"This is one of the proudest and most exciting moments in the history of the Walt Disney Company," CEO Bob Iger said during the Shanghai resort's grand opening. Appropriately, at the fulcrum of the 963-acre park sits Disney's “tallest, largest and most interactive castle." Iger personally signed the castle's golden spire, which is topped by a peony flower, the symbol of Shanghai, and buttressed by a burst of Disney stars.
Wary of any whiff of cultural imperialism, Disney's Chinese partners are said to have insisted that the park include some all-new rides. The Tron lightcycle roller coaster has been a park-goer favorite so far. With lines stretching three to four hours long, expect a Mandarin-speaking computer-generated Jeff Bridges on Chinese movie screens sometime in 2019.
Riders crouch forward atop individual light cycles for this high-speed futuristic coaster (we tried it — insanely fun).
Gaining access to the park was a grueling slog on opening day. As part of a locally-mandated anti-ticket fraud program, visitors must present their official Chinese ID card upon entry. The extra validation process makes entry lower slower than other Disney parks. On the plus side, a single-day adult ticket costs $75 on weekends and holidays and $56 on nonpeak days. That compares with $125 and $105 at Disney World in Florida.
Disney has hired and trained 10,000 Chinese staff — or "cast members," as they are known in the company parlance — to run the facility.
There have been some reports in Chinese media of bad behavior during the park's opening week. In other cases, visitors simply weren't aware of how to engage with the attractions. “When people first got into the canoes they didn’t realize they had to paddle,” Bob Iger said of the Explorer Canoes attraction in an interview with the New York Times.
Disney has produced its first Mandarin-language version of The Lion King musical for Shanghai. The Lion King film was one of Disney's first commercial successes in the Chinese market.
One of two hotels on the compound, Shanghai's Toy Story Hotel is Disney's first hospitality facility dedicated exclusively to the Pixar franchise. The hotel has two sections, a Sheriff Woody wing and a Buzz Lightyear wing.
A big part of Disney's effort to localize the park revolved around concessions, which service 70 percent Chinese cuisine, with dishes representing six major Chinese cooking traditions. Offerings include pork-stuffed mooncakes, braised pork knuckle in soy sauce, dim sum, Peking Duck pizza and much else.
Despite Disney's huge effort to develop a mostly Chinese menu, American concessions — hot dogs, turkey legs and pop corn — have been the bestsellers in Shanghai. "I want some American food when I come to Disney, something different," said Cai Jing, a 30-year-old from Yunan Province, on the park's opening day.
The immersive "Soaring Over the Horizon" flight simulator carries riders high above the world's great landmarks, utilizing motion, wind and even scents to create an uncanny sense of realism. The attraction premiered at Shanghai Disney before rolling out at other Disney Parks around the world the next day.
To further appease its Chinese government partners, Disney built the Wandering Moon Teahouse. Modeled on a building in eastern China, it is the only Chinese-style structure in any Disney park.
The "Garden of the Twelve Friends" employs characters such as Remy from Ratatouille and Tigger from Winnie the Pooh to recreate the animals of the Chinese Zodiac in individual mosaics. Guests are invited to pose for selfies in front of their Zodiac sign.
Shanghai Disneyland has 10 designated smoking areas, compared to four within the park at Disneyland in California. The World Bank estimates that 49 percent of Chinese adult males are smokers, compared to 21 percent in the United States.
Of the seven square kilometers allocated for the Shanghai Disney Resort, only four have been developed so far. Bob Iger says Disney is already working on expansion plans. Given the huge success of Marvel films in China, perhaps an Iron Man attraction could be in the offing? So far, Marvel characters can only be found in a "Marvel Universe" display area.
The single biggest difference between the Shanghai Disney Resort and other Disney parks around the world lurks behind the scenes — in the park's ownership structure. Disney's state-owned Chinese partner, the Shanghai Shendi Group, owns 57 percent of the resort and will take the majority of its profits. There was simply no other way into the Chinese market.