Disney Opens Chinese Theme Park

Still, the world’s most populous country is simply too big to ignore, Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger said.

In a sign of how significant the park’s opening was, presidents of both countries sent letters of congratulations. Disney says the park’s Wandering Moon Teahouse, modelled on a building in eastern China, is the only Chinese-style structure in any of its parks. A children’s choir started the ceremony followed by the participation of the characteristic mascots like the Sleeping Beauty and the Beast, and many others.

But the grand opening comes at a time when Disney is also having to respond to emergencies back in the US, including the alligator attack at Walt Disney World in Florida that left a 2-year-old boy dead. The boy drowned after the animal dragged him into a lagoon on Tuesday.

Some 15 years after negotiations with China began, Shanghai Disney Resort threw open its gates today in what the Walt Disney Company will be hoping is a fairtyale ending to a tale of protracted discussions and no little resistance. “I like to call this a rain of USA dollars and RMB” – another name for China’s currency, the yuan.

Wang said the park was an example of US-Sino “practical cooperation” and “people to people exchanges”. It comes as China’s economic growth is actually slowing down.

Disney calculates 330-million people live within a three-hour journey of Shanghai and are potential customers.

“People are waiting in line for long hours to have fun, which is not fun”, Wang said. Shanghai Disney still aims to attract 10 million visitors annually by capturing middle-class earners and their growing spending power. “I’ll bring my kids and relatives from my hometown”. “They are still spending on experiences and on their kids”. It has two themed hotels, namely, an elegant Art Nouveau-inspired Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and Toy Story Hotel inspired from Disney Pixar series of “Toy Story” animated films.

Lu remembers five years ago, when the site was just a ramshackle village surrounded by farm land. The park’s entry still has an American vibe with facades including a city hall, a post office, and a hardware store, but it’s called Mickey Avenue.

“Disney will transform the neighbouring areas to new hot land on a par with those busy streets”, said Chen.

“Like all of our parks, Shanghai Disney Resort was created to expand over time, and this investment allows us to bring some of those additions online earlier”, said Thomas O. Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

As Chinese dancers and costumed characters filled a stage in front of the Shanghai Disney Resort’s massive Enchanted Storybook Castle, announcers declared the park officially open at 11:01 a.m. and fireworks went off above the castle.

The Shanghai Disney Resort is a joint venture between Walt Disney Co. and Shanghai Shendi Group, comprised of two owner companies Shanghai Shendi Group holds 57 percent of the shares of the owner companies, while Disney holds the remaining 43 percent of shares. The other foreign locations are in Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. So the main advantage of the huge park may be promotion of the brand and merchandise.

Disney has many inexperienced but ambitious competitors in China.

The country’s biggest real estate developer, Wanda Group, opened a 20 billion yuan ($3 billion U.S.) entertainment complex in the southern city of Nanchang in May that it said is the first in a planned series.

Shanghai Disneyland covers nearly 1,000 acres – roughly the size of eight, 18-hole golf courses.

Disney is seeking to attract crowds with a boat ride based on the “Pirates of the Caribbean”, a show from the mega-hit “Frozen” and a “Star Wars” attraction populated by characters from the science-fiction saga among the draws featuring the company’s beloved movies.