A little over five years after its groundbreaking ceremony in 2011, Shanghai Disneyland is set to open on June 16, 2016. (Photo : Getty Images)
Shanghai Disneyland, the first of its kind in mainland China, will officially open on Thursday and it is facing tremendous competition from local theme parks, particularly ones from Wang Jianlin’s Wanda Group.
Chinese state media Global Times said on Wednesday that Walt Disney Co.'s first theme park in the mainland is the biggest of all six that have been bringing magic to visitors over the years.
Despite this, the Global Times and several other media outlets believe that the soon-to-open theme park would be facing stiff competition, especially since several onlookers see Disney's theme park tickets to be highly expensive compared to its local competitors.
Potential Profit from Shanghai Disneyland
The company's chief executive Robert Iger said on Wednesday that Shanghai Disneyland and China as a whole offers Disney "incredible potential" in promoting the Mouse House brand all over the world.
In an Associated Press report posted on SF Gate, Iger explained that the first of Disney's theme parks in the mainland is "distinctly Chinese" as it was designed to fuse the magic of the brand with the rich culture of the land.
"We've considered many ways to approach growth in China. Nothing is as impactful, nothing creates a connection to our stories, to our brands, to our characters, as a theme park experience," he told AP.
One of the park's highlights is the world's biggest Storybook Castle as well as a "Garden of the Twelve Friends," which is comprised of Disney characters such as Tigger from "Winnie the Pooh" and Remy from "Ratatouille" to complete the animal signs in the Chinese Zodiac.
Competition
Like any other businesses, Shanghai Disneyland would not go without competition.
However, unlike other businesses, some of Disney's theme park competitors are bent on forcing them to leave the country by making the tourist destination unprofitable.
China's richest person, Wang Jianlin, is particularly keen on making Disney regret that they entered the mainland's theme park industry after he vowed to make the Western company's new venture unprofitable, per the Financial Times.
"Disney really shouldn't have entered the mainland. We will make Disney's China venture unprofitable in the next 10 to 20 years," he declared as he announced his plans to overtake the Mouse House as the world's biggest tourism enterprise.
Disney was quick to shrug off Wang's remarks but was utterly disgruntled when they found out that some of their original characters made an appearance in Wanda City, one of Dalian Wanda's theme parks.
