The Disneyland in Shanghai---How Chinese See It

A glimpse of the Paris Disneyland

In June 2016, a Disneyland theme park was opened in Shanghai, China. Before it was officially opened to the public, a few lucky people were given free tickets to test visiting. It was said that only 10, 000 persons were allowed to enter each day during the test visiting period (this number increased to about 60,000 once it was open to the public). Some test visitors shared their experiences on social media, letting others know what to expect when visiting this Disneyland Park. The Chinese people’s reaction to the opening of a Disneyland theme park in their country is positive overall. Previously the nearest Disneyland was in Hong Kong and people from the mainland need special pass to go to Hong Kong, therefore it was not always easy. Now finally there is one in Shanghai, it is absolutely much easier to visit. The network of high speed trains in China made it even more convenient.

However, visitors were pissed off by the sales strategy of the park. They felt that they were pressured to shop in the park, and prices were extremely high compared with that of outside stores. Another complaint was that almost everywhere there was a long line.

So how much do their tickets cost? Here are my findings from their official website:

	Standard	Senior	Child (height over 1M)
Peak season	¥499.00 CNY (about $77USD)	¥375.00 CNY (about $58USD)	¥375.00 CNY (about $58USD)
Off season	¥370.00 CNY (about $57USD)	¥280.00 CNY (about $43USD)	¥375.00 CNY (about $58USD)

Above prices are for a 1-Day ticket. That means if one wants to spend two days there the price would double. Peak season refers to summers and national holidays, and the rest of the time can be counted as off season.

For many people who come from other provinces and plan to spend a night there, they have the option to stay in one of the two hotels that are inside the Disneyland: The Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and Toy Story Hotel. Here are the prices of these two hotels according to their official website:

	The Shanghai Disneyland Hotel	Toy Story Hotel
Peak Season	¥2500.00 CNY (about $384USD)	¥1600.00 CNY (about $246USD)
Off Season	¥2400.00 CNY (about $369USD)	¥1300.00 CNY (about $200USD)

Above prices are for one room one night for two persons. Due to different prices for different types of rooms, the number you see here is the estimated average.

From above prices, you get a sense of minimum cost if a family of three plan to visit the Shanghai Disneyland Park for one day during the peak season. Two adults and one child (height over 1M) would cost ¥1373.00 CNY (about $211USD). If they plan to spend a night there, the minimum cost would be 1373+ 1600=¥2973 CNY (about $457USD).

From American standard, those numbers do not seem to be too high for a trip to the Disneyland, but if one considers the average annual income of the Chinese in 2015, which was ¥1830 CNY (about $282USD) per month (this figure is from National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China), then one begins to feel for them. That is why many commented that the Shanghai Disneyland Park is a place for China’s rich people only.

Excluding the price issue, most people enjoyed their experience in the Shanghai Disneyland, especially kids. Well, if you plan to visit Shanghai, you may add another stop on your itinerary.