As US-China Relations Collapse, Disney Rushes to Finish Chinese Park Expansions

July 30, 2022  ·
  Pamela Fitzgerald

Hong Kong residents may be looking at their last big addition from Disney to the local magic kingdom. Here’s hoping it’s worthwhile.

 

Featured Image Courtesy: Hong Kong Main Street Gazette 

It doesn’t get much worse than threatening to shoot down the plane of a government official third in line to be the president of the United States. Yet that’s where we are with China and their hostility towards America. But that’s not slowing down The Walt Disney Company in their efforts to hurry towards completion of expansions at their Chinese theme parks. As has been discussed before on this website, Disney may be keen on exiting their physical assets in China with some sort of leasing agreement. If that is the case, it makes sense that Disney would be rushing very fast to get current capital expenditures completed. In comparison to work on improvements at domestic parks, work at Shanghai and Hong Kong parks are moving at a lightning pace. Once these are done, there’s nothing in the pipeline for new additions.

Co-owned by The Walt Disney Company and Shanghai Shendi Group, Shanghai Disneyland is not due to receive any major expansions or investments any time soon. The same is essentially true for Hong Kong Disneyland — a theme park resort that once was part of a democratic sovereignty, now absorbed through political force by the Beijing government. In both cases, the theme park resorts are more or less controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Their management is infiltrated with CCP members, Disney only owns a portion of the theme parks, and any wrong step could inevitably result in the full capture of the theme parks by China. It is a difficult position for Bob Chapek and his Disney Company… one that former CEO Bob Iger put them in.

WDW Pro

 

With the context understood, let’s take a look at the big addition going on for Hong Kong Disney, perhaps the worst “castle park” in Disney Parks’ global portfolio.

 

The money being spent looks impressive, but we’re not sure the sightlines are well-planned. Still, like we said about the Shanghai expansion, this is noteworthy as it could be the final Disney-led major addition for Hong Kong. For all the innocent citizens of Hong Kong who lost their democratic government and became subservient to the Communist Party of China, we at least hope the Disney expansion is well-done. It’s not even 1% worth all the horrible things they’ve been through but it’s hard not to pull for every possible positive thing imaginable for a city so completely treated in a awful manner.

Free Hong Kong. Blizzard can’t ban us on our own website.

 

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Author: Pamela Fitzgerald
Joining That Park Place in August of 2021, Pamela Fitzgerald is a freelance writer covering entertainment and theme parks. Mrs. Fitzgerald has a special fondness for Walt Disney World, and especially focuses on theme park discounts for military, first responders, and other critical employees looking for vacation fun.