After welcoming over 100 million visitors, how will Shanghai Disney Resort pave the way for the next 10 years?

Every reporter: Bi Yuanyuan Every editor: Yang Yi

Shanghai Disneyland (hereinafter referred to as Shanghai Disneyland) is about to turn ten. On March 20, Shanghai Disneyland officially launched its “10th Birthday Celebration” (hereinafter referred to as the celebration). In the “context” of Shanghai Disneyland, the parade floats are by no means simple decorative vehicles.

At the celebration site, a reporter from the “Everyday Economic News” saw that this parade introduced a new “Duffy and Friends Special Parade,” with “LinaBell” (a character from the Disney Duffy family) standing at the forefront of the leading float named “Friendship.” On the other side, the “Zootopia” IP also made its exclusive float debut, with its sequel “Zootopia 2” grossing $666 million in the Chinese mainland, surpassing North America to become the largest box office market in the world.

Data shows that the “Duffy family” has become one of the best-selling IP series in Asian Disney parks, with global annual sales of related merchandise exceeding $500 million. According to the Dewu app, the original price of the “10th Birthday Celebration Duffy and Friends” figurines at Shanghai Disneyland was 279 yuan, and they are currently all at a premium.

Before the rise of domestic trendy toy brands like Pop Mart, “LinaBell” had already become a phenomenon in the domestic themed entertainment consumption market due to its distinctive image and emotional companionship attributes.

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Visitors eagerly take photos of the float featuring LinaBell. Photo by Bi Yuanyuan, reporter from Everyday Economic News

According to the “China Emotional Economy Consumption Trend Insight Report” released by iiMedia Consulting, by 2025, the market size of China’s emotional economy is expected to reach 2.7 trillion yuan, and it is projected to exceed 4.5 trillion yuan by 2029. Young consumers are willing to pay for emotional value, creating a massive consumer market. Domestic companies like Pop Mart are scrambling to capture the IP consumption market.

Bao Zhaotian, Senior Vice President of Shanghai Disney Resort, stated that by the end of 2025, the total number of visitors received by Shanghai Disneyland is expected to exceed 100 million. In this decade, Shanghai Disneyland’s “Zootopia” themed area and others have led the emotional consumption market; in the next decade, facing a flood of incoming competitors in the market, what roles will Shanghai Disneyland’s content arrangement make room for?

The celebration does not only focus on local IPs

On March 20, Shanghai Disneyland celebrated its tenth anniversary.

At the celebration site, a reporter from the “Everyday Economic News” discovered that the daytime parade lineup has been refreshed: while retaining the classic “Mickey’s Fairytale Express,” a new “Duffy and Friends Special Parade” has been introduced. The leading float of this new parade is named “Friendship,” with “LinaBell” standing at the forefront.

In the “context” of Shanghai Disneyland, the parade floats are by no means simple decorative vehicles, especially the leading float (the head float), which has always been occupied by the most representative characters. In the past, it almost exclusively belonged to Mickey, Disney’s “face.” Therefore, who can stand on the head float is, in itself, an official endorsement: this is the most popular and influential character at the moment.

“LinaBell” was introduced as a “game-changer” during the five-year anniversary of Shanghai Disneyland. Since its debut in September 2021, this pink little fox has captured the social network with its lively and playful personality, highly anthropomorphized interactions, such as making faces at visitors, forming heart shapes, and pretending to be angry. “LinaBell” has not only attracted a large number of young consumers but has also generated hot topics such as “standing in line for others” and “scalpers reselling dolls,” being referred to in the industry as “the most successful localized IP in Disney’s history.”

In fact, the new parade content added for the celebration of the tenth anniversary of Shanghai Disneyland does not only focus on local IPs; in addition to the “Duffy and Friends Special Parade,” the float for “Zootopia” also made its debut. Notably, the main characters of “Zootopia,” Judy, Nick, as well as supporting characters Finnick, Mr. Big, and Lulu all made appearances, performing to the movie’s original songs “Try Everything” and the new song “The Zoo” from “Zootopia 2.”

Bao Zhaotian stated: “Beyond performances and projects, what truly creates emotional connections with visitors are Disney’s IP characters, and the parade floats are an important carrier of this emotion.”

LinaBell was first invited onto the stage by Bao Zhaotian, Senior Vice President of Shanghai Disney Resort. Photo by Bi Yuanyuan, reporter from Everyday Economic News

Shanghai Disneyland’s emphasis on “Zootopia” also has clear market justification. In 2016, the film grossed $217 million in the Chinese mainland. Based on this, Disney announced in 2017 the construction of the world’s first “Zootopia” themed area at Shanghai Disneyland, which is set to officially open at the end of 2023. In 2025, after “Zootopia 2” is released, it is expected to gross $666 million in the Chinese mainland, surpassing North America to become the largest box office market in the world.

Preheating for “Coco 2”?

In the winter of 2017, “Coco” landed in Chinese theaters. No one expected that this animated film, set against the backdrop of Mexican festivals, would resonate so remarkably in China.

According to Maoyan Professional Edition, “Coco” has a global box office of $794 million, with $210 million from North America and $173 million from the Chinese mainland. The film remains one of Pixar’s highest-grossing films in China, with a Douban rating of 9.1, and has been described by countless movie fans as a masterpiece that makes you “cry while laughing.”

Therefore, Miguel, the protagonist of “Coco,” is not an obscure character but an “old friend” who once stirred up a phenomenal craze in China. According to official news from Pixar, “Coco 2” is scheduled to be released in 2029. Based on this timeline, there are still about three years until the release of “Coco 2,” but Shanghai Disneyland is clearly unwilling to make Miguel, this “old friend,” wait too long.

At the celebration site, a reporter from the “Everyday Economic News” discovered that Miguel has officially “taken the stage,” appearing on the performance stage of the new castle show “Heart of Wonder.”

The “Coco” IP has appeared in the castle show “Heart of Wonder.” Photo by Bi Yuanyuan, reporter from Everyday Economic News

Similar to “Zootopia,” “Coco” is a highly popular animated IP in China. However, as of now, Shanghai Disneyland has not set up a dedicated themed area or large amusement facilities for it. Miguel’s entry into the castle show performance lineup is a high-profile presentation of this IP within the Shanghai Disneyland park.

Two weeks before the launch of Shanghai Disneyland’s “10th Birthday Celebration,” Disney had just completed a leadership transition: on March 18, 2026, former Chairman of Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products, Bob Chapek, officially succeeded Robert Iger as CEO. Unlike previous executives like Iger, who had backgrounds in film content or media, the 54-year-old Chapek has focused his nearly 30-year career on parks and experiences, having worked at Disney parks in California and Florida. Since May 2020, he has been responsible for Disney’s parks, experiences, and products, overseeing sectors such as theme parks, resorts, cruises, and consumer products.

The fiscal year 2026 is seen as the first complete fiscal year for Disney’s new management team. With the revenue proportion from parks and experiences continuing to rise (approximately 38% for fiscal year 2025), the pace of content localization and consumption conversion efficiency in the Chinese market may become important variables affecting Disney’s mid-term growth. In this context, Shanghai Disneyland’s intensive introduction of high-popularity IP characters can be seen as a continuous response to local market feedback.

What can be confirmed is that the Spider-Man themed area at Shanghai Disneyland is currently under construction and will feature the first large Marvel high-speed roller coaster. In the more distant future, whether Shanghai Disneyland will further expand physical experiences around “Coco” is something fans can look forward to.

Everyday Economic News