Sunday, May 28, 2006

Rumors of 'Malaysia Disneyland'

UPDATED: See comments below.

Interesting article in Asia Times Online about the possibility of a Disneyland in Johor, Malaysia. A good read, sounds plausible, but will it happen? You guess is as good as mine.

The writer cleverly links the question of gate numbers to the possible flow of tourists from Singapore with reference to the recent announcement of the successful bidding for the Singapore IR (Integrated Resort) in Marina Bay, as well as the unconcluded bidding for the 2nd IR in Sentosa.

My question is what happens to Genting? Take away its casino and its theme park (assuming that people will be drawn away to Singapore's IR and Johor Disneyland), all that remains are some huge hotels with way too many rooms and a crappy drive up a steep hill.

The article is here.

1 comment:

sean-the-man said...

Singapore's Today newspaper carried the story today:

Disney plans a Malaysian adventure
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KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia is in talks with the Japanese operator of Tokyo Disneyland to bring the first Disney theme park to South-east Asia, a report said yesterday.
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Malaysian government officials and representatives from the government-linked conglomerate UEM World are negotiating with Oriental Land to bring the theme park to the southern state of Johor, the Edge financial weekly said. "The discussions are progressing well. The Disney theme park may occupy about 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of Nusajaya," said the unnamed source.
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Bandar Nusajaya is UEM's 23,000-acre township on the southwestern tip of Johor. A Disney theme park would be a major boost for the tourism industry in Malaysia, which competes with Singapore to attract visitors. The Edge said the planned Disney theme park would be bigger than the two casino-based resorts being planned in Singapore. It said Disney is interested in Nusajaya as it would not compete with its other parks in Hong Kong and Tokyo and a new one planned in Shanghai.
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On Friday, Las Vegas Sands won the bid for Singapore's first casino licence, giving it the right to develop a multi-billion dollar gaming, entertainment and convention complex. Las Vegas Sands edged out MGM Grand-CapitaLand, Harrah's-Keppel Land and Malaysia's sole casino operator, Genting International. – AFP

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/121139.asp