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Mickey Sets a Course for Shanghai
Mickey Mouse has been planning to bring Disneyland to Shanghai for some time now. Details have been sketchy and the project has been put on the shelf several times. But people in one village are banking on the billionaire rodent to eventually get things off the ground.
According to Shanghaiist, business people and home owners in Jinjia have been building on to current structures and establishing new businesses. These would-be entrepreneurs are not hoping that Disneyland will be built nearby so that they can sell food and souvenirs to the theme park's clientele. They are betting that Disney will want to buy them out so that the park can be built directly on top of the village. The new constructions and additions are an effort to make property seem more valuable in the eyes of Disney so that the buy-out prices will be higher.
However, the mouse has not yet chosen the exact location of the park. The residents of Jinjia are acting on pure speculation.
Disney is currently negotiating with Chinese officials in an effort to iron out the details, which allegedly include some sort of profit sharing scheme (Mickey sure knows how to get things done in China) There is the small matter of the 2008 Olympics, which are probably causing a bit of distraction amongst area bureaucrats.
While most people could care less if there is another Disneyland in the world, one village, a handful of Chinese government officials, and one shrewd mouse are waiting for ground to be broken with bated breath.
