Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>Not sure what the point of the article is Disney is doing what Disney does. If Chinese consumers don't buy it then fine.<< I think it's basically saying that Disney is taking a huge risk by investing so much money in a country that doesn't have an affinity for its product. It would make more sense for them to build something that's less brand-specific (like the classic DL rides) or less of a big permanent investment (like DisneyQuest or even Disney Stores) The more I think about this, the more I think that the theory I heard long ago might be true: they expect SDL to be a loss-leader for the company, but to give them a foot in the door in China to build the brand and help combat piracy. Rather than being self-sustaining, it helps them break down barriers in a notoriously difficult foreign business environment and set up shop for things to come. I have no hard evidence of this, but it seems very plausible with how they've been doing things so far
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: If the attractions at Shanghai Disneyland are done well, it won't matter to the average guest whether or not they were originally familiar with a particular Disney character or not. ORWEN: Besides that, Winnie the Pooh and Toy Story characters have already proven to be popular in Hong Kong. No doubt they'll be popular in China, too. Even Snow White is well known in Asian countries. ORDDU: So there's really nothing to worry about in regard to the character connections to various rides. The bigger problem to worry about is economics. Will the average Chinese guest be able to AFFORD Disney over there? It remains to be seen...
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt >>Not sure what the point of the article is Disney is doing what Disney does. If Chinese consumers don't buy it then fine.<< "I think it's basically saying that Disney is taking a huge risk by investing so much money in a country that doesn't have an affinity for its product." Well, they could have spent even more. They were pretty tepid with HKDL, as the article so delightfully points out. Imagine if SDL was being built on a similar scale as that resort, or filled with 1960/70s era clones of classics like TDL was. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. "The more I think about this, the more I think that the theory I heard long ago might be true: they expect SDL to be a loss-leader for the company, but to give them a foot in the door in China to build the brand and help combat piracy." Seems kind of far-fetched, but I do agree that there's some deliberate reverse engineering going on here: Disney expects the resort to be a long term investment toward driving Disney's various brands in China.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< ORDDU: If the attractions at Shanghai Disneyland are done well, it won't matter to the average guest whether or not they were originally familiar with a particular Disney character or not. >>> I was about to say nearly the exact same thing. So what if the franchises that some of the attractions are based on are not well known in China? If they are done properly, they'll be just like many of the classic attractions at DL: beloved, instant classics that stand on their own without the need for "synergy."
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt The problem with that for Disney is that beloved rides don't necessarily mean increased brand awareness for whatever character franchise is being pimped in the attraction. Disney is relying on theme parks to drive the brand in China, which is a reversed strategy from how they've developed parks in the past.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: That is assuming the Disney movies and characters aren't already well known enough in China, though, and the impression I have received is that they are better known over there than some seem to realize.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: Also, if the theme park, itself, is well liked enough, it'll be able to keep itself afloat. ORDDU: I'm still more concerned about whether the locals can even afford to go to a Disney theme park.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "That is assuming the Disney movies and characters aren't already well known enough in China, though..." Not assuming anything. Did the three of you read the article? It has been well documented that Disney brand awareness in China is very low relative to other markets where it operates theme parks.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros When I was there 5 years ago (has it been that long already!?), there I stumbled upon a couple Disney-branded blackmarket items (stationery, printed purses/bags), but that was really it. There weren't a lot of ads that incorporated the characters, and there weren't many people wearing character-related apparel That said, I also didn't particularly notice any other characters that were in wider circulation. From what I could tell, Chinese people in general just don't particularly want characters in their everyday lives. It wasn't that Disney had a small market share, but rather that there simply wasn't much of a market for it at all. Perhaps Disney will help open that market up (or perhaps it's grown significantly in the last 5 years), but it's certainly very different from any of Disney's existing park locations
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Purchasing merchandise is one thing. There's also theater box office." Americans forget that when DL opened Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse had been established Hollywood fixtures for 25 years. What's happening in Shanghai is the reverse - DL is opening where the vast majority of people have no clue what "Disney" is.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***DL is opening where the vast majority of people have no clue what "Disney" is*** I think you're overstating things at this point.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>ORDDU: I'm still more concerned about whether the locals can even afford to go to a Disney theme park.<< I would guess that the pricing will be adjusted to reflect the local conditions. Even TDR and HKDL's tickets are significantly cheaper than the US parks (1 day is about $64), even though both locations have a large middle class and other items (food, travel, etc) are priced roughly equivalent to what they would be in the US. I'm sure it will take some fine tuning to get everything priced just right, but I would be surprised if they priced it in a way that would turn everybody away
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I think you're overstating things at this point." That very well could be. I'm only making statements based on what I've read. Kindly provide links to opposing facts and I'll be happy to read them.
Originally Posted By dagobert New construction pictures: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://money.163.com/photoview/5BNQ0025/18082.html#p=AJ001QID5BNQ0025&from=tj_wide">http://money.163.com/photoview...=tj_wide</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Interesting that there's a boat dock under construction. Is that just for recreational rentals? I don't think there will be ferry service to the resort, will there? And I know it's standard practice in China and Hong Kong, but I like how the scaffolding is made out of bamboo. For some reason, it just makes everything seem more authentic
Originally Posted By dagobert The boat dock looks rather small, so I would say it's just for small recreational boats. However, if you take a look at the resort map, you can see bigger boats like ferries on the resort lake. So I think that there will be ferries.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Does the lake connect to anything? I thought it was just a standalone water feature in front of the park. I don't think there's going to be parking or anything on the far side of the lake, so I'm not sure where a ferry would go
Originally Posted By dagobert There is a shopping cnetre planned next to SDL. So maybe this mall is connected with the ferry? <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://pursuitist.com/shanghai-disneyland-luxury-shopping-complex-opening-2015/">http://pursuitist.com/shanghai...ng-2015/</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That could be! It would make sense to use ferries for that, and they wouldn't need to be especially large boats since I doubt the shopping area would have the same draw as a theme park. The boats in WDW's DTD are fairly small (though not the primary means of transportation)
