Shanghai Disneyland construction begins

by Leigh Caldwell on

Construction on a new Disneyland Resort is already underway in Shanghai.

Last week, Disney signed a deal with Shanghai Shendi Group to develop the park. Now the blog Disney and More has posted some of the first pictures of construction activity on the 1.5-square-mile plot where the theme park will be located on the east bank of the Huangpu.

The images show little more than cranes and construction trailers at the site, but they do indicate that the houses and buildings that once stood there have been demolished and cleared away.

The Chinese government relocated the residents this summer – a controversial practice that also happened to make way for Beijing Olympics venues and the World Expo. Shanghaiist.com says 2,000 households were “forcibly evicted” for the Disney project.

Shanghai Disneyland is expected to cost $3.5 billion to build. It’s set to open in 2014. The theme park will be Disney’s fourth outside of the United States, along with theme parks in Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong project – Disney’s other foray into China – has been a disappointment so far. Hong Kong Disneyland reported financial losses last year. The park – currently Disney’s smallest – is undergoing a major expansion, with three new themed lands expected to be completed by 2014.

[Image credit: Flickr user madiko83]

Neil Patrick Harris lends voice to Disney ride

by Leigh Caldwell on

Disney California Adventure theme park has introduced a new ride recording for California Screamin’, featuring the voice of actor Neil Patrick Harris.

The official Disney Parks Blog says NPH’s new recordings are meant to emulate a classic carnival sideshow barker.

California Screamin’ is in the Paradise Pier section of Disney California Adventure. That part of the park has a classic boardwalk amusement park feel.

California Screamin’ is the longest and fastest ride at Disneyland Resort in California, with a 120-foot drop and top speeds of 58 miles per hour. The roller coaster is steel, though it is painted and styled to look like a classic wooden ride.

NPH’s love of Disney is well-documented. He has been a narrator during EPCOT’s holiday Candlelight Processional show in past years, and last month, he hosted an event celebrating Disney animatronics at the Disneyland Hotel.

He professes his love for theme parks in his Twitter profile, and he hinted on Twitter about his California Screamin’ involvement over the weekend.

Disney Imagineers said to be working on a ‘Tron Legacy’ ride

by Leigh Caldwell on

The next Disney movie to get a ride at Disneyland may be more futuristic than fairytale. The blog Blue Sky Disney is reporting that Disney Imagineers have been given the green light to develop a ride treatment for the upcoming movie “Tron Legacy.”

Disney Parks have gone a little Tron crazy this fall, with a Tron-wrapped monorail at Walt Disney World and a nighttime elecTRONica party at Disney’s California Adventure.

Last week, Disney added a new “Tron Legacy” scene to the World of Color show at Disney’s California Adventure, the first addition to the show since it premiered earlier this year.

Slashfilm is giving further credibility to the rumors, reporting that Disney Imagineers – the folks that design Disney’s rides and attractions – visited the Tron movie set in Toronto to study the sets, props and concept art being used on the film.

So, while Walt Disney World adds princess castles and The Little Mermaid ride during its Fantasyland expansion, Disneyland may be looking to Tomorrowland for the next big changes at the California theme park.

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Top ten overrated U.S. travel destinations/attractions

by Laurel Miller on

Whether or not you’re an American, there are certain places that are on almost everyone’s must-visit list. Some tourist traps, like the Grand Canyon or Disneyland, are worth joining the masses and ponying up the entrance fee (although I just checked the Magic Kingdom’s website, and Mickey and friends are bilking the parents of children under nine for $68 a pop).

Other much-lauded, highly anticipated hot-spots are simply not worth the time and expense. This is, of course, highly subjective: one man’s Las Vegas dream vacation is another’s Third Circle of Hell. It can also be fun to visit certain craptacular or iconic landmarks.

The below list is a compilation of my picks, as well as those of other Gadling contributors, in no particular order. You may be offended, but don’t say you weren’t warned.

1. Hollywood
Unless you love freaks, junkies, hookers, crappy chain restaurants and stores, and stepping over human feces on the star-inlaid sidewalks, give it a miss.

2. Las Vegas
I understand the appeal of a lost weekend in Sin City, really. And I will not dispute the utter coolness of the Rat Pack, Vegas of yore. But in the name of all that is sacred and holy, why does the current incarnation of glorified excess and wasted natural resources exist, especially as a so-called family destination?

[Photo credit: Flickr user Douglas Carter Cole]3. Times Square
A dash of Hollywood Boulevard with a splash of Vegas and Orlando.

4. South Beach, Miami
At what point does silicone become redundant?

5. Atlantic City, New Jersey
The poor man’s Vegas

6. Orlando
Toll roads, herds of tourists, shrieking children, an abundance of nursing homes, and tacky corporate America, all in one tidy package.

7. Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco
It’s hard to hate on San Francisco, but the once-glorious Wharf is a shadow of its former self. Hooter’s, Pier 39, seafood stands hawking overpriced, previously-frozen Dungeness crab cocktail, aggressive panhandling, and vulgar souvenir shops kill the mood.

8. The Washington Monument
The nation’s preeminent phallic symbol is admittedly an impressive piece of architecture. It’s also possible to get a great view from the car en route to other, more interesting historic sites and tourist attractions.

9. Waikiki
There is so much more to Hawaii, including beaches that aren’t man-made.

10. Mt. Rushmore
Faces carved into rock. Moving on…

[Photo credits: Times Square, Flickr user Falling Heavens; Waikiki, Flickr user DiazWerks]

Photo of the Day (09.24.10)

by Mike Barish on
It’s an absolute travesty that Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was removed from Disney World. It is by far the greatest amusement park ride ever created and was one of the original attractions at the park when it opened in Orlando in 1971. Just 27 years later, it was replaced with a Winnie the Pooh attraction. Gone are the dual tracks, last second turns and fantastic disorientation that made Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride by far the most fantastic ride in the park.

Sure, it still exists at Disneyland, where this photo by Flickr user I Am Rob was taken. However, that Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride no longer thrills and entertains visitors in Central Florida is beyond comprehension. Bring back Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. No Toad, No Peace! Who’s with me?

Have a picture of your favorite amusement park ride? Or, even better, some great travel photos? Submit your images to Gadling’s Flickr group right now and we might use one for a future Photo of the Day.