For many Southeast Asians, our dream is to go to Disneyland and bask in the fantasy worlds that were a huge part of our childhoods.
The nearest Disneyland is in Hong Kong and going overseas is not something that just about anyone can afford.
On 15 November, the Exco of Tourism, Heritage and Culture of Melaka, Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis, said that they will begin construction for a Disney City in Jasin, Melaka.
“After more than 20 years, we will have a new theme park. Even though it is not very big but I feel that it is adequate, being able to bring in Disney.”
He continued: “With Disney City in the works, we are planning for it to hopefully be in the area of Jasin but we cannot tell the exact location yet, it will be 150 to 200 acres (60.7 to 80.9 hectares)“.
It is said that construction will begin in 2027 and will cost about RM2 billion, it will also be the first Disney theme park among the ASEAN countries.
In a video, he mentioned that he wanted people to have options.
“I want those who come to Melaka to have options, they can go A Famosa, they can go to Disneyland to sleep, relax and have fun.”
The exco member mentioned that this will help them reach the target of 18.7 million tourists that they had in the year 2019 and increase it to 20 million in the span of 3 years, reported Melaka Hari Ini.
He added that they are also planning to build a 22KM ‘maglev’ (magnetic levitation) train system to connect the hotspots in Melaka.
Present at the announcement were representatives from Menara Taming Sari, Kumpulan Melaka Berhad, KCI Metrolink Sdn Bhd and Korea Camping Caravanning Federation Adivisional Corporation. It is unknown if there are any representatives from Disney there.
Wow, that certainly sounds nice. If this goes through then many Malaysians will not have to travel overseas to go to Disneyland!
Also read: New 120KM Route Linking Melaka & Indonesia Proposed, Will Probably Take 20 Years To Complete