Bob Iger on Shanghai Disneyland as it defies the Chinese pullback

Spend a day at Shanghai Disneyland and you wouldn’t know Chinese consumers are struggling.

Wang Jiandong and his girlfriend Yan Xu said they have been skipping meals out and scrimping on day-to-day necessities so they could afford to enjoy the park.

“We save in our daily lives so we can spend more on trips,” Wang explained while taking photos with Yan in front of Disney’s iconic castle. “This is a romantic place.”

Shanghai Disneyland celebrated its 10th anniversary this week, with former Disney CEO Bob Iger flying in for the festivities.

“I’m feeling filled with pride really,” Iger told CNBC during an interview at the park. “I’ve been involved in this project from the very beginning in the late ’90s.”

Iger said the occasion carried extra significance “knowing not only how successful it’s been, but really how important it is in many respects, not just to the Walt Disney Co. but to the people of China.”

Shanghai Disneyland hit 100 million cumulative visitors in 2025, according to the company. It’s a relatively new but important foothold in Disney’s more than 100-year history.

Disney’s experiences division, which includes its theme parks, resorts, cruises and merchandise, reported nearly $9.5 billion in revenue during the company’s most recent quarter, ended in March, a 7% increase year over year. The division is the second largest at Disney’s, accounting for almost 40% of the company’s overall revenue and nearly 60% of its operating income.

While Disney executives have noted recent softness in international visitors to the company’s U.S. parks, its outposts in other countries are faring better.

According to the Themed Entertainment Association, which tracks global theme park data, the Shanghai park attracted 14.7 million visitors in 2024 — a 5% year-on-year increase — making it the fifth most-visited theme park in the world behind Disney parks in Orlando, Florida; Anaheim, California; and Tokyo as well as Universal Studios Japan.

Under newly appointed CEO Josh D’Amaro, Disney is eyeing further global expansion, with a new cruise ship berthed in Singapore and a forthcoming park and resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The company announced a 10-year, $60 billion investment into its parks in 2023.

“Because of the available property and because of the properties, the intellectual property that Disney has, the opportunities to expand are limitless,” Iger told CNBC this week. “As long as the business is successful, which it has been, there is no reason why it won’t continue to expand over time.”

Iger, who stepped down from his second stint as CEO in March and is still a member of its board of directors, declined to comment on reports that Disney is considering another theme park for China. 

Retail sales dropped in May for the first time in three years. Car sales are down by double digits. People are downgrading their consumption, but they haven’t cut back altogether.

“Young people in China today are not refusing to consume. Rather, they care more about ‘value for money,'” Lin Huanjie, president of the Institute for Theme Park Studies in China, said in written comments to CNBC.

“If a Disney trip delivers strong memories, compelling social content, and high emotional value, they are still willing to pay,” Lin said. “If it is just an ordinary visit, they will tighten their budgets. The popularity of characters like LinaBell in China also shows that young consumers, even under economic pressure, are still willing to pay for emotionally comforting consumption.”

University student Smile Wei is one such parkgoer.

Wei traveled with a friend for a vacation to Shanghai and told CNBC their budget was 5,000 yuan ($735) for the five-day trip. They already spent a fifth of that at the park, Wei said.

“My friend and I planned to book a hotel room with two beds,” Wei said. “But we downsized to a single to buy more souvenirs here.”

Shanghai resident Wang Lu told CNBC she specifically wanted to be at the park on June 16.

“It’s both my birthday and the park’s 10^th anniversary,” she said. “There is nowhere else I would rather spend this special day.”