The Theme Park In China That's Like World Of Warcraft In Real Life
In Changzhou Shi, China, a huge globe sits atop a water feature, greeting visitors in front of the ticketing booths of the theme park World Joyland. It's immediately reminiscent of Universal Studios, and merely sets the scene for the excessive plagiarism past the gates. In fact, according to Forbes, World Joyland is a $48 million illegal copyright violation.
Just a few steps into Joyland and you'll see sights straight out of the game World of Warcraft. Huge statues of orcs, warriors, and wizards are scattered all throughout the park. But while gazing at the orc statues, don't miss the knockoff Disney store or the entire section that mimics Starcraft. The theme park truly has no shame.
Presumably, World Joyland came about because World of Warcraft is massively popular in China. According to BBC News, Chinese players made up about half of the game's impressive base of five million in 2016. And while the movie Warcraft got extremely negative reviews, it absolutely shattered box office records in China.
Joyland staff denied the Warcraft inspiration
The copyright nightmare known as World Joyland is about a two hour trip from Shanghai. While it seems obvious to everyone who enters the park, the Joyland staff insist it isn't based on World of Warcraft. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they said it's "based on animals." Unless China is hiding some truly wild animals, this couldn't be further from the truth.
THR reported that one of its attractions is named "Path to Warcraft" and other areas are named "Silver Moon Kingdom" and "Silver Moon's Pride," which are more than a little reminiscent of the game's SIlvermoon region. Structures in the theme park completely rip off World of Warcraft's blood elf capital Silvermoon City. Curiously, there was no Warcraft merchandise (real or otherwise) in the gift shop, but there was a fake Iron Man mask.
With sparse internet coverage of Joyland in the past few years, some people believe the park has shut down. So if traveling to China isn't in the cards for getting your Warcraft fix, don't despair! World of Warcraft's newest expansion Shadowlands is expected to release October 27.