Walt Disney World said it had shut down all its Florida resort beaches and marinas as a precaution after the incident.
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Disney’s largest overseas investment at $5.5 billion, the park is a bet on China’s middle class and booming domestic tourism.
“We didn’t just build Disneyland in China; we built China’s Disneyland”, Iger said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We wanted to make a strong statement. whatever we built here had to be significant enough to have real impact, ” said Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, who is in Shanghai for the opening. But still, he said, Shanghai Disneyland “is far above anything else in China”.
Initial reception to Shanghai Disney Resort has been positive; tickets for the first two weeks sold out months ago.
Disney’s global parks, which include local partnerships in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo, haven’t made a profit in six of the past 10 years, Wible figures. The themed hotels are located near Shanghai Disneyland and promise a fun, relaxing stay. Tragedy struck at Disney’s resort in Florida on Tuesday, when an alligator killed a two- year-old child at a lake. “We built China’s Disneyland”.
“We had to come on the first day, its historic”, said Bai lirong, 28.
There are already some 300 theme parks in China and another 60 on the way, but nothing comparative with the size and scope of Disney. “In the Pirates ride, they could have had the setting be the Yangtze River”. Songs are sung in Mandarin and signs feature Chinese lettering. There are also Mickey Mouse-shaped steamed buns, and the main restaurant is designed like a traditional tea house, bedecked in red lanterns.
Mindful most visitors are Chinese, around 70 percent of the food is geared toward local tastes.
Disney calculates there are 330 million people living within a three-hour journey of Shanghai who are potential customers.
Disney has set the entrance fee at 499 yuan ($76) during peak periods and 370 yuan ($56) for other times, in a country where the average monthly disposable income is just $278.
“With the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort, Disney is providing the people of China with family entertainment for all of China and its Mainland”, the letter read, calling the resort a symbol that “reflects the growing relationship between our nations”.
“I hope that Shanghai Disney can provide visitors with safe and premium experiences and become a world-class theme park”.
Shendi is a consortium controlled by four large government-owned companies: Shanghai Media Group; hotelier Jin Jiang International, controlled by the city of Shanghai; supermarket-to-department store operator Bailian Group, and property developer Lujiazui Development Group. Parks in California, Hong Kong and France are based on the Sleeping Beauty story.
The Shanghai park could lose money for the first couple of years as it ramps up, but if can attract 18 million annual visitors, it should produce $150 million in earnings before interest, taxes and other items by 2018, Anthony Diclemente, an industry analyst at Nomura Securities, wrote in an investor note Wednesday.
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“We have plenty of space to do that and we believe we’ve got willing partners”.
