Shanghai Disney Resort will add a new Marvel attraction as it presses ahead with an expansion plan to tap increasing travel demand in mainland China in the post-Covid-19 era.
The company, a venture between Walt Disney and state-owned Shanghai Shendi (Group), said on Sunday that the Spider-Man-themed roller-coaster ride will offer guests a high-speed, fully immersive experience. It did not reveal the investment or the completion date for the ninth attraction at the Shanghai Disneyland amusement park.
Based on the popular Marvel Super Heroes the proposed attraction will allow guests to follow Spider-Man, who has got himself into a bit of a tangle, at very high speeds to help him get out of trouble, Shanghai Disney Resort said in a statement.
The announcement came just eight months after the opening of a Zootopia-themed attraction, the first of its kind in the world, to burnish the appeal of the US$5.5 billion resort.
“The new attraction’s initial construction preparation work began earlier this year,” the statement said, adding that it will be located next to the Zootopia-themed land.
Shanghai Disney Resort, which encompasses the Disneyland theme park, hotels and Disneytown and Wishing Star Park areas, began operations in 2016. Two years later, Disney and state-owned Shendi, which owns 57 per cent of the resort, added a Toy Story-themed attraction.
In 2023, the resort launched its most recent Zootopia-themed attraction.
On August 7, Walt Disney said in its earnings report for the three months ended June that the company’s Experiences segment was expected to report “a decline by mid single digits” year on year in its operating income between July and September, partly because of some cyclical softening in China.
In the July to September quarter last year, Disney said an increase in guests’ spending and a rise in attendance had led to better operating results for the Shanghai Disney Resort, without disclosing the exact revenue and visitor numbers.
Tourism has been one of the main drivers of the growth despite an overall slowdown in the economy amid lower retail consumption and property sector woes.
China’s total domestic passenger volume during the Labour Day holiday from May 1 to 5 topped 272 million a day, 24 per cent higher than the same period in 2019, according to official data. It was in line with a forecast of 270 million from research firm Gavekal Dragonomics. Tourism spending during the five-day holiday increased 14 per cent from 2019.
“Shanghai Disney Resort remains attractive to millions of Chinese people,” said Zheng Honggang, CEO of Shanghai-based Kate Travel Agency. “Its expansion will lure loyal Disney fans to revisit the amusement park.”
The Shanghai resort has been viewed as a successful example of melding Chinese culture and tradition into a US entertainment complex with Disney’s iconic characters such as Snow White and Pirates of the Caribbean.
In August last year, Shanghai Disney Resort broke ground on its third themed hotel, which will be located on the shores of the resort’s Wishing Star Lake.
Once completed, the as-yet unnamed 400-room hotel will offer views of the theme park, joining the 420-room Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and the 795-room Toy Story Hotel.
