Mickey and Donald roll out the red carpet as Shanghai Disneyland reopens under China’s easier Covid-19 rules

Shanghai Disneyland’s rides, shows, restaurants and hotels would resume business starting Thursday, according to a statement on the theme park’s website

Some attractions and facilities may have to operate at reduced capacity or may be unavailable

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy at Shanghai Disneyland Resort on May 11, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:49pm, 8 Dec 2022Updated: 7:01pm, 8 Dec 2022

The Walt Disney Company’s US$5.5 billion theme park has fully reopened in Shanghai, after city authorities lifted a nine-day closure of the landmark in accordance with the easing of anti-Covid controls in mainland China.

The amusement park’s rides, shows, restaurants and hotels would resume business starting Thursday, although some attractions and facilities may have to operate at reduced capacity or may be unavailable, Disney said in a statement on its website.

The reopening of one of China’s largest amusement parks is a major step forward for Shanghai’s 25 million residents, who had to put up with daily tests, quarantines and two months of a citywide shutdown in summer as authorities tried to snuff out the Covid-19 disease. Online searches for “Disney” jumped by 300 per cent on Tongcheng Travel’s platform the day before the park’s reopening, emanating from Shanghai’s neighbouring provinces Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, according to a report in the Chinese Business News.

“The reopening is a signature event for the revival of domestic tourism in China,” said Wang Qi, the chief executive of MegaTrust Investment (Hong Kong). There is “strong pent-up demand for leisure and hospitality services, as China takes steps to remove its anti-Covid restrictions,” he said.