“Shanghai is the most populous city in the most populous country in the world”, Iger said.
Advertisement
Employees: Around 10,000 on the opening day.
Shanghai Disneyland will be Disney’s second-largest theme park after its flagship resort in Florida, and is the third Disney theme park to open in Asia after Tokyo’s Disneyland and Hong Kong’s Disneyland Resort.
He said the resort’s guiding principle from the beginning has been that it must be “authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese”.
Like Bai, millions more are expected to flock to Shanghai Disneyland in the months and years ahead.
Shanghai represents a market of 300 million people living within three hours of the park by auto or train in one of China’s most affluent regions.
A guest poses for photographs. “Disney Shanghai is many things to many people, but one undeniable public service, is that an entire generation of Chinese will learn to stand in line”, said one commentator on the popular WeChat online platform.
The park should generate some $1.5 billion to $4.5 billion a year in revenue, according to Drexel Hamilton analyst Tony Wible.
Shanghai Disneyland is divided into six distinct areas – some entirely new to Disney including the pirate-themed Treasure Cove.
Read about the competition among theme parks in China here.
The park’s majority owner is a state-owned investment fund, which means Disney will need to get its partner’s approval for changes in restaurant prices and other management details.
“China obviously represents incredible potential for The Walt Disney Company, in the near term and in the long term, because of the size of this market”, Iger said.
There’s big money at stake. It also houses the Walt Disney Grand Theater, where a Mandarin-language version of “The Lion King” premiered on Tuesday.
A visitor poses by the Enchanted Storybook Castle.
Walt Disney Co. president and CEO Robert A. Iger goes by the book to bring mainland China its first-ever Disneyland.
Among those who will avoid the park, Disney’s first on the Chinese mainland, the main barrier for 43 percent was identified as “expensive tickets”, matched by “too crowded” for almost 43 percent.
Disney has also had to fend off accusations of cultural imperialism.
“The Chinese can learn the princesses over time and this gives them an opportunity to have an introduction to all of the princess stories”, said executive producer Ali Rubinstein.
Years in the making: Construction began more than five years ago in April 2011.
Tron Lightcyle Power Run roller-coaster at the Shanghai Disneyland theme park. It is a result of years of collaboration and innovation, with contributions from Disney cast members and Imagineers, as well as thousands of artists, designers, construction workers and suppliers from across China and around the world.
Advertisement
For Shi, the student plans opening day to be the first of many visits. “I will come back with my son”, she said.
