Now in a official press release, Disney reveals that they are indeed planning a Disney theme park for Shanghai.

Here is the verbiage from the release:

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY REACHES ANOTHER MAJOR MILESTONE
ON SHANGHAI THEME PARK PROJECT

BURBANK, Calif. – November 3, 2009 – The Walt Disney Company today announced that the Project Application Report (PAR) for a Disney theme park in the Pudong district of Shanghai has received approval from the relevant authorities of the central government of China.

“China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks a very significant milestone for The Walt Disney Company in mainland China,” said Robert A. Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company.

The PAR approval will enable Disney and its Shanghai partners to move forward toward a final agreement to build and operate the park and begin preliminary development work. Upon completion of the final agreement, the project’s initial phase would include a Magic Kingdom-style theme park with characteristics tailored to the Shanghai region and other amenities consistent with Disney’s destination resorts worldwide.

Even the official Disney Parks blog republished this press release. So obviously while in negotiations all along, Disney refused to comment on the project at least until they moved past this phase.

Keep in mind that the press release says “the PAR approval will enable Disney and its Shanghai partners to move forward toward a final agreement” so no ground has been broken yet. And previous rumors stating that the park would open by 2012 seem unlikely although they did open the original Disneyland in 1955 within a year or so of breaking ground.

Shanghai Disneyland, 20 minutes’ drive from Pudong International Airport, will be eight times larger than the one in Hong Kong – the first in China. The source told the paper that 10 sq km of land has been set aside for the park.

Shanghai is approximately 764 miles away from Hong Kong so that puts one Disneyland park relatively close to another. For example, Walt Disney World in Orlando is a bit over 2,100 miles from the original Disneyland in Anaheim.

According to the agreement, Shanghai Disneyland will not adopt Hong Kong’s operation model, in which the government leases the land to the Walt Disney Company. The Shanghai government will provide the land, cover most of the construction costs and hold a controlling stake. It will pay the Walt Disney Company for using the brand. Sounds like a franchise arrangement to me.

This leads me to wonder what would happen to the park if there was ever a disagreement with Disney and the Shanghai government. Would the government have to buy Disney out or visa versa and what would happen to the quality of the park?

An official announcement on the decision is expected around the time of the Beijing Olympics.

Hat tip to China Daily.

Postscript: In a follow-up to original media announcement of a Shanghai Disneyland, Reuters reports that Walt Disney Co and the Shanghai government have both denied a media report that a planned Disneyland project in Shanghai has obtained central government approval. Doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen, just that a final deal has yet to be made.

“The project still needs central government approval and Shanghai will obey Beijing’s decision,” Shanghai spokesman Chen Qiwei said, adding he will make new inquiries on this to relevant departments.

Disney also denied the report. “There is no agreement and there is no deal,” Disney spokeswoman Alannah Hall-Smith said in an e-mailed statement.

There you have it. We will just have to wait and see what happens.