Disney did not specify what rides and entertainment offerings the additional funds would allow it to add. Disney has said it sees the property as transformative for the company as the establishment of Walt Disney World in Florida was in the s. Disney on Monday cited a study by a research firm called PhoCusWright indicating that the Chinese travel market was projected to grow 34 percent between and In December, for instance, retail sales growth in China was almost unchanged from a month earlier, at Disney has also been pouring money into its Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened to underwhelming results in in part because of limited offerings.
To some degree, the additional spending on Shanghai Disneyland may be intended to avoid similar opening-day complaints there. Disney owns roughly 43 percent of Shanghai Disneyland, with the balance held by Shanghai Shendi. But Disney will have operational control, holding a 70 percent stake in a management company created with Shendi to run the resort. The resort, one of the largest foreign investments in China ever, includes a acre Magic Kingdom-style park with a castle surrounded by themed areas, although guests will enter through a lush acre garden instead of down an American-style Main Street shopping esplanade.
Disney won approval for the park from the Chinese government after two decades of talks in part by promising that the resort would be sharply different from the original Disneyland, which has become a symbol of American culture. Disney has kept most details of the park under wraps, in part because it fears that other theme park operators in China will try to churn out knockoffs.
Shanghai Disneyland will also include two hotels, a lake and a shopping district, bringing the initial size to about acres.
