Word: parkes
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...until now, Disney's foray into China has been anything but magical. Its Hong Kong theme park, opened in 2005, has had a bumpy ride due to early missteps and competition - in its first year, attendance fell 400,000 short of an initial 5.6 million target. The following year, the number of visitors dropped to 4 million. To add insult to injury, the company in 2007 discovered an amusement park near Beijing that was filled with knockoff Disney characters...
...market with 1.3 billion potential customers. After more than a decade of negotiations, Disney has received clearance to build its second Disneyland in China, this one in Shanghai. The company announced on Tuesday that China's top planning agency had approved plans to build the new theme park, which will join the existing parks in Anaheim, Calif.; Orlando, Fla., Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong. (See a brief history of Disney teen stars...
...Disney officials wouldn't say when the park will open or how much it will cost. The company stated in a press release that the Shanghai park will include "characteristics tailored to the Shanghai region," but a spokesperson declined to elaborate on what types of rides or attractions might be on offer. The Shanghai government has already reserved an estimated 1,000 acres near Shanghai's international airport in the city's Pudong district...
...approval for park construction comes amid China's ongoing efforts to develop its tourism sector, which is expected to increase 3% this year. As disposable income in the country grows, amusement parks have proliferated throughout the country - by some estimates there are as many as 2,000 - but the quality of the attractions is uneven. Earlier this year, a sex-themed park in the central Chinese city of Chongqing called Love Land was torn down before it could open to the public. Shanghai, however, could be on the verge of a tourism boom. The city will host the World Expo...
...Since mainland Chinese make up a third of visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland, some fear that the Shanghai park will siphon tourists away from the former British colony, which is part of China but has a semi-autonomous government (mainland tourists must obtain visas to visit Hong Kong). Since opening four years ago, Hong Kong Disneyland has underperformed due to its small size - at 300 acres, it's the smallest of any Disney park - as well as high ticket prices and competition from a nimble competitor called Ocean Park. (Read "The Fifth Happiest Place on Earth...