Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening to be Telecasted, Celebrated at DCA; Experience a Brand New Adventure in the Enchanted Tiki Room Comic

Shanghai Disneyland Grand Opening to be Telecasted, Celebrated at DCA:

We are just one week away from the grand opening of Shanghai Disneyland, Disney's first theme park to open on the main land of China. Today, we found out that the grand opening of the brand new theme park will be simultaneously presented on the Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD from 8:00 - 8:30 p.m. in a music-filled television celebration called, "Grand Opening Celebration of Shanghai Disney Resort." The show will air without commercial interruption. On Friday, June 17 it will air again on Freeform from 10 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

The show will be narrated by Sofia Carson with Disney CEO Bob Iger who will be joined by nearly 3000 distinguished guests, celebrities, and government officials in front of the world's largest, tallest, and most interactive castle at the heart of any Disney Park, The Enchanted Storybook Castle. Mickey Mouse will also join in on the fun of the grand opening. 

World-renowned pianist Lang Lang will perform a custom arrangement of the musical sensation “Let It Go” (Disney’s “Frozen”) and China’s television and movie superstar Sun Li will take center stage. Each is a Shanghai Disney Resort Honorary Ambassador. The historic event includes the debut of an original song, “Ignite the Dreamer Within,” written especially for the grand opening of Shanghai Disneyland. Acclaimed composer and conductor Tan Dun, widely known for his stirring scores for the films “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Hero,” will lead the Shanghai Symphony with an original composition of the new song, celebrating the occasion’s poetic message. Additional featured music includes “Once Upon a Dream,” “Heigh Ho” and “Some Day My Prince will Come.”  - The Laughing Place

The show will be produced by Disney Parks in partnership with IMG, the special will be directed by the award-winning Hamish Hamilton.

That's not all as Disney California Adventure will join in the celebration of the grand opening as from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. in Hollywood Land guests will enjoy special entertainment and photo opportunities. The festivities will include colorful performances by local community groups, along with character appearances by Mulan and Mushu. Some of the best Asian food and beverage options  will be available to purchase including pork bao, almond cookies, and pot stickers.

The park will also be giving out a commemorative button to celebrate the grand opening of Shanghai Disney Resort to all Disneyland Resort guests, while supplies last. Join the fun in just 7 days on June 16, 2016.

Experience a Brand New Adventure in the Enchanted Tiki Room Comics This Fall:

A brand new 5-part comic series of the Disney Kingdoms comics will feature the Enchanted Tike Room debuting this fall. It will be released inside Disney Parks. The series will be written by Jon Adams. Artwork will be penned by Horacio Domingues with cover artwork by Brian Kesinger.

Recently Steven Miller of the Disney Parks Blog did an interview writer Jon Adams, Brian Crosby with Disney Kingdoms, and Walt Disney Imagineers Tom Morris, Executive Creative Director; Andy DiGenova, Associate Producer; and Josh Shipley, Creative Services Specialist. Check it out below:

Steven: What makes the Disney Kingdoms series unique?

Tom: “The Disney Kingdoms series gave us an opportunity to build on stories from our classic Disney Parks attractions that guests love. We’re hoping the books inspire readers to revisit favorite attractions with a new perspective. For this series, we’re taking guests to a tropical island filled with everything loved from the original attraction and introducing some new characters, stories and places to discover.”

Steven: How is the storytelling in this series different from previous series?

Jon: “The Enchanted Tiki Room is a place of legend, fantasy and mystery. I grew up watching shows where new characters were introduced each week into a familiar setting that had previously established characters. I wanted to apply that vignette storytelling concept to this new series. In each issue, new visitors will arrive by boat to an isolated island populated by singing birds, plants, and ancient Tiki gods.”

Andy: “We loved Jon’s fresh approach to storytelling. It was different than our previous [Disney Kingdoms] comics that had more linear stories.”

Brian: “There’s a sense of mystery about the island and Jon’s idea had us asking questions: Why is the island enchanted? How does it connect the people who visit the island? There will be a nice connection for guests who read all five issues in this series.”

Steven: I love collecting all things Tiki-related including artwork. What will readers see when they pick up an issue?

Josh: “The illustrations will be extremely colorful and the images will pop off the page. They will make readers feel like they are on that mysterious island. We pulled reference images from the Walt Disney Imagineering Resource Library to really connect the comic illustrations to the Disney Parks experience. We’ll also feature variant covers by other artists such as a cover with José by Walt Disney Imagineer Jason Grandt.”