SHANGHAI Disney Resort will open in the spring of 2016, though major construction work will be completed by the end of this year, Disney’s Chief Executive Robert Iger said yesterday.
“We’re planning a spectacular grand opening in the spring of 2016, which we believe is the optimal time to showcase the full grandeur of this world-class destination,” the official Disney Parks blog quoted him as saying during a conference call.
The park was initially scheduled to open later this year, but a decision to invest a further US$800 million on additional attractions for the 34 billion yuan (US$5.4 billion) park meant its debut had to be rescheduled.
The extra spending has “significantly” increased the size of the park, the company’s first in the Chinese mainland and sixth around the world, he said.
Disney said earlier that it hopes the extra investment will attract 30 percent more visitors than originally forecast. About 330 million target customers live within three hours’ travel time of the park, it said.