When asked during the opening ceremony whether Shanghai Disneyland was made for China’s rich, or if the park was built with any corrupt practices, Iger refused to answer, and a security guard led the correspondent away.
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As a huge fan of the original poster art that was used to advertise classic Disney theme park attractions like The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, the new Shanghai Disneyland poster art that has been popping up online has been making me a little giddy.
People walk at Shanghai Disney Resort during a three-day Grand Opening event in Shanghai, China, June 15, 2016. Together we have created an extraordinary destination.
“You’ve got to look at the economy of a place and say, ‘Are there enough people that have enough money to spend this much to come and do this?'” asks James McGregor, author of “One Billion Customers”, a book about China’s business climate.
Disney will face fierce competition from less expensive domestic theme parks featuring well-loved cartoon characters in China, but analysts believe there is room for both in the Chinese market.
Restaurant owner Guan Song, from the eastern province of Shandong, who was with his wife and their six-year-old daughter, said: “We have always wanted to go to a Disney park, but China did not have one”.
“This is one of the proudest and most exciting moments in the history of the Walt Disney Co.”, said Iger, speaking after the kids choir sang “When You Wish Upon a Star”.
Leia Mi, the concept designer for the Shanghai park’s castle, said that Disney conducted thorough market research into Chinese preferences.
There’s no Space Mountain anchoring Tomorrowland at Shanghai Disneyland.
The Shanghai resort will give Disney a chance to shake off investors’ peception that its theme parks’ appeal and growth potential overseas are limited. It features six themed areas with a mix of lands and attractions that are staples of other Disney parks as well as new ones in Shanghai.
Amid pageantry and patches of rain, Shanghai DisneyLand threw open its doors to thousands of visitors for its official opening Thursday.
RECRUIT: An actress dressed as the title character from Mulan rides past in a parade at Walt Disney’s Shanghai Disney Resort theme park during a trial run ahead of its official opening. Adventure Isle immerses guests in a newly discovered lost world.
Barack Obama said the resort is to capture “the promise of our bilateral relationship” in a letter read by Robert Iger, Disney’s chief executive officer.
Shanghai Disney’s castle is the largest, and the tallest (197 feet), that Disney has ever built. Even the Disney castle is topped with a traditional peony flower. Hours later, however, the focus was on the dedication ceremony of the Shanghai resort.
So what do the American parks have that this fancy new park doesn’t? The World of Disney Store, the first in Asia, offers a collection of Disney merchandise, with products designed especially for Shanghai Disney Resort and the Grand Opening.
The family plans to spend two days at the resort and Guan had carefully plotted a schedule on his smartphone, including seeing a performance of the Chinese-language version of “The Lion King”.
The park, located in the city of Shanghai, opened with fireworks and dignitaries.
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The group already had a park in Hong Kong but the Shanghai one is the first in mainland China.
