Bob Iger on Shanghai Disneyland as it defies the Chinese pullback
If you spend a day at Shanghai Disneyland, you wouldn’t know that Chinese consumers are in a difficult situation.
Wang Jiandong and his girlfriend Yan Xu said they skipped meals out and cut back on daily necessities so they could enjoy the park.
“We save money in our daily lives so we can spend more money on trips,” Wang said while taking a photo with Yan in front of Disney’s iconic castle. “This is a romantic place.”
Shanghai Disneyland celebrated its 10th anniversary this week. Disney CEO Bob Iger is flying in for the celebrations.
“I really feel filled with pride,” Iger told CNBC during an interview in the park. “I’ve been involved in this project since the late ’90s.”
Iger said this event carries extra significance “not only knowing how successful it was, but also how important it was in so many ways, not just to Walt Disney Co., but to the Chinese people as well.”
Former Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger (2L) and his wife Willow Bay attend a celebratory event marking the 10th anniversary of Shanghai Disney Resort in Shanghai on June 15, 2026.
Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images
Shanghai Disneyland reached 100 million cumulative visitors by 2025, according to the company. This is a relatively new but important mainstay in Disney’s 100-plus year history.
Disney’s experiences division, which includes theme parks, resorts, cruises and products, reported revenue of about $9.5 billion in the company’s last quarter, which ended in March, up 7% year over year. The division is Disney’s second-largest division, accounting for almost 40% of the company’s total revenue and nearly 60% of its operating income.
While Disney executives note a recent softness in the number of international visitors to the company’s U.S. parks, its outposts in other countries are faring better.
According to the Theme Entertainment Association, which tracks global theme park data, the Shanghai park attracted 14.7 million visitors in 2024 – up 5% year-on-year – 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 aiming for further global expansion with a new cruise ship docking in Singapore and an upcoming park and resort opening in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The company announced that it will invest 60 billion dollars in 10 years in its parks in 2023.
“The opportunities for expansion are endless because of the existing properties and the properties and intellectual property that Disney owns,” Iger told CNBC this week. “As long as the business is successful, which it has been, there’s no reason why it can’t continue to expand over time.”
Iger, who left his second CEO post in March and remains a board member, declined to comment on reports that Disney was considering another theme park for China.
A cautious Chinese consumer
Shanghai Disneyland bucks a larger trend in China: consumption is generally weak.
Lin Huanjie, president of the China Theme Park Research Institute, said in a written statement to CNBC, “Nowadays, young people in China do not refuse to consume. They care more about ‘value for money’.”
This photo taken on June 16, 2026, shows a view of Shanghai Disneyland with its 10th anniversary-themed decorations in East China’s Shanghai.
Liu Ying | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
“If a Disney trip offers strong memories, engaging social content and high emotional value, they are still willing to pay,” Lin said. “If it’s a casual visit, they’ll tighten their budgets. The popularity of characters like LinaBell in China shows that young consumers, even under economic pressure, are still willing to pay for emotionally cathartic consumption.”
University student Smile Wei is also such a park enthusiast.
Wei went to Shanghai for a vacation with a friend and told CNBC their budget was 5,000 yuan ($735) for the five-day trip. Wei said they’ve already spent a fifth of that in the park.
“My friend and I planned to book a hotel room with two beds,” Wei said. “But here we scaled it down to a single space to buy more souvenirs.”
Shanghai resident Wang Lu told CNBC on June 16 that he specifically wanted to be in the park.
“It’s both my birthday and the 10th day of the parkThis anniversary,” he said. “There is no other place I would rather spend this special day.”
