familiar?The reason he sounds so familiar is that the voice of the Auctioneer for the audio-animatronic is actually the voice of the beloved ‘Ghost Host.’ Not only that, he voices the ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’ line as well as many other pirates in the ride! The person behind these voices is the one and only Paul Frees.
#13: To create the ‘fire’ in the attraction, cloth, lights, and fans are all used. In fact, the Anaheim Fire Chief almost shut down the ride at one point for thinking it was real fire!
#12: X Atencio and George Bruns were the Imagineers who composed the famous ‘Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirates’ Life for Me!’
#11: The lyric “Fifteen men on the Dead Man’s Chest” and “Yo Ho Ho, and a bottle of rum!” referred to the pirate Blackbeard’s habit of leaving crewmen on the deserted island, with only a bottle of rum, to die as punishment.
#10: The “Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me”) was sung by The Mellomen, a barbershop quartet that also sang many songs for Disney films. They also sang as backup for Elvis. The frontman of The Mellomen, Thurl Ravenscroft, was the voice of Tony the Tiger, of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes.
#9: Pirates of the Caribbean’s character Davy Jones came from the old seaman’s idiom “Davy Jones’ Locker”. It means the bottom of the sea: if someone was sent to Davy Jones’ Locker, it means that he died at sea.
#8: Remember the jail scene where several characters were trying to get the key from the dog? The whistling guy in the middle is based on a janitor that used to work at what is now called Walt Disney Imagineering.
#7: The ride starts at Laffite’s Landing, where you board a boat after waiting in line for what seems to be three and a half days or so. The Lafitte in Lafitte’s Landing refers to Jean Lafitte (often spelled Laffite), who was a real-life pirate and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico (and subsequent American war hero) in the late 1700s/early 1800s.
#6: When you pass the Blue Bayou restaurant, look up at the second story of the building. You may think that it’s a facade, but the balcony actually belongs to Club 33, a member-only restaurant that most of us can’t afford to join (it costs tens of thousands of dollars to join, plus there’s a ten year waiting list anyhow).
#5: The most famous pirate of the entire ride – besides the newly added Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones and Captain Barbossa for the movie tie-in – is the Pooped Pirate. Originally, the Pooped Pirate was shown boasting and waving a lady’s lingerie while a woman peeked up from inside an oak barrel behind his back. But that was deemed politically incorrect in the 1990’s, so the Pooped Pirate was changed to the gluttonous pirate in 1997 (the woman in the barrel was replaced by a cat) and then to a pirate holding the key and map in 2006 (with Jack Sparrow in the barrel).
#4: The façade of the attraction for Disneyland was partly inspired by the Cabildo building in Jackson Square in New Orleans, which served as the seat of the Spanish colonial government in 1799. It is also noted for being the site where the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803.
#3: At the beginning of the Magic Kingdom version, guests experience one big drop. This wasn’t done to add a thrill to the ride, although it does have that effect. The drop is there because Disney needed to move guests below the train tracks above. The drop couldn’t be any bigger though because of the high water table in that particular spot.
#2: In the Magic Kingdom version, enter the queue on the left-hand side and look for the tall gun cabinets. The cabinets have hidden Mickey-shaped locks. As you float past the Treasure Room at the end, there is a hidden Mickey on the lock in the middle of the open wooden door, as well as on the cabinet locks behind Captain Jack Sparrow.
#1: One of the scenes in the Florida queue area is of two skeletons playing chess in a dungeon cell. If you look closely, you might notice that no one will win this chess game; the pieces are arranged in a eternal stalemate.
Prepare to Make Sail!
I hope you have enjoyed these 50 fascinating facts about the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise and rides! Happy 50th birthday you scalawags!
Toy Story Land is coming to Shanghai Disneyland! Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, along with Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Fan Xiping, chairman of Shanghai Shendi Group, recently celebrated breaking ground on this new expansion, which will open in 2018.
The expansion started even before opening Shanghai Disneyland in anticipation of the park’s needs. The characters from Toy Story have been well liked in China ever since the release of the first film in the franchise back in 1995, and Shanghai Disney Resort already has the only resort hotel in the world dedicated to the characters and stories from Toy Story.
As you can tell from the logo, Toy Story Land at Shanghai Disneyland will be both authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese, making it a one-of-a-kind experience for guests. Everyone’s favorite toys from one of the most popular franchises ever will come to life and play in a fully immersive land with three attractions and a themed character greeting area. It is unclear what the 3 attractions will e and if they will be unique to this version, or simply copied from the existing lands or the upcoming Hollywood Studios project.
