World’s First ‘Zootopia Theme Park in Shanghai Disneyland

Shanghai Disneyland in China has officially opened the world’s first ‘Zootopia Theme Park’, recording a three-day consecutive ticket sell-out, reported Hong Kong’s Ming Pao on the 21st.

The ‘Zootopia Theme Park’, which brings to life the content of the eponymous animation first introduced in 2016, is the first of its kind in Disneyland parks worldwide and has made its debut in Shanghai Disneyland.

Ming Pao relayed, “Despite the temperature being near freezing on the 20th, many visitors flocked to Shanghai Disneyland from the morning, with many of them dressed in ‘Zootopia’ character costumes.”

The report continued, “Shanghai Disneyland tickets have sold out three days in a row,” and added, “The wait time for popular rides was listed as 75 minutes on the Shanghai Disneyland app.”

The report also mentioned, “Many netizens have declared their intentions to visit the park on New Year’s Day and during the Spring Festival holiday.”

The Zootopia Theme Park is the eighth theme park in Shanghai Disneyland and the first new theme park to be introduced in five years since the ‘Toy Story Theme Park’.

Opened in 2016, Shanghai Disneyland is three times the size of Hong Kong Disneyland, covering an area of 3.9 million square meters (approximately 964 acres) and can accommodate up to 80,000 visitors per day. The park houses the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel with 420 rooms and the Toy Story Hotel with 795 rooms.

Last year, operations were halted three times due to COVID-19, and there were instances where visitors were stuck inside Disneyland for several hours due to the emergence of infected individuals. After the Shanghai authorities closed Disneyland, visitors and close contacts were not allowed to leave for several hours until they received PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests and tested negative.

While China is still struggling with an economic slowdown after reopening earlier this year, the tourism industry is showing signs of vitality.

According to official data from Shanghai, expenditures at local hotels and restaurants in the first half of this year surged by 42% to 194 billion yuan (approximately $30 billion) compared to the same period last year.

Shanghai Disneyland stated in its third-quarter earnings report that its operating performance has improved due to an increase in visitors and their corresponding expenditures. However, the exact revenue and number of visitors were not disclosed.

Nevertheless, Ming Pao reported, “This year, the cumulative number of visitors to Shanghai Disneyland has exceeded 13 million, setting a new record.”

By. Yonhap News