Shanghai Disney

[mclubber]

Now that HKDL expansion is put on hold. I don't get why would Disney try build one in Shanghai. If you look at the geographic location of Shanghai. Its up north of Hong Kong (2hr flight from HK), the city is flat. Though they have allot of space out in the Pudong area (aka shanghai factory land and its hi-tech hub). I can see Shanghai Disney gonna be a dirtiest Magic Kingdom surrounded by factories unlike Hong Kong it is placed in a isolated area with sea in one side and a mountain on the other.

[iluvHKDL]

The air and water pollution there is far more serious than Hong Kong.

[MarkTwain]

I've been concerned about this from the first mentions of Shanghai. Shanghai has BAD pollution problems. I've heard it said that spending a day there is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes.

[philip]

And how is this pollution problem going to make a difference to visitor numbers which will mostly be made up of the 20 million Shanghai residents who are already exposing to the pollution everyday?

[mclubber]

Phillip, read this link. This is the long term effects of people living in Shanghai.

[vfire]

Phillip, read this link. This is the long term effects of people living in Shanghai.

Hey, that's just another way to control population growth you know...
In any case, for the people living in Shanghai, the pollution is normative so I doubt they'll notice the difference at a Disney park in the Shanghai 'burbs.

[MarkTwain]

Yes, but a successful Disney park is internationally popular. And Disney should hold certain standards for their own parks in terms of aesthetics and environment, which will both be severely compromised with serious pollution.

[toonaspie]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that Disney is insane to even consider building a 2nd Chinese Disneyland Resort...and so soon. Even Universal said that once Universal Studios Singapore opens, they plan to make it the only Universal park in Southeast Asia for at least 30 years.

Speaking of which, I wonder why Disney is not considering building a Disneyland in Dubai (other than maybe cause Universal is already building a park there). But that area is experiencing a huge resort and theme park boom. Not to mention UAE is one of the richest countries in the world right now and they would love to have that kind of stuff. I could imagine a more fine-polished and big Disneyland resort being placed there.

(Mainland China is still stuck in second world status and despite whatever economic growth they're experiencing I dont expect them to upgrade anytime soon so I dunno why Disney wants to take such a huge money risk).

[TimmyTimmyTimmy]

how will they ever keep everybody from spitting?
I can imagine a child taking a dump in the adventureland bushes...
If they are having problems to fill hkdl... why would they make the same mistake again? I am sure they will

[MarkTwain]

No, I'm sure Disney has learned their lesson in terms of building the park in the right size. Iger's mantra is "if you build it right, they will come" (or something like that) so I'm sure that won't be the issue. Although I'm sure, given WDI's recent trend, that the park will be much fuller than usual with character-based attractions...

The problem I'm concerned about is over-stretching the audience. HKDL, SDL, and even TDL are all very close to each other, and I'm not sure there's enough people that can afford to fly to Disneyland to keep all of them successful.

[ChrisFL]

Even Universal said that once Universal Studios Singapore opens, they plan to make it the only Universal park in Southeast Asia for at least 30 years.

Well Shanghai isn't exactly southeast Asia, and I thought Universal was planning a park in nearby South Korea

[tasman]

Well Shanghai isn't exactly southeast Asia, and I thought Universal was planning a park in nearby South Korea

I think his point was, since Universal will already have a park in SE Asia, they won't build another one in the near future. That has nothing to do with Shanghai or South Korea...since as you well know, neither of those are in southeast Asia (plus, myself hadn't heard anything about a Universal park in SK...only Dubai and Singapore). IMO Universal is expanding more intelligently than Disney...and so far, they haven't built or designed a single cheap or half-day park yet...unlike Disney...which so far has five such parks to its name.

[TimmyTimmyTimmy]

disneyland in hong kong is not the right size. the size is something that make people avoid the park

universal are making smart moves. they have rides that EVERYBODY can enjoy. that is something that disney lost a long time ago.

[Malin]

Speaking of which, I wonder why Disney is not considering building a Disneyland in Dubai (other than maybe cause Universal is already building a park there). But that area is experiencing a huge resort and theme park boom. Not to mention UAE is one of the richest countries in the world right now and they would love to have that kind of stuff.

I guess Disney view all that expansion in Dubai as a direct competition to its very own Walt Disney World. Dubai does not have a massive population living there so in order for these parks to be filled up its going to have to rely on visitors from outside the Emirates. By adding a Disney park here you are taking away all the appeal that Orlando has to offer which would not be in Disney's best interest. Also you have to take into account despite rules relaxing, Dubai is still a very strict place and I'm still interested in how these parks are going to handle times like during Ramadam where its against the law for anyone to be seen eating and drinking in public during day light hours. I also here Dubailand is currently putting a number of planned parks on hold at the moment.

The problem I'm concerned about is over-stretching the audience. HKDL, SDL, and even TDL are all very close to each other, and I'm not sure there's enough people that can afford to fly to Disneyland to keep all of them successful.

Most of the Guest who visit Tokyo Disney Resort are from Japan and international Guest represent a very small number like 1%. With a population of a billion China is not short in filling up a couple of Disney parks 365 days a year. Than you take into account how many other people that live in other parts of Asia who may also be interested in visiting Disney, the numbers could be huge but whats stopping it from happening is the fact the current park is clearly not worth the trip. So Hong Kong Disneyland is currently having to rely on the few tourist and locals that it manages to attract each year.

IMO Universal is expanding more intelligently than Disney...and so far, they haven't built or designed a single cheap or half-day park yet...unlike Disney...which so far has five such parks to its name.

As far as I'm aware Universal actually don't own any of the parks in devolpment and only has a licensing deal, and agreement that Universal Creative will design and build everything.

[tasman]

As far as I'm aware Universal actually don't own any of the parks in devolpment and only has a licensing deal, and agreement that Universal Creative will design and build everything.

Regardless of ownership...the new parks will still shape how people think about Universal, even if they are not direct owners...and so far all indications are that the impression will be a good one. Just like TDR enhances Disney's reputation.