Disney’s Mickey starts to learn Putonghua in China

As the construction of the US$5.4 billion Shanghai Disney theme park entered the last mile, Disney’s largest flagship store worldwide was opened, with a line seemingly more than a mile long.

造价54亿美元的上海迪士尼乐园，其建造工程已进入最后阶段；与此同此，全球最大的迪士尼旗舰店也在当地开张，店外排队的人龙似乎有一英里长。

Disney’s arrival in the city’s Pudong financial district reflects not only China’s rising level of prosperity; it also heralds the Asianisation of Disney and the global theme park industry.

迪士尼进驻上海浦东商业区，不但反映中国愈来愈繁荣，也标志着迪士尼和全球主题公园产业转趋亚洲化。

There was a time when English was enough for Mickey. As Disney’s little mouse began to travel, the language studies began; first French, then Japanese. That’s no longer enough. After Cantonese and varieties of Malay, Mickey is busy learning Putonghua – and that will transform Disney itself.

曾几何时，米老鼠只操英语就够了。之后米老鼠开始周游世界，所操语言也愈来愈多：先是法语，然后是日语。现在再也不够了。继粤语和马来语之后，米老鼠开始努力学习普通话──迪士尼公司本身也从此改头换面。

In the postwar era, the theme park industry was mainly American. Since the 1980s, it has expanded in the advanced economies. Today, more than a third of the top 25 parks worldwide are in Asia.

二战之后，主题公园产业主要在美国，1980年代开始扩展到其他发达经济区。今时今日，全球25大主题公园当中，逾三分之一在亚洲。

Even before the global crisis, the industry generated US$25 billion in revenues from more than 550 million people across the world. With the rise of Asia, the region is beginning to pull head of North America in the global amusement/theme park business.

全球金融危机爆发前，该行业在全球录得的收入为250亿美元，接待人次逾5.5亿。随着亚洲崛起，全球主题公园产业在亚洲的业务开始超越北美。

Among the theme park groups, Disney is still sovereign. It generates about a third of all global theme park revenues and as much as its three closest rivals together, including the UK-based Merlin Entertainments, Universal Studios in the US, and the Spain-based Parques Reunidos. In the top 25 list, Disney parks dominate the rankings, with Magic Kingdom in Florida topping the list.

在众多主题公园开发商之中，迪士尼仍然一枝独秀，其收入占全球主题公园总收入的三分之一，相当于其三大竞争对手（即英国的默林娱乐、美国的环球影业及西班牙的团圆娱乐）收入之和。全球25大主题公园的名单也由迪士尼乐园主导，其中佛罗里达州的神奇王国高踞榜首。

Within Asia, interest is increasing in building a wide variety of theme parks, heralding a trend towards large, enclosed projects in many cities in China and Southeast Asia.

亚洲各地愈来愈热衷于兴建不同种类的主题公园，中国和东南亚都倾向于建设封闭式的大型主题公园。

Until recently, the proportion of tourists to residents was about 70/30 at Hong Kong Disney and Ocean Park Hong Kong. But in Southern California, more than half the visitors to the Disney and Universal parks come from resident markets. Over time, regionalisation reigns.

直至最近，香港迪士尼乐园和海洋公园接待的外地游客及本地游客比例约为7:3。但在加州，迪士尼乐园和环球影城的逾半游客为本地人。随着时间推移，地区化开始盛行。

Today, a significant proportion of Asian tourists still prefer to travel in groups. Consequently, tourists account for a significant number of theme park visits, especially as the market is far from at saturation point.

今天，许多亚洲游客仍偏爱参加旅行团。因此，主题公园的游客当中，外地旅客占较大比重，尤其亚洲市场仍远远未及饱和。

Since 2011, Disney and Shanghai Shendi have been constructing the Disney resort in the Pudong district, which will be located on 400 hectares and will include the Shanghai Disneyland theme park; two themed hotels with a total of 1,220 rooms; and a retail, dining and entertainment complex.

2011年以来，迪士尼和上海申迪集团已开始在浦东兴建迪士尼渡假区。该渡假区占地4百公顷，上海迪士尼主题公园也位于区内。那里另有两家主题酒店，合供提供1220间客房，还有一座集零售、餐饮及娱乐于一身的综合大楼。

At Disney, all eyes are on the mainland Chinese tourists, and for good reason. In the early 2010s, two China-based theme park chains, OCT Group and Haichang Group, entered the top 10 global theme park chains with 26 million and 10 million visits respectively.

迪士尼公司很重视内地游客，而这是有原因的。 2010年代初，中国两大主题公园开发商华侨城集团和海昌集团跻身全球十大主题公园开发商之列，旗下主题公园入场人次分别达到2600万及1千万。

Today, Shanghai is the most important influence in Asian theme park development. It is expected to have a major impact on raising the bar for quality, guest experience, and setting a price premium in the market.

今天，上海在亚洲主题公园产业领域已成为最有影响力的城市。预料上海对主题公园市场将有重要影响，如提升业界质量、改善游客体验，及制定市场溢价等。

In the past, Disney was an American company offering universal characters. It is growing into a universal company offering global products, but with increasingly local characteristics. It is time for Mickey’s language studies to be complemented with lessons of multicultural etiquette.

过去，迪士尼是美国公司，其创造的角色通行全球。现在，迪士尼正发展成环球公司，产品仍行销全球，但愈来愈有当地特色。因此，米奇老鼠除了学习语言外，也应该学习不同文化的礼仪了。