New photographs have emerged online that show parts of the Walt Disney Co.’s (NYSE:DIS) theme park in Shanghai turning in a weed-choked mess since being shuttered two months ago at the start of a pandemic lockdown.
What Happened: The WDW News Today blog shared photographs from Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) user @RCDclub taken inside Shanghai Disneyland, which has been off-limits to the public since March 21.
The photographs show the before-and-after results of two months’ worth of neglect in park’s landscaping and character topiaries, which have become wildly overgrown with weeds and grass.
The @RCDclub account is credited as the “Official account of Roller Coaster Dream,” and most of its previous tweets focused on roller coasters at Chinese amusement parks. It is not clear how if the account owner gained access to Shanghai Disneyland to photograph the grounds or if a Disney employee with access leaked the images, which show the character topiaries of Donald and Daisy Duck (top photograph) and Chip and Dale (below in a before-and-after comparison).
What Happens Next: The South China Morning Post reported that Shanghai’s commercial hub is scheduled to have its COVID lockdown end June 1. The lockdown has impacted the city’s 25 million residents, who have become virtual prisoners in their homes.
Since the lockdown began, Disney has maintained a stony silence on the state of Shanghai Disneyland and its employees. The park’s website has not been updated since the attraction was shut down and the company’s Disney Parks Blog has made no mention of its Shanghai operations since an article published three days before the park’s closure.
Photos by @RCDclub / Twitter
