Shanghai Disneyland: Notes from Day 4, including Bob Iger and the best pizza

Reporter Keith Sharon and photographer Jeff Gritchen have traveled from O.C. to China for the grand opening of Shanghai Disneyland. They will be reporting on their trip as they go. Here are the latest dispatches from the world’s newest Disneyland destination.

Times and days are noted in Shanghai time, which is 15 hours ahead of Pacific Daylight Time.

11:30 a.m. Wednesday: Peking pizza

The best food I’ve eaten at Shanghai Disneyland: Peking Duck Pizza.

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I got it in Pinocchio’s Village Kitchen in Fantasyland. By the way, Fantasyland is HUGE. I was in full sweat on this muggy day by the time I reached my lunch destination.

I’m told that one lap around the main thoroughfare of the park is 5 miles.

8:30 a.m. Wednesday: Iger’s insights

Walt Disney Co. Chairman and CEO Bob Iger met the media and provided some insights about Shanghai Disneyland.

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The park exists because the two forces – Disney and the Chinese govement – agreed on the theme of the project “authentically Disney, distinctly Chinese,” Iger said.

“I think even Walt would be impressed, and even a little surprised.”

• Related: Notes from Days 2 and 3, including a sneak peek inside the park

The combination of cultures can be seen many places around the park, but none is more prominent than the tip-top of the Enchanted Storybook Castle, in which a Chinese peony flower is surrounded by American stars.

“We didn’t build Disneyland in China,” Iger said. “We built China’s Disneyland. We are invited guests in China. We need to show great respect for the people and the culture.”

Why Shanghai? Because it is the most populated city in the most populated country in the world, Iger said.

One sign that it is going to be a big hit: The restaurant inside the Enchanted Storybook Castle is booked solid for the next month.

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