GROUP1 EXECUTIVE MEMO What from the U.S. parks has been adopted or kept the same in China, and what has been adapted or changed? CB4303 Executive Memo // PAGE 2 OVERVIEW Opened in California, USA in 1955, Disneyland is one of the first theme parks constructed under the supervision of The Walt Disney Company. As far its layout is concerned, Disneyland consists of nine themed lands namely Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, New Orleans Square, Bear Country, Mickey’s Toontown, and Star Wars. Soon it’s popularity grew at an unprecedented rate and the company ventured to open its themed parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai to not only open up the park to a large number of visitors but also make exponential profits due to its fan base. Interestingly, the theme parks built in Asia (especially Shanghai) are significantly different from their counterparts in the US. In this memo we’ve explicitly listed out what from the US has been adopted while building Disneyland in China and what characteristics have been modified. DIFFERENCES Cultural Sensitivities: With 95% of guests from mainland China, the park is no doubt “authentically Disney and distinctively Chinese”. The food available is mostly Asian keeping the cuisine perefereces of local people. The famous turkey leg has been replaced by tea-smoked duck. The Disney World characters (Mickey Mouse etc.) have been dressed in traditional Chinese attire during the Chinese New Year event, which adds traditional Chinese culture towards Disney. However, some argues that it’s lacking the authentic Disneyland experience since everything has been modified to appease the Chinese visitors. Shanghai Disney won't feature the iconic Main Street, U.S.A. that's so prominent in both Florida and California. Instead, it will feature the Garden of the Twelve Friends, with 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. The Garden of the Twelve Friends, located in the huge area in front of the castle. Here, each animal in the Chinese zodiac is associated with a Disney character, so that everyone can take a selfie with an animal that represents their birth year. There is no haunted mansion and visitors can take fun of the Chinese version of rides. CB4303 Executive Memo // PAGE 3 Differences (Cont.) Structural changes There've been several structural changes made in the Disneyland of Shanghai. Areas like Main Street, monorail, which are the major attraction as well as core element of Disneyland in California and Florida, US. are absent in the Shanghai Disneyland. In fact, the train system has been changed to Mickey Avenue with new features of warm and welcome greetings when people first enter the park. There're a lot of shows in Shanghai Disneyland. It has around 40 performances every day, which is much more than Disneyland in the US. Disneyland in the US includes shops which mainly sell products related to Disney World but the Disneyland in Shanghai includes shops/malls that are not related to the Disney's theme, such as Nike. Some argue that the entire park seems to nod to the ethnic Chinese belief system. CB4303 Executive Memo // PAGE 4 SIMILARITIES Menus always have something familiar to Westerners. For instance, in winter, salted caramel hot chocolate is provided. A lot of rides are similar to those of American Disneyland. They both have a Castle, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Adventureland, which show that the layout is similar between the parks in the USA and China. Both the parks are providing the same services with well-trained staff. Also, they provide wedding services in the hotel. Similar operation mode. Both of them are using geographical diversification. It's aligned with its mission to deliver entertaining experiences for audiences in both the USA and China. The same slogan has been used in America and China, which is “The happiest place on earth”. CB4303 Executive Memo // PAGE 5 COMPARE HK & SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland are a lot different. There are some comments from the public and key opinion leaders. A YouTuber claimed that the Shanghai Disneyland is quite different from the other Disneyland. He mainly focused on Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland. Even though Shanghai Disneyland is larger than Hong Kong Disneyland, they both have around 40 facilities. Compared with Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland can not provide an illusory world to the travelers, caused by the transport, design and even customer service. Overall, the YouTuber prefers Hong Kong Disneyland rather than Shanghai Disneyland. Source: https://youtu.be/IP8ExUlePrQ
