Bob Iger at Shanghai Disneyland defying the Chinese withdrawal

If you spent a day at Shanghai Disneyland, you wouldn’t know that Chinese consumers are suffering.

Wang Jiandong and his girlfriend Yan Xu said they were skipping meals out and skimping on daily necessities so they could enjoy the park.

“We save in our daily lives so we can spend more on trips,” Wang explained while posing for photos with Yan in front of the famous Disney Castle. “This is a romantic place.”

Shanghai Disneyland celebrated its 10th anniversary this week, with the former Disney CEO Bob Iger flies in to attend the festivities.

“I feel really honored,” Iger told CNBC during an interview at the park. “I have been involved in this project since the beginning in the late 1990s.”

Iger said the occasion carried added significance “knowing not only how successful it was, but knowing how important it was in so many ways, not only to the Walt Disney Company but to the people of China.”

The number of cumulative visitors to Shanghai Disneyland will reach 100 million in 2025, according to the company. It’s a relatively new but important foothold in Disney’s 100-plus year history.

Disney’s Experiences division, which includes parks, resorts, cruises and merchandise, reported revenue of about $9.5 billion during the company’s most recent quarter, ending in March, an increase of 7% year over year. The division is Disney’s second-largest, accounting for nearly 40% of the company’s total revenue and nearly 60% of its operating income.

While Disney executives have noted a recent weakness in international visitors to the company’s parks in the United States, its outposts in other countries are faring better.

According to the Themed Entertainment Association, which tracks global theme park data, Shanghai Park attracted 14.7 million visitors in 2024 — a 5% increase year over year — making it the fifth most visited theme park in the world after Disney Parks in Orlando, Florida; Anaheim, California; and Tokyo as well as Universal Studios Japan.

Under the leadership of newly appointed CEO Josh D’Amaro, Disney is eyeing further global expansion, with a new cruise ship docking in Singapore and an upcoming theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The company announced a 10-year, $60 billion investment in its parks in 2023.

“Because of the available properties and the intellectual property that Disney owns, the opportunities for expansion are limitless,” Iger told CNBC this week. “As long as the business is successful, which it has been, there is no reason why it cannot continue to expand over time.”

Iger, who resigned from his second stint as CEO in March and remains a member of its board, declined to comment on reports that Disney is considering establishing another theme park in China.

Shanghai Disneyland bucks a larger trend in China: consumption is broadly weak.

Retail sales fell in May for the first time in three years. Car sales fell by double digits. People are reducing their consumption, but they are not reducing it completely.

“Young people in China today do not reject consumption. Rather, they care more about value for money,” Lin Huangyi, head of the China Theme Park Studies Institute, said in written comments to CNBC.

“If a Disney trip provides strong memories, compelling social content, and high emotional value, they are still willing to pay,” Lin said. “If it’s just a casual visit, they will tighten their budgets. The popularity of personalities like LinaBell in China also shows that young consumers, even under economic pressures, are still willing to pay for emotionally comfortable consumption.”

University student Smile Wei is one of the park’s pioneers.

Wei traveled with a friend for a vacation in Shanghai and told CNBC that their budget was 5,000 yuan ($735) for the five-day trip. Wee said they have already spent a fifth of that amount on the park.

“My friend and I planned to book a hotel room with two beds,” Wei said. “But we downsized it to one piece to buy more souvenirs here.”

Wang Lu, a Shanghai resident, told CNBC that she specifically wanted to be at the park on June 16.

“It’s my birthday and my 10th birthday at the park^y “There is no other place I would rather spend this special day,” she said.