Mickey Mouse and friends coming to Shanghai as Disney builds second park

Mickey Mouse and friends coming to Shanghai

Mickey Mouse and other Walt Disney characters will soon have their second home in China as the Shanghai Disney Resort opens in about five years.

State-owned Shanghai Shendi Group Co. and Walt Disney Co. inked a deal to construct the first of three parks in a seven square kilometer site.

Disney opened Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005 but the park has fallen short of expectations partly due to its small size. The entertainment company is hoping the much larger project in Shanghai will be more successful.

Shanghai Disneyland featuring all Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck will be the first to be constructed. Approximately 330 million people live in the immediate vicinity of the park and yearly visits can top 7.3 million according to Disney.

China's growing middle class segment  is likely to eagerly welcome Mickey Mouse in mainland China. Domestic travel spending for leisure purposes in China can reach $200 billion within five years, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts chairman Tom Staggs said.

With Mickey Mouse and friends some its major attractions, the new park in Shanghai will generate up to $70 million in management fees for Disney in the first year alone.

Moreover, the company will earn 6 percent on tickets and additional income from merchandise and licensing fees.

The city of Shanghai has also earmarked 4 billion yuan or $611 million for a subway stretching for 9.2 kilometers to connect the new park to the city's Pudong financial district.

With a booming economy and rising incomes, China looks poised to get some fun visiting Mickey Mouse and company.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Saturday April 09 2011, 4:13 AM EST. Ref: Bloomberg. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0