• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
Arts & Entertainment

Analysts Say Interest in Shanghai Disney Is Waning

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 5, 2016, 11:50 AM ET
People visit Shanghai Disney Resort as part of the three-day Grand Opening events in Shanghai
People visit Shanghai Disney Resort as part of the three-day Grand Opening events in Shanghai, China, June 15, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2GDUHAly Song — Reuters
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

UPDATE: This article has been updated with a comment from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Bob Chapek.

Disney (DIS) opened the doors on its $5.5 billion Shanghai theme park and resort in June to significant fanfare, but only a few months later, attendance estimates show the massive new park may not be attracting as many visitors as was previously expected.

Multiple reports this week suggest Shanghai Disney posted disappointing attendance numbers in its four months of operation. CNNMoney cited Nomura analyst Richard Huang’s estimate that the new park has averaged roughly 20,000 visitors per day since it opened. A Shanghai University of Finance and Economics tourism management professor gave the same rough daily attendance estimate to the South China Morning Post on Tuesday.

Those numbers would add up to roughly 7.3 million visitors per year, CNNMoney notes, which would fall well short of previous estimates for annual attendance at Shanghai Disney. Many analysts, including those at Nomura, predicted that the new theme park and resort would attract around 15 million attendees per annum, with some predicting that Shanghai Disney could even one day top attendance at Tokyo Disneyland, which clears 17 million visitors annually.

Disney has boasted that more than 300 million tourists with disposable income live within three hours of Shanghai Disney and would provide ample attendance figures. In the month before the new park even opened, nearly 1 million people visited the area around Shanghai Disney, called Disney Town, to tour various connected stores and restaurants.

 

CNNMoney also noted that local media in China has been tough on Shanghai Disney, with reports on visitors complaining about long wait times for the park’s rides and attractions, as well as high food prices.

When reached for comment, a Shanghai Disneyland spokesperson provided Fortune with the following statement from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Bob Chapek: “The recent report speculating about our attendance is meritless. Our financial results during the first 100+ days of operation have exceeded our expectations, and guest feedback has been extremely strong, establishing a solid foundation upon which to grow.”

The Shanghai Disneyland spokesperson also referred Fortune to comments made by Disney CEO Bob Iger at the Goldman Sachs Communicopia Conference last month. Iger said the new theme park and resort “had a fantastic opening” this summer. “In fact, it delivered more [attendance] in the first hundred days than most parks that we’ve opened over the history of our theme parks,” Iger said at the conference.

Iger also said that the company’s guest satisfaction surveys showed that customers “love the experience” and are staying longer, by nearly two hours, than Disney had expected.

Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man and the chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, has regularly challenged Disney’s new China theme park. Jianlin has stated that Disney misread China’s tourism market while making clear his plans to beat the media giant at its own game with his growing portfolio of theme parks across the country. In August, Fortune reported that Jianlin and Dalian Wanda signed a deal to build a $9.5 billion tourism and sports complex in the eastern China city of Jinan that the company expects to attract more than 20 million tourists annually.

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

s
Personal FinanceSports
The sports economy is unaffordable at the bar, let alone the stadium
By Catherina GioinoJuly 2, 2026
6 hours ago
t
Arts & EntertainmentNew York
No holiday for New York City cops, who get a heat wave, World Cup and a Taylor Swift wedding at MSG
By Anthony Izaguirre and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
6 hours ago
ts
Arts & EntertainmentTaylor Swift
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding at Madison Square Garden will run from 5pm on Friday until maybe 4am on July 4th, permit says
By Jake Offenhartz and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
6 hours ago
ts
Arts & EntertainmentNew York
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce donate $26 million to charities ahead of rumored Madison Square Garden wedding
By Kimberlee Kruesi and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
7 hours ago
ts
Arts & EntertainmentNew York
NYPD confirms ‘an event that we are tracking at Madison Square Garden on Friday night,’ declines to comment on Taylor Swift wedding
By Jake Offenhartz, Kimberlee Kruesi and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
7 hours ago
usa
North AmericaWorld Cup
The World Cup is a smash but America still isn’t a soccer country, poll suggests
By Linley Sanders and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
2 days ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
8 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
Today, Emily Blunt is worth $80 million thanks to her Hollywood career—but she actually wanted to be a UN Spanish translator on $80K
Success
Today, Emily Blunt is worth $80 million thanks to her Hollywood career—but she actually wanted to be a UN Spanish translator on $80K
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 2, 2026
18 hours ago
Trump got a $78K pension from the Screen Actors Guild in 2025 because he appeared in Home Alone 2 in 1992
Politics
Trump got a $78K pension from the Screen Actors Guild in 2025 because he appeared in Home Alone 2 in 1992
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
6 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.