SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND PROJECT

An exploring study of Shanghai Disneyland Project - A perspective of young adult visitors



Acknowledgements

The author would wish to thank the students of South China Agriculture University and South China Normal University who help to fill the questionnaire, without their helps this paper would not have been possible.

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT1

Chapter 1: Introduction2

Background3

Problem Statement6

Purpose of the Study7

Significance7

Rationale11

Aim12

Objectives12

Definition13

Chapter 2: Literature Review16

Theme16

Design of space19

Location20

Interaction between Employee and visitors24

Queuing and Crowding27

Weather/Climate29

Culture problems31

Some other factors35

Chapter 3: Methodology38

Data Collection42

Sample and Procedure49

Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis53

Monthly Income and Money Spend on Theme Park Shopping55

Theme Park Attributes Analysis61

Influence of word-of-mouth67

Destination image and Intention to visit69

Geographic Distance and Visit Intention75

Chapter 5: Recommendation and Conclusion85

Recommendation85

Conclusion90

References94

Appendix106

An exploring study of Shanghai Disneyland Project - A perspective of young adult visitors

ABSTRACT

The theme park industry in China has developed dramatically during the last decade and Disney will soon open its 6th theme park in Shanghai, China. This study identified and documented a consumer-oriented attribute inventory for theme park evaluation. Data were collected from 322 university students in Guangzhou, Mainland China, who identified five out of 32 attributes they think are most important influences on theme park visiting experience. These five factors are found out to be theme, queue management, number and variety of entertainment options, ticket price and security management. In addition, the findings also suggest that there are a certain degree of correlations between income and intention of theme park shopping, and destination image, geographic distance and visit motives. According to the findings, recommendations for Shanghai government and Disney are given at the end of this study.

Chapter 1: Introduction

When people go to a theme park, to watch one of its shows or spinning aboard one of its rides, they are thinking about the fun, not about their actual life, relationship problems or issues with the colleagues at work. The priority for people to go to the theme park is that they can escape the problems of their everyday life and stay in a place which is full of immersion, joy, fantasy and excitement. Since the proto-theme parks of Coney Island in the early 1900s people have been drawn to spaces that challenge everyday life (Weinstein, 1992). In the year 1955 Walt Disney opened the first 'theme park' in Anaheim, California. Different from its competitors in having a coherent theme, Disneyland is a new type of family entertainment park which is based on famous Disney film characters and some of the fairy tale elements, and also enables visitors to meet their favourite Disney characters on sight (Samuelson and Yegoiants, 2001).

Later another seminal theme park was built in Orlando, Florida in 1971. Both these two parks were proved to be a massive success, attracting not merely millions of Americans but also a considerable number of foreigners (particularly from the UK) since the advent of cheap transatlantic air travel (Findlay, 1992). The 1960s and 1970s saw rapid growth in terms of theme park development and attendance, and by 1980 the total number of visitors to theme and amusement parks in North America ...