CASE STUDY UPDATES 1- WALT DISNEY THEME PARKS

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

Disney's fifth resort and its second in Asia, opened September 12, 2005. The resort is located in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Currently, the resort consists of one theme park and two hotels, with land reserved for future expansion. It is owned and operated by Hong Kong International Theme Parks, an incorporated company jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company and the Government of Hong Kong. The first phase of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort occupies 320 acres. Disney attempted to avoid problems of cultural backlash by attempting to incorporate Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when designing and building the resort, including adherence to the rules of feng shui. For instance, a bend was put in a walkway near the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort entrance so good qi energy wouldn't flow into the South China Sea. The park consists of six themed areas: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land. The theme park's cast members speak in Cantonese, English, and Mandarin. Guide maps are printed in traditional and simplified Chinese as well as English, French, and Japanese. The park has a daily capacity of 34,000 visitors the least of all Disneyland parks. It has so far fallen short of its targeted visitorship figures. The park attracted 5.2 million visitors in its first year, below its target of 5.6 million. Visitor numbers fell 20% in the second year to 4 million, inciting criticisms from local legislators. However, the park attendance slightly increased by 8% in the third year, attracting a total of 4.5 million visitors in 2007.In 2009, the park attendance again increased by 2% to 4.8 million visitors. The attendance continued to surge and received 5.23 million guests in the 2009/2010 fiscal year. Since the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, the theme park has hosted over 25 million guests.

According to AECOM and TEA, Hong Kong Disneyland is the 15th most visited theme park in the world in 2011, with 5.9 million visitors.

Hong Kong Disneyland currently occupies 55 acres, it will be expanded to 68 acres when three new themed areas are completed. After the expansion, the park is expected to handle 7.92 million to 8.92 million visitors annually. The park capacity will increase to handle up to 10 million visitors annually over a 15 year expansion period.

Shanghai Disney Resort

In November 2009, Disney received approval from the central government of China to build a Disney theme park in the Pudong district of Shanghai. The resort is expected to open in 2016. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 7, 2011. It is expected to open in December 2015 and will be owned and operated through a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Shanghai Shendi Group. Construction began on April 8, 2011 43% of the resort will be owned by The Walt Disney Company and the remaining 57% will be owned by the Shanghai Shendi Group. Project Application Report for the resort was approved by the Chinese government on November 4, 2009. Phase 1 of the resort's development will feature a Magic Kingdom-style park, Shanghai Disneyland Park, an entertainment district, 2 themed hotels, recreational facilities, a lake and associated parking and transportation hubs. Additional phases will see the development of 2 additional theme parks at the resort. The site will cover 963 acres in Pudong, Shanghai, or approximately 3 times the size of the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, at a cost of 24.5 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) for the new theme park and an additional 4.5 billion yuan (US$0.7 billion) to build other aspects of the resort.