Mickey Mouse may have several theme parks under his belt, but The Horde is getting ready to rush his castle. What seemed like the stuff of a fanboy fantasy - a theme park dedicated to mega-hits World of Warcraft and Starcraft - has opened its gates in China. Dubbed "World Joyland," the park is located just north of Shanghai and brings new meaning to the term "E ticket." Unfortunately, the park's not exactly authorized by Activision or Blizzard Entertainment, but if you don't read Chinese, you probably wouldn't realize that. Technically, the World of Warcraft section of the park is called the "Terrain of Magic" (because, after all, there's magic in Warcraft), and the Starcraft portion is referred to as the "Universe of Starship." Authorized names? Who needs 'em! But when the English-language Chinese blog Shanghaiist took a stroll around the park, snapping pictures and riding rides, they saw statues of plenty of familiar characters. They also tried out the rides, but noted that even though the park has only been open for two months, there are already very notable signs of decay, such as cracks in paint and rust on handrails. Kids riding a dragon shanghaiist.com The park itself is about 600,000 square feet -- roughly ¼ of a square mile, or 148 acres. The builders spent $31 million putting it together. Beyond the rides, they also included oversized gaming and tech R&D facilities in the park -- you know, in case gamers feel separation anxiety from their gaming systems. If you're a ride enthusiast, though, there are plenty to choose from - including a Warcraft-themed log-ride called "Splash of Monster Blood" and the StarCraft-ian "Wrath of Rathelon" drop tower ride. Sure, China is a long way to go to get a WarCraft or StarCraft fix, but it's a safe bet that World Joyland is a heck of a lot easier to get into than BlizzCon.
