Disney poised to spur theme park rush in land of Dwarf Empire

Beijing has Shijingshan, known as “Fake Disney,” Shenzhen has a park with replica landmarks and Yunnan province has Dwarf Empire, an attraction based on little people.
With already 300 theme parks in China, including some ranked among the world’s worst, competition to amuse the nation’s growing middle class is set to intensify. Dalian Wanda Group Co. opened a USD3.2 billion project in southeastern Jiangxi province on Saturday, two weeks before the planned unveiling of Shanghai Disney Resort, Walt Disney Co.’s $5.5 billion mainland foray. Five dozen more entertainment venues are slated to start by 2020.
The new wave of attractions promises to transform China’s outdoor entertainment landscape, where even unprofitable and badly-run fun parks helped draw about 120 million visitors last year. Industry consultancy Aecom predicts China’s theme-park market will rival that of the U.S. after the new venues open, with 220 million visitors annually.
“Mainland Chinese consumers have upgraded a lot in their behavior in the last 10 years,” said Jennifer So, a tourism analyst at China Securities International in Hong Kong. “They want experiences, not just shopping. That’s why so many theme-park operators see opportunities there.”
The government has predicted China’s $610 billion tourism industry will double by 2020, spurred by a growing middle class. DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. plans to open its $2.4 billion DreamCenter and Haichang Ocean Park Holdings will unveil what’s slated to be China’s biggest marine park next year. Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is due to open its first park outside North America in 2019.
“In the end, the successful ones will be those who know how to operate theme parks, not just develop them,” So said.
Disney, which opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in 1955, and Six Flags, which has run themed rides in the U.S. for more than 55 years, have an advantage when it comes to experience. Chinese operators counter that with their superior understanding of local conditions and what they see as better value for money.
Dalian Wanda Chairman and founder Wang Jianlin told a China Central Television show on May 22 that he couldn’t comprehend how Disney had spent so much on its 390-hectare (963-acre) park in Shanghai, and that it would have to have high admission prices, which would drive away visitors.
Tickets for the outdoor theme park at Wanda’s Jiangxi project are priced at 198 yuan ($30) on most days and 248 yuan on holidays and weekends. That’s about half the cost of admission to Shanghai Disneyland, where adults will pay 370 yuan each during the week and 499 yuan on peak days when the park opens on June 16.
Disney shouldn’t have built an outdoor park in a city like Shanghai, where summers are rainy and winters cold, billionaire Wang added. A Disney spokeswoman said Wang’s comments weren’t considered worthy of a response.
Dalian Wanda, whose “Wanda City” in Nanchang features rides, shopping centers and an aquarium, may have a powerful ally. “The Chinese government is cautious about having too much Western content” in attractions, Aecom noted in its 2015 global theme parks report.
China shouldn’t allow too many Disney parks, as this would make children indifferent to Chinese culture, Anhui province’s representative on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee Li Xiusong said earlier this year at the annual political meetings in Beijing. He recommended parks and attractions be based on Chinese literary classics, like “Journey to the West,” which was written during the Ming dynasty. MDT/Bloomberg