Shanghai Disneyland: Authentically Disney and Distinctly Chinese

Excellent service operations understand the unique challenges of managing services and experiences. The Walt Disney Company's value proposition, or purpose, is to create a magical experience for customers. To deliver on that, service and employee systems must be designed in a manner that work together. After years of planning, construction, employee training, and marketing outreach to its largely Chinese guests, Shanghai Disneyland (SDL) finally opened its doors on June 16, 2016. Certain classic Disney elements had been customized for China, and others reflected the traditional Disney brand. The Walt Disney Company had done its homework—but the "unknowns" needed to be identified and remedied. Had the Walt Disney Company tailored its service offerings appropriately to the target market, and what adjustments, if any, were needed? This material lends itself well to exploring a storied service company on numerous dimensions—operational performance and strategy, service trade-offs, attribute maps, and many general management issues across functions, especially whether the company has been able to understand Chinese cultural differences in such a way that profitability will occur faster than in its other non-U.S. locations. Instructors may choose to use the case as a capstone to "The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai" (UVA-OM-1545), which is set on the verge of SDL's opening. Excerpt UVA-OM-1568 Oct. 11, 2017 Shanghai Disneyland: Authentically Disney and Distinctly Chinese After years of planning, construction, employee training, and marketing outreach to its largely Chinese guests, Shanghai Disneyland (SDL) finally opened its doors on June 16, 2016. During a six-week preopening trial period, one million visitors rushed to enter the largest Walt Disney Company (DIS) global theme park. A staggering 70 million people in China tuned in to view the grand-opening ceremony live on TV or via digital streaming. Through the first seven months, close to six million people purchased tickets to SDL. While SDL was off to a promising start, DIS had learned from its previous global ventures that continuous improvement and flexibility to cater to local tastes were imperative to sustain and maximize success. Certain classic Disney elements had been customized for China, and others reflected the traditional DIS brand. Disney had done its homework—but it was the “unknowns” that needed to be identified and remedied. Had DIS tailored its service offerings appropriately to the target market, and what adjustments, if any, were needed? Authentically Disney and Distinctly Chinese? Seven months into operations at SDL, the question top of mind for many was: How had the property performed? The answers to that question depended upon who was asked and in what forum (public or private). According to SDL management, they struck a winning balance in the goal DIS Chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger had to make SDL “authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese.” . . .