Foreign conglomerates’ theme parks, such as Disneyland and Universal Studios, have recorded strong visitors’ growth in China – and Legoland resort hopes to follow, with three set to open in the country.
Legoland Shanghai Resort will have a grand opening in July, hoping attract more than five million visitors each year – and others will open in Shenzhen and Sichuan.
With an investment of over 10 billion yuan from Denmark’s Legoland Resort Group, Legoland Shanghai will stand as the 11th Lego-themed park worldwide, and the first in China.
Legoland will be the latest global theme park based in China after the openings of Universal Studios Beijing in 2021 and Shanghai Disneyland in 2016. According to a latest report conducted by AECOM on the number of visitors in mega theme parks around the world, Shanghai Disneyland has recorded an exponential surge last year, as compared with other Disneyland resorts in Florida’s Orlando, California’s Anaheim and Japan’s Tokyo.
Based on the report by AECOM, which is a US-based research consultancy that released its annual report on global theme park industry in August this year, the number of visitors’ attendance in Shanghai Disneyland surged by over 160% to more 14 million last year, as compared 5.3 million in 2022, suggesting a good recovery from the pandemic period. For comparison, the number of visitors recorded in Disneyland in Florida’s Orlando rose by 3.4% to 17.7 million last year and that in California’s Anaheim increased by 2.2% to 17.2 million.
The number of visitors in the Universal Studios Beijing recorded growth of 109% to over 9 million in 2023 from 4.3 million in 2022, when there were still periodic lockdowns in China.
CHINESE EPIC TALE IN LEGOLAND SHANGHAI
Located in Jinshan district (金山區), Legoland Shanghai Resort will feature 75 rides, shows and attractions across eight immersive zones for adults and children alike.
Legoland Shanghai will include a distinctive Monkie Kid Zone, which is inspired by the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. It will be the first Legoland park to feature a themed land zone built based on a Chinese story, connecting visitors with the country’s historical culture, architecture and natural landscapes.
The well-known Lego dragon roller coaster will also be featured in Shanghai, a thrilling ride in medieval style. The first dragon ride opened in Legoland Billund in Denmark in late 1990s, and has become a feature of all Legoland parks. Currently, two more Legoland theme parks are being constructed in Guangdong’s Shenzhen and Sichuan’s Chengdu city.
Being built on the Dapeng Peninsula (大鵬半島), Legoland Shenzhen Resort will be one of the giant entertainment theme parks to lure visitors from Hong Kong, Macau and other Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area.
The resort is expected to become a big hit for Lego and theme park lovers in Shenzhen where there are various entertainment options, such as Happy Valley (歡樂谷) and Window of the World (世界之窗).
The construction of the Legoland Sichuan Resort is also underway in the Tianfu New Area (天府新區) in Chengdu city.
NEW RIDE IN SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND
Also, Shanghai Disney Resort, which is operated by the US entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney Company, has kept constructing new attractions to keep visitors coming.
The resort is now constructing a new Marvel attraction as it is pressing ahead with an expansion plan to tap into the domestic travel market in Mainland China. The new roller-coaster will offer visitors an immersive experience based on the Marvel superheroes.
The attraction has followed last year’s opening of Zootopia-themed attraction, the first of its kind in the world. This was based on a popular movie in which a human-like society was populated entirely by animals.
FESTIVE AMBIENCE IN UNIVERSAL STUDIOS BEIJING
Whether it is Transformers, Jurassic Park, or Harry Potter, Universal Studios Beijing has delved their guests into what seems like a fully realized world. Located in Beijing’s Tongzhou district, the resort is the fifth Universal Studios theme park globally, the third in Asia and the first in China.
It has seven themed lands, including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Transformers Metrobase, Kung Fu Panda Land, Hollywood, WaterWorld, Minion Land and Jurassic World Isla Nubar.
In the past few years, Universal Studios Beijing has created festive and heartwarming ambience to woo more visitors to celebrate festivals.
With the arrival of Christmas, the resort has made surprising makeover by erecting spectacular Santa’s Village, offering holistic winter-themed experience for visitors.
Visitors have also donned the costumes of their favourite characters, such as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, with wizards’ robes and wands to capture photos at numerous photogenic spots in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Long lines outside popular restaurants and merchandise stores have become a common sight in the park.
Overseas entertainment conglomerates, such as Walt Disney, have delivered immersive and thrilling experience to Chinese visitors in their theme parks in China. China has remained one of momentous tourism and entertainment markets in the world. Apart from Disneyland and Universal Studios Beijing, Legoland has accelerated to make forays into the vast Chinese market with huge business investment.
Image at the top from Legoland Shanghai.