Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland (上海迪士尼乐园, Shànghǎi Díshìní Lèyuán) is a theme park in Chuansha New Town, in Pudong, well to the southeast of the city centre. It opened on 16 June 2016 as the first Disney theme park in mainland China, and it is the main attraction of the wider Shanghai Disney Resort. It is a modern theme park rather than a historic site, and a visit takes most of a day.

The Chinese government approved the project on 4 November 2009. Groundbreaking was on 7 April 2011, major construction started the next day, and soft openings began on 7 May 2016, before the official opening. English Wikipedia describes it as the sixth Disney resort in the world, after the two in the United States, Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong.

The ownership is unusual. Shanghai Shendi Group, a Shanghai-government-linked company, holds 57 percent of the owning venture and Disney 43 percent. The operating company is split the other way, 70 percent Disney and 30 percent Shendi. The park covers about 3.9 square kilometres.

The layout differs from other Disney parks, according to Chinese Wikipedia. There is no Main Street U.S.A.; visitors enter through Mickey Avenue. There is no hub-and-spoke plan: instead of a plaza at the foot of the castle, the centre is Gardens of Imagination, an 11-acre garden area. Inside it is the Garden of the Twelve Friends, which pairs Disney characters with the animals of the Chinese zodiac. The park opened with six themed areas and now has eight: Mickey Avenue, Gardens of Imagination, Fantasyland, Treasure Cove, Adventure Isle, Tomorrowland, Toy Story Land (added 26 April 2018) and Zootopia (added 20 December 2023).

English Wikipedia reports 14.7 million visitors in 2024, the most of any theme park in China. Expect large crowds on weekends and holidays.

Practical notes: opening hours and ticket prices depend on the date, and Wikipedia’s figures are second-hand and may be out of date, so use the official Shanghai Disney Resort site for current details. The map pin is approximate, because Wikidata records the coordinate to only about two decimal places.