Disney Laos Could Be The Greatest Bootleg Theme Park

It’s clear the Disney franchise has decided to take over the world in a jovial way. There’s Disney World, Disneyland and Disney Paris, and soon Shanghai will have a Disneyland of its own. But the latest Disney creation, Disney Laos, has even Disney itself scratching its head, because the park has nothing to do with Disney at all.

The newest amusement park to the Disney Clan plans to include “cartoon character
parks,” a water park and other cheerful recreations. The only problem is Disney literally has nothing to do with it. In fact, Disney Laos is not a certified Disney property at all, but rather an unaffiliated project currently under construction.

So how did a group of Lao entrepreneurs finagle this? Mostly, it’s just a group of people who have a hazy understanding of global intellectual property law.

Somjith Aliyaphaphone, one of the theme park’s investors, told The Global Post, “If it’s called ‘Disney Laos,’ then that should be permitted. But Disneyland? That would be copyright infringement. We think that’s the case, anyways.”

Despite the current concerns over potential legal action, Disney Laos has already broken
ground in Thakhek and hopes to open within the next seven to 10 years, which leaves plenty of time for lawsuits and a Toy Story 6 ride.