Theme Park-Boom in China: New Shanghai Disney Resort Nine Times Larger than Vatican

2015 is the big year when Disney’s sixth resort destination is expected to open in Shanghai. Answering the demand of the growing affluent Chinese middle class for leisure and entertainment offers, Disney invested $ 5.5 billion in its new theme park. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, growth in China’s entertainment market will more than double between 2013 and 2015 to $148 billion. This reflects the expectations of China’s theme park visitations rising to 221 million by 2020, matching the current size in the US.

themepark-numbers-globally

With China aiming to double spending on domestic tourism within the next six years, Disney is opening two hotels within its resort, one of which will be a Toy Story-themed complex with 800 rooms. Bordering its large lake, Disneytown will contain a 46,000 square metre shopping, dining and entertainment district. To appeal to Chinese visitors, elements like the ‘Garden of 12 Friends’ will be included, based on the 12 animal signs of the Chinese horoscope.

Shanghai-Disneyland

China-Disneyland

Following the motto “The bigger the better”, the almost 4 square kilometre-sized resort will be more than 200 times larger than Disneyland Paris. Adding the biggest castle among all Disney Resorts, Shanghai Disneyland will have more than a touch of Disney imagination.

Shanghai-Disneyland-Castle

It is expected that Chinas Amusement Park industry’s revenue will grow by 9.6% to $2.9 billion in 2014, with theme parks accounting for 74%. Hosting 11 of the top 20 amusement parks in Asia, the industry is likely to overtake the US market by 2020.