Toy Story Land offers a world of dreams

Journalists take photos of the characters from the Toy Story in Shanghai, June 14, 2016. [Photo / IC]

Woody, Buzz and all their Toy Story friends will soon appear at Shanghai Disney Resort with the opening of its seventh theme land in 2018.

Two shareholders in the joint venture, the Walt Disney Company and the Shanghai Shendi Group, recently broke ground on the new theme land, in a sign of their confidence in the growing consumer demand for themed entertainment in China, and as a clear sign of the early success of Shanghai Disney Resort.

"We're demonstrating our confidence by breaking ground on the new Toy Story Land that will be both authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese, delighting our guests for years to come," said Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

As the part of the accelerated expansion plan for the first phase of the theme park, the new Toy Story Land will allow guests to enter the backyard of Andy, the boy from the movies, and feel as if they've been shrunk to the size of their favorite Toy Story toys.

According to the resort, characters and stories from the Toy Story franchise have strongly resonated with Chinese guests. The Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue attraction, a guest favorite, features the most advanced Buzz Lightyear targeting system at any Disney Park in the world.

The Disney's sixth worldwide theme park and the first in the Chinese mainland officially opened to the public on June 16.

The resort has welcomed more than 1 million visitors and had a hotel room occupancy rate of 95 percent by July 2, according to the third quarter fiscal report released in early August.

The quarterly earnings of the Walt Disney Company were $2.6 billion for its third fiscal quarter, an increase of $114 million year-on-year.

The operating revenue of its theme parks and resorts grew 6 percent yearly to $4.38 billion.