Shanghai Disney Resort celebrated the opening of the world’s first Zootopia-themed land at Shanghai Disneyland with a spectacular ceremony befitting a mammalian destination where anyone can be anything. Based on the hugely successful film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, the land is a celebration of new heights in storytelling only made possible by the groundbreaking innovation and creativity that Disney delivers.
Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, and executives from Shanghai Disney Resort and Shanghai Shendi Group joined Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and other guests in a ceremony today commemorating the grand opening. Other special guests including Jared Bush, co-writer and co-director of the Academy Award®-winning Zootopia – who is currently writing and directing the next Zootopia feature film celebrated the opening of this exciting expansion in front of the land’s iconic skyline.
“For 100 years, The Walt Disney Company has been entertaining, thrilling, and inspiring audiences and fans through exceptional storytelling that transcends generations and geographies,” said Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “Our popular Zootopia film continues to delight fans across the globe, especially in China, and we’re excited to give guests at Shanghai Disney Resort the chance to interact with the stories and characters they love in innovative new ways when they visit this spectacular new land.”
Zootopia transports guests to a living, breathing mammalian metropolis as soon as they set “paw” on Mane Street. Spanning years of development, cast members, Imagineers from around the globe, and artists from Walt Disney Animation collaborated to build this dynamic city that immerses guests at every touchpoint. Guests will enjoy new experiences that seamlessly blend Disney’s signature storytelling and creativity with groundbreaking, state-of-the-art technology.
One-of-a-kind experiences found only in Zootopia
The opening of Zootopia includes the debut of the all-new attraction, Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, where guests can “hop on” the all-terrain cruiser powered by a trackless ride system in an action-filled chase through Zootopia’s different districts. The attraction features the latest in Audio-Animatronics technology, reflecting a new generation of fully electric systems, to enhance the entire experience, from guests entering the land, to “hopping on” a cruiser in hot pursuit.
In the windows of Zootopia Park Apartments, a lineup of animal residents will interact with each other and guests throughout the day, appearing occasionally, in this unique atmosphere show. Guests will not want to miss out on visiting Fashions by Fru Fru, a merchandise store owned by Fru Fru, Zootopia’s best-known fashionista, or enjoying delicious food and beverage offerings from the land’s casual walk-up dining options.
Jumbeaux’s Cafe, inspired by the original Jumbeaux’s Cafe in the Walt Disney Animation Studios film, is where guests can find a variety of treats, including Chocolate Marshmallows and Officer Clawhauser’s favorite – The Big Donut. The tasty signature frozen paw-shaped Disney Zootopia Pawsicle from the film can be found at Zootopia Market, a cluster of four colorful shacks offering a variety of treats.
Also during the grand opening celebration, Disney unveiled an incredibly life-like animatronic of Duke Weaselton, one of Zootopia‘s antagonists. Duke Weaselton is a small-time weasel crook who sells bootleg movies. Duke rolled across the stage pushing a purple kiosk and blasting pop music, hopped on top of the kiosk, and then tried to persuade Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro to make him an honorary ambassador of Zootopia.
Duke is a demonstration of the next iteration of robotic technology, which Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development (R&D) and Disney Research first displayed earlier this year at the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference. This is just another example of how Disney is taking creativity to new heights through technological breakthroughs in storytelling.
Disney mentions that for Imagineering to pull this off, the whole thing required not one, but two robots working together in sync. Not only was Duke a robotic figure, but so was the kiosk itself.
Clint Gamache is the owner of ThrillGeek. He started ThrillGeek to share his love of theme/amusement parks and pop culture with the world. You can find him at Halloween Horror Nights. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter @iamcg83