Disney is building a new land themed to its animated hit Zootopia.
Construction on the new land will begin later this year at Shanghai Disneyland, for an unspecified opening date. Zootopia is the highest-grossing animated film in Chinese box office history, making Disney's largest park in China an ideal location for the first installation of a Zootopia-themed attraction.
The new land will feature "a new, major attraction that seamlessly blends Disney’s storytelling and state-of-the-art technologies in order to bring this fan-favorite movie and its characters to life," Disney said in a press release. "The new themed land will also invite guests to fully immerse themselves in the mammalian metropolis of Zootopia, and come along on an adventure with Judy [Hopps] and Nick [Wilde]."
The Zootopia land will the eighth at Shanghai Disneyland, following last year's opening of Toy Story Land at the park, which opened in 2016.
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The big question now is when does Zooptopia come to America?
And in what park?
This IP is a natural for Disney's Animal Kingdom- pun intended :) I certainly wouldn't put ot past the powers that be on Burbank these days...
Now that China's about to enact a Winnie The Pooh ban, I'd say we're looking at its replacement.
Zooptopia was such a huge hit, & the anamorphic characters & the city seemed tailor fit for a theme park experience. I always wondered if Disney was going to do something with this IP in the parks.
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Edit: Pec 5th Board Result 2019
Zootopia won't be going to Animal Kingdom, the story has nothing to do with the theming of Animal Kingdom. DAK is about celebrating the natural world, Zootopia a human story that takes place in a big city but happens to use animals as the characters.
Please bring this to the US! As much as I enjoy Marvel, I'd gladly take this over all the Marvel attractions Disney's working on, and it could honestly fit in any Disney park with a little creativity.
Well IMHO Zooptopia was such a huge hit, & the anamorphic characters & the city seemed tailor fit for a theme park experience.
I always wondered if Disney was going to do something with this IP in the parks.
(Chuckle)
A tail about anthropomorphic animals situated in a city called ZOOtopia wouldn't make sense for AK. I think it would be a great fit for Epcot. The city is about prey and predator animals where the prey animals are having the role as the largest group and the minority. The predator group is the 1%, arrogant and load.Prey Judy Hopps teams up with predator Nick Wild and gets her share of racism and hatred but she fights back and due to her success gets recognized for what she does, not for who she is. The attraction would be a great example and explanation about tolerance in a society that is getting more and more aggressive and hateful due to social media and poverty.
Just like Frozen is a great fit because we all know Elsa is literally in the closet and eventually let it go and comes out of her shell by telling her "secret". All a great fit for Epcot.
If Zootopia Land were to come to USA, the most logical choice to put it would be Animal Kingdom, and the most logical position would be Rafiki's Planet Watch. You need a train to go to Zootopia, and you need a train to go to R.P.W. - Steal a little bit of Universal's thinking re: Hogwarts Express, change the trains, put some screens on the windows, and turn the weakest area of the park into one of the best.
You can even leave the veterinary services open, and have it be the city hospital. (I wonder if Vet Doctors would mind coming to work dressed like cheetahs, sloths and rabbits?)
Sounds awesome! Outside of Japanese exclusives, Disney seems to be following the Universal approach and cloning. I'd say it's just a matter of time before we get something Zootopia at the WDW Resort. While a lot of people say Animal Kingdom is a good fit, I think Hollywood Studios could use a Zootopia land just as well to round things out. Let's just accept that all WDW parks are now "insert random Disney IP here" parks and enjoy the new offerings. :-)
This announcement really doesn't go into any details, so I will reserve judgement until Disney provides information as to what this land will include. I think Zootopia has tons of potential, but could just as easily be cheapened with a haphazard theme park land. I don't live in China, so I can't speak to the movie's popularity there, but in the US I think it's mostly fallen off the radar, meaning that short of a theatrical sequel or TV/streaming series, it would not be a good choice to anchor any major expansions at WDW or DL. I personally enjoyed Zootopia, but I think there are other untapped and under-represented Disney movies that would be better anchors for the US market.
Don't forget that the Chinese Zodiac is based on 12 different animals so Zootopia and Sing should be well received in theme parks over there.
Agree with others on how Animal Kingdom would be perfect for a Zootopia attraction. We'll see how it works in Shanghai but I'm sure Imaingeers are thinking of ways to adapt it for the U.S. Not sure what rides and such are around but this has serious promise.
Interesting question as to where in the park this new land will go. Shanghai Disneyland has several expansion pads within the park perimeter, but many observers have been wondering how long Disney will be able to keep its "Winnie the Pooh" mini-land within Fantasyland - between Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Tangled Tree Tavern - given how that character has become a political flashpoint in the country. A Zootopia makeover there would solve a lot of issues for the company.
I guess we will find out once construction starts.
Russell reserving judgement until details are announced? I never thought I'd see the day!
I went to Shanghai Disneyland on opening day, and thought it was a fantastic park! Toy Story Land isn't worth going back for, but something like Zootopia would definitely be worth it! I can't wait to see how this shakes out.
Disney should keep Winnie the Pooh in China, and expand it. Forget Mickey, make Winnie the Pooh the official mascot and spokesbear of Disney Shanghai. And if Disney were really as ethical as they claim to be they should change their policies to make sure China knows censorship of films, but much more importantly of the internet especially is against the values of the Walt Disney Company. I know Disney can’t part ties with China mainly because of the theme park contracts, and shareholder interest. Still Disney, and other companies should do what they can to make sure the people of China have similar rights to free speech, religion, and expression most of us nearly universally have. I get Disney is a for profit company and not a government or human rights organization, but China needs to be pressured where it matters most to China’s communist dictator and his friends, their pocketbooks.
Disney can't just decide these things they aren't majority owners in the park, over 50% is owned by a development company that is basically the Chinese government.
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This sounds so cool. Zooptopia was such a huge hit, & the anamorphic characters & the city seemed tailor fit for a theme park experience.
I always wondered if Disney was going to do something with this IP in the parks.
This has the chance to be a really impressive, immersive land!