Disney to open theme park in Shanghai in June

Los Angeles

DISNEY'S long-awaited theme park in China's commercial hub Shanghai - its first on the mainland - will open on June 16, the company announced on Tuesday.

The US$5.5 billion facility, originally slated to open last year, will feature everything from an Enchanted Storybook Castle - the tallest in any Disney park - to a Toy Story-themed hotel and a theatre with a Chinese-language production of the Broadway hit The Lion King. But Walt Disney Co also says the park will reflect China's own culture - something Chinese officials sought to ensure before permitting the icon of US entertainment to enter the country.