Here's to unholy matrimony: Disney announced yesterday that China has allowed them to move forward with construction of a new park in Shanghai, its first new resort since 2005's Hong Kong Disneyland and its third in Asia. You thought the fight over EuroDisney was good? Wait till you see the Chinese version of "It's A Small World."

According to the New York Times, the park has been in the works since the 1990s when a mayor of Shanghai visited Disneyland in Anaheim and could take up to 6 years to build. At 1,700 acres, the planned park, in the city's Pudong district, will be slightly bigger than Original Flavor Disneyland but resemble the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World. ]]> egw 2009-11-04T11:41:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/30/83126/238

We were pretty eager to see if Steven Spielberg and Mickey Mouse would actually come together to create some kind of super theme park. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen, and we’ll just have to settle for separate parks with separate rides. At the end of the summer it seemed that Spielberg might be getting out of his lucrative theme park consulting contract, but instead, he’s just extending it.

He agreed to delay a buyout option in his consulting contact with NBC Universal, which means he’ll be getting a fat paycheck until 2017. He’ll probably get to throw his two cents in when it comes to designing new attractions in Singapore and Dubai, so we might need to put those new parks on our theme park wish list. Maybe he’ll even tell Harry Potter how to do things the Spielberg way down in Florida. We kind of figured that his deal was too good to drop, especially because Disney probably wouldn’t have wanted to share that much cash with anyone. ]]> kjb 2009-10-30T09:02:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/20/82026/974

Last year there were rumors kicking around about a Disney park being built in Shanghai. At this time, there’s still no solid plans to get Mickey and friends a passport, but there are some other fictional characters looking to call China home in 2010. The stories of Hans Christian Andersen are set to come alive in a theme park that would open just in time for the 2010 Word Expo. The park will begin to welcome guests on May 11—the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Denmark.

The park certainly won’t be the biggest and best theme park, but 20 acres will be dedicated to characters from stories like the Little Mermaid and the Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s important to remember that there’s no fresh crab sidekick in Andersen’s story of a girl under the sea, so if you’re looking for Ariel, you’ll just have to wait until Disney builds their park. The ride and attraction details are lacking at this point, so we don’t know if the Ugly Duckling will be making an appearance in roller coaster form. ]]> kjb 2009-10-20T10:31:04-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/1/82722/6067

Welcome to October—it started today if you weren’t paying attention—and that means it’s time to really focus on the spookiest season of them all. Theme parks have been doing their best to get ready for Halloween, and one of those coaster kingdoms is Cedar Point. The coaster capital of the world has installed some orange light bulbs, added some pumpkins, and transformed the park into a scary adventure. HalloWeekends is yours to enjoy through November 1, and if you missed their rides during the summer, this is your last chance until 2010.

This is the 13th year that HalloWeekends have taken over the park, and it looks like they’ve really upped the scare quotient for this year. There’s two new haunted houses including Happy Jack’s Toy Factory. It sounds too creepy to us, we prefer when our toys don’t come alive. Along with the usual rides there will be plenty of scare zones between the different attractions in the park. Just pay attention and you’ll be safe, otherwise you may never make it to the park’s giga-coaster, Millennium Force. ]]> kjb 2009-10-01T09:08:51-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/26/143151/502

Troubled old Florida theme park Cypress Gardens has been shuttered once again, with the owners declaring that it's no longer financially viable to keep it open. They're seeking a buyer, but it remains to be seen whether and when it might reopen, and what it might look like if it does. As the AP reports, Cypress Gardens has been closed several times over the past decade as it struggled with sagging attendance and a fierce local rival whose name rhymes with Schmisney Schmorld. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-09-26T14:31:51-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/23/15239/5623

Thrill-seekers, get ready to have your stomach turned inside out. The 2009 Golden Ticket Award winners were recently named by Amusement Today newspaper, with the powerhouse Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, snagging the "Best Amusement Park in the World" title for the 12th consecutive year.

As the best amusement park ever, Cedar Point of course has to have the sickest rides. Three placed in the top-ten "Best Steel Roller Coaster" category, with the 310-foot-tall Millennium Force at No. 2, the 20-year-old Magnum XL-200 at No. 9 and the 42-story-tall Top Thrill Dragster at No. 10. But Cedar Point's awards aren't the only thing that lend it coaster cred. Built in 1870, it's the second-oldest amusement park in North America—behind only Lake Compounce in Bristol, Conn. Plus, it has more rides and roller coasters than any park in the world, with 75 rides, including 17 coasters.]]> Jennifer Kester 2009-09-23T08:39:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/14/81744/1127

While most were firmly planted on the couch watching Sunday’s football games, things were wrapping up at the D23 Expo in Anaheim. Disney hopes that this year’s expo—which is much like Comic Con for Disney fans—is just the first of many for years to come. If they announce as much as they did during this year’s edition, then we’ll definitely be intrigued year after year. However, we did know about a lot of their new projects already, including a revamp of the Star Tours attraction, thanks to the ol’ rumor mill.

One big surprise was to see Johnny Depp himself step onto the stage in full Captain Jack Sparrow regalia. He was in character and playfully going back and forth with one of the Disney suits on stage; he even commented about what poor Kermit the Frog tasted like. Depp was there to confirm that he will be returning in 2011 to star in the fourth edition of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. ]]> kjb 2009-09-15T09:03:53-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/