Today (July 15th), Disney unveiled breathtaking designs for their next upcoming theme park in Shanghai, China. The project has been in the works for some time, but only today were specific designs and plans finally revealed.
Disney Shanghai will look to take advantage of some of the new faces and franchises that Disney has recently acquired. The park will be the first Disney theme park to open in over 10 years. In the last decade Disney has acquired Star Wars, the Muppets, and Marvel Comics. Not to mention all the franchises Disney has revitalized like Tron and Toy Story. As you can imagine, Disney plans for it to be a major success.
The amusement park in Shanghai will be have the largest castle of all Disney parks, as well as the largest amount of collectible items for sale. It’s fair to say, Disney will be expecting a big crowd in Shanghai. And that is not unlike what Disney has seen from their other parks recently. In February, Disney reported a 7% increase in park attendance in the US. The company also reported a 20% increase in revenue from its parks. And, the increase in attendance has been more manageable thanks to Disney’s RFID tag bracelets, My Magic Band +. If the uptick in attendance is any indicator, the RFID technology is being embraced by Disney’s park goers.
Disney will likely use their magical RFID bands at Shanghai as a means to keep lines from getting too long for rides and at the checkout line. With he Magic Band, customers can open up hotel rooms, make purchases, and send photos back to a users Disney account. Disney should bank on those nifty little RFID bracelets to cut down on lines and costs in order to keep pushing Disney’s revenue numbers.