Shanghai Disneyland to expand with Toy Story-themed area

SHANGHAI -- A Toy Story Land will be the first new addition to Shanghai Disneyland after it opened four months ago, sources with the resort said Thursday.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held recently and the new facility in Shanghai Disneyland is expected to be completed and open to visitors in 2018.

"We are demonstrating our confidence by breaking ground on the new(area) which will be both authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese," said Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

The new facility will be the backyard belonging to Andy, the boy from the Toy Story movies. It will make visitors feel like they have been shrunk down to the size of their favorite Toy Story characters.

This will be the seventh themed area in Shanghai Disneyland. Characters and stories from the Toy Story franchise are popular in China. The theme park developer Shanghai Disney Resort has the only Toy Story-themed resort hotel in the world.