SHANGHAI DISNEY RESORT 'READING TOGETHER' WITH CHILDREN

[HostDave]

While work continues on track with construction of Shanghai Disney Resort, the magic of Disney storytelling has already arrived for some families in Pudong. To continuously bring Disney happiness to children in China from its early development stage, the Shanghai Disney Resort has launched the Disney Reading Together program for young readers at Shanghai Pudong Library, one of the largest libraries in China. Through the program, the Resort's VoluntEARS and their family members host storytelling sessions every Saturday afternoon to read out loud well-known Disney Winnie the Pooh stories to young readers aged from 3 to 6 years old.

The Disney Reading Together program consists of ten weekly sessions hosted at Pudong Library during the school summer vacation, and when complete will inspire hundreds of children and their parents through these interactive sessions to experience the joy of Disney storytelling and reading together. An autumn session for the program will begin after the new school year starts in September to continue to bring Disney magic and happiness to families in the local community.

"Reading together is one of the great ways for families to spend quality time together and strengthen family bonds", said Mike Crawford, General Manager of Shanghai Disney Resort, "Disney has a long tradition of storytelling and we are excited to bring this legacy to Shanghai by collaborating with the Shanghai Pudong Library. We hope these activities will help to encourage young parents to spend more time with their children and enjoy the magic of reading together. We look forward to hosting more programs like this throughout our resort development and operation not only to benefit the local community, but also to provide an opportunity for our Cast Members and Imagineers from China and around the world to give back to society."

"My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Disney stories to the young readers and spending time with them," said Curt Sanders, Director, Operations Development of Shanghai Disney Resort, who has already hosted two reading sessions with his wife this summer. "While creating the happy memories for them, we are also enjoying ourselves and feeling we are making meaningful contributions to the local community."