Disney CEO Bob Iger said in November that Shanghai Disney Resort would open “next spring” — and the June 16 date it announced today just barely makes the deadline.
The entertainment giant and its partner, Shanghai Shendi Group — which owns 57% of the park — says that customers will begin to visit on that date following “a multi-day, grand opening celebration, culminating in a spectacular welcoming ceremony.”
The park will be “a one-of-a-kind, world-class destination that is authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese,” Disney CEO Bob Iger says. It will include “some of the most creative and innovative experiences we’ve ever created.”
The park will include Shanghai Disneyland, which will have six themed lands: Adventure Isle, Gardens of Imagination, Mickey Avenue, Tomorrowland, Treasure Cove and Fantasyland, around the company’s largest and tallest Enchanted Storybook Castle.
There’ll also be the Art-Nouveau-inspired Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and toy filled Toy Story Hotel. Disneytown will be the shopping, dining and entertainment district next to the entrance. It will include the Walt Disney Grand Theatre which will house the first Mandarin production of The Lion King.  Of course there’ll also be a World of Disney Store.
The complex will also include Wishing Star Park, a recreational area with gardens, a walking path and a lake.
The partners began to hold large scale job fairs in October to recruit thousands of employees, who Disney prefers to call “cast members.”
The company has invested heavily in the enterprise, which broke ground in 2011. It’s the largest foreign investment project in Shanghai, and one of the largest ever in the country. Disney estimated that it will spend nearly $300 million this fiscal year on preopening expenses.
Wall Street has had a hard time estimating how much it will contribute to revenues, and will closely monitor its performance.
Iger said in November that the new operation will “open up the door for even more opportunities there, both in Shanghai and around China.”