Vivendi Universal go for Shanghai park, Disney delays

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

Universal Parks and Resorts has cleared a great bureaucratic wall in China, unveiling a preliminary deal today to build a theme park in Shanghai, giving the company a lead over rival Walt Disney Co. The unit of Vivendi Universal jointly announced with Shanghai officials an agreement in principle to build the park along the Huang Pu River in China's largest city. Hopes are that the park will open in 2006, although Universal sources cautioned that additional government approvals will be needed.

Disney, meanwhile, says that they do not plan to open any other parks beyond Hong Kong sooner than 2010.

Read more from The Orlando Sentinel on Universal and Disney.

I guess Treasure Planet didn't do as great as they hoped it would at the Box Office! LOL.

In any event, I don't think it matters who gets there first. Both Disney and Universal seem to be doing fine in Orlando and in California.

Didn't Vivendi (French media conglomerate) have a pretty serious shake-up recently....doesn't SEEM like the best time for them to be making a commitment of this stature. Of course, it they can get a strong foothold in the region *before* the Mouse arrives, they could establish a loyal customer base and stave off the "inevitable infestation". In the next 20-25 years, China could become the world's largest consumer economy....

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