Disney has decades of experience when it comes to building awe-inspiring theme parks, and it seems like it doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon.
Yet even as fans have clamored for new gates in Orlando and Anaheim, Disney’s next frontier seems to be forming half a world away.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi is already making headlines as the company’s first indoor park, blending traditional Disney storytelling with Middle Eastern influences. Owned by Miral Group, not Disney, it will join Yas Island’s existing entertainment lineup of Warner Bros. World, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, and Ferrari World. But a quieter story is taking shape further east — one that could redefine Disney’s presence in China.
Since its debut in 2016, Shanghai Disneyland has quickly become one of the company’s most successful international ventures.
The park recently welcomed its 100 millionth guest and has already managed to establish itself as the fifth-most-visited theme park in the world as of 2024.
Now, expansion plans suggest that Shanghai’s next evolution could rival the scale of Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris.
Shanghai Disneyland’s Next Chapter
Shanghai Disneyland recently announced a sweeping resort expansion, including a fourth themed hotel and a larger shopping, dining, and entertainment district.
The new hotel — joining the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, Toy Story Hotel, and a third property under construction on the south shore of Wishing Star Lake — will sit adjacent to the park’s entrance, giving guests easier access and expanding the resort’s already massive capacity.
NEW: Shanghai Disney Resort announces plans for a new hotel next to the park entrance. The resort is also expanding its shopping, dining, and entertainment district and recently welcomed its 100 millionth guest since the park opened in June 2016.
NEW: Shanghai Disney Resort announces plans for a new hotel next to the park entrance. The resort is also expanding its shopping, dining, and entertainment district and recently welcomed its 100 millionth guest since the park opened in June 2016. pic.twitter.com/KnegVMMcSQ
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) November 3, 2025
This isn’t the first time a second gate for Shanghai has been hinted at. Former Walt Disney Imagineering President Bob Weis once described a conceptual park that “presented a highly creative new kind of park, with elements of nature, culture, the arts, and an overall deeply immersive environment that suggested a new-generation version of EPCOT. Many viewers who witnessed the presentation gave it a standing ovation.”
Weis’s comments drew immediate comparisons to WestCOT — a 1990s proposal to reinvent Disneyland Resort with a futuristic, global theme before financial woes shuttered the idea. That blueprint may now find new life in China, where Disney’s ambitions continue to grow.
Expansion Momentum and Future Possibilities
In early 2025, the Shanghai municipal government approved a planning adjustment for the land surrounding the Disney resort. The change reclassified large sections for “commercial services, parking lots, and transportation hubs,” a bureaucratic but telling move that many analysts interpreted as a precursor to large-scale park development.
Then, in July, Shanghai Disneyland revealed plans for a new residential community exclusively for cast members and interns — a further sign of long-term growth.
Attraction development hasn’t slowed either. In May, Walt Disney Imagineering broke ground on a new Spider-Man roller coaster set within a dedicated Marvel area, signaling a stronger focus on the franchise after years of limited presence in the park. The addition follows the success of Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, a technologically advanced dark ride anchoring the resort’s Zootopia-themed land, which opened in 2023 to critical and fan acclaim and is set to receive new updates for the upcoming release of Zootopia 2.
The park also plans to expand Soaring Over the Horizon, one of its most popular attractions, to accommodate growing attendance. These efforts, coupled with new hotels and infrastructure upgrades, point to a long-term investment cycle that could culminate in Disney’s next major theme park.
If realized, a second gate at Shanghai Disneyland would cement China as a central pillar in Disney’s global theme park portfolio — a project that combines cultural artistry, forward-thinking design, and the kind of ambition that defined Walt Disney himself.
Do you think Shanghai Disneyland needs a second park?
