Shanghai Disneyland marked its 10th anniversary after reaching 100 million cumulative visitors, standing out as Chinese consumers pull back elsewhere.
Shanghai Disneyland is celebrating its 10th anniversary as one of Disney’s most important international footholds, with the company saying the park reached 100 million cumulative visitors in 2025.
Former Disney CEO Bob Iger traveled to Shanghai for the anniversary events, underscoring the park’s significance to a company that is leaning heavily on its experiences business while consumer spending in China remains under pressure.
“I’m feeling filled with pride really,” Iger told CNBC in an interview at the park. “I’ve been involved in this project from the very beginning in the late ’90s.”
The milestone comes at a difficult moment for China’s consumer economy. CNBC reported that retail sales fell in May for the first time in three years, car sales are down by double digits and many consumers are trading down rather than stopping spending entirely.
Shanghai Disneyland appears to be benefiting from that more selective approach. Park visitors interviewed by CNBC described cutting back elsewhere to spend on travel, souvenirs and the anniversary experience. Wang Jiandong, visiting with his girlfriend Yan Xu, said they had reduced daily expenses to afford the trip. “We save in our daily lives so we can spend more on trips,” he said. “This is a romantic place.”
The park drew 14.7 million visitors in 2024, up 5% from a year earlier, according to the Themed Entertainment Association, which tracks global theme park data. That made Shanghai Disneyland the world’s fifth most-visited theme park, behind Disney parks in Orlando, Anaheim and Tokyo, as well as Universal Studios Japan.
For Disney, the Shanghai anniversary also lands as its theme parks, resorts, cruises and merchandise remain a central earnings engine. The company’s experiences division reported nearly $9.5 billion in revenue in the quarter ended in March, up 7% from a year earlier. The division accounts for almost 40% of Disney’s total revenue and nearly 60% of its operating income, according to CNBC’s report.
Disney has said it plans to invest $60 billion in its parks over 10 years. Its broader expansion plans include a new cruise ship based in Singapore and a planned park and resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Iger, who stepped down from his second stint as CEO in March and remains on Disney’s board, declined to address reports that the company is considering another theme park in China. But he framed Shanghai Disneyland as a business with room to grow, saying Disney’s properties and available land create “limitless” opportunities if the park continues to perform.
For now, the Shanghai park’s anniversary offers Disney a visible counterpoint to wider consumer caution in China: visitors may be spending more carefully, but many are still willing to pay for experiences they see as memorable.
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