Wanda’s flagship Wuhan movie park closed for renovation, after just 18 months
Gates shut over the weekend at 3.8 billion yuan site
Wanda Group, the Chinese conglomerate controlled by the country’s richest man Wang Jianlin, is to renovate its 3.8 billion yuan flagship movie theme park in Wuhan, just 19 months after it opened.
In what appears to be a major setback to Wang’s ambitions to challenge Disney as the world’s premier entertainment park operator, the company said in a statement on Monday the site was being closed on July 31 for “renovation and upgrade works to better serve our guests with better quality content, as well as with a brand new experience”. No timescale was offered.
Wang has launched a slew of amusement parks across China over the last two years, but the park is considered a core part of his ambitions in the sector.
The property tycoon declared war on the new Shanghai Disneyland, just weeks ahead of its high-profile launch, in May.
“We want to ensure Disney will not be able to turn a profit in this (theme park) sector in China for between 10 and 20 years,” he said then, in an interview with China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
They need to prove they are able to excel in this market, faced with the not-too-satisfying outcome from this development
He said Disney “should not have come to China”, adding that Wanda was looking to take over from the global entertainment giant as the world’s largest tourism company by 2020.