How does Shanghai Disneyland, which has become "profitable" in just one year, operate?

In addition to the official website, theme park app and PhotoPass app, Shanghai Disney Resort has also opened a WeChat public account , a Sina Weibo account, and launched two Tmall stores and one Fliggy flagship store.

1. Introduction

Disney's entry into China can be traced back to the 1930s, when the first Disney animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," was screened in the country. In September 2005, Disney's first theme park in China, Hong Kong Disneyland, officially opened to the public. On April 8, 2011, construction of the first Disney theme park in mainland China, Shanghai Disney Resort, began. On June 16, 2016, Shanghai Disney Resort officially began operations and generated operating revenue in its first full fiscal year. By the end of October 2017, the number of visitors had exceeded 27 million.

We are constantly adjusting the park's operations, planning more themed events and season pass-exclusive events, introducing more Disney characters, and on April 26, 2018, we opened Shanghai Disneyland's seventh theme land, the "Disney Pixar Toy Story" theme park.

Today, Disney, a major IP, is under the impact of the Internet model. Even though the theme park and resort business is currently a barrier that Internet companies cannot completely break through in the short and medium term due to the barriers of time and space, there is still a possibility. Disney Resort needs to conduct long-term thinking and planning.

Looking at the six Disney themes around the world, the world's largest Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, California Disneyland Resort, and Disneyland Paris currently have social accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in addition to their official websites. Hong Kong Disneyland has also opened Facebook, blogs, and WeChat public accounts , and each Disney theme park has its own theme park APP. As for the Japan Disney Resort, it is probably because everything is operated by the Japan Oriental Theme Park Company and no social media accounts or apps can be found on the official website or other platforms.

In addition to the official website, theme park app and PhotoPass app, Shanghai Disney Resort has also opened a WeChat public account, a Sina Weibo account, and launched two Tmall stores and one Fliggy flagship store. This article will analyze what Shanghai Disney Resort has done on the Internet from these aspects.

2. Opening the door to the Internet from new media

Looking back at the time when Shanghai Disney Resort announced the groundbreaking, in addition to seeing some press releases in the news, the more common news were the announcements on its own Weibo and WeChat public accounts. Currently, Shanghai Disney Resort has opened a Sina Weibo account, a WeChat public service account, and a subscription account to publish relevant news, event information, etc.

2.1 Sina Weibo

On July 1, 2014, Shanghai Disney Resort registered a Sina Weibo account, and posted its first Weibo post on July 28 of the same year, "Every story begins with a mouse." Users who left comments below expressed their expectations, and thus the Weibo operation work began.

Currently, the main content released on a daily basis include promotional videos, raffles, park updates, event information, etc., and there will be some small interactions with fans in terms of content. In addition, it is good at using the topic function of Weibo, and has planned topics such as: Season Card Family Call, Let's Play, and Springtime at Disney, etc., to attract users to discuss, post and share, thereby increasing its brand influence. Judging from the number of reposts and readings alone, it can be found that the gap with the number of fans is very large. It is recommended that the tone of the content can be closer to the users' lives and more interactive points can be added to the copy .

2.2 WeChat Official Account

Shanghai Disney Resort has a total of 4 official WeChat public accounts: Shanghai Disney Resort, Shanghai Disney Resort Release, Shanghai Disney Resort Work, and Shanghai Disney Resort Selection. Since the latter two are recruitment -related public accounts, we will not elaborate on them here. Just take a look at the service account "Shanghai Disney Resort" and the subscription account "Shanghai Disney Resort".

On August 2, 2014, Shanghai Disney Resort released its first content titled “All Stories Begin with a Mouse”, which tells the origin of the first Disney theme park and attached the Shanghai Disney Resort service account, which aims to provide users with the latest exclusive information about Shanghai Disney, experience the atmosphere of Disney in advance, and record beautiful memories through interaction.

The current estimated number of active fans is over 1 million, and the park’s latest information and activities are pushed out on a daily basis. According to the Qingbo Index , a tweet on May 1 about the Youth Day ticket discount event was read more than 100,000 times, received 501 likes, and had a Weibo communication index of 1220.32.

The service account mainly provides access to the official website, park instructions, park schedule, rights center, latest event recommendations, season pass exclusive activity center, card and voucher center, ticket purchase services and other content. In addition, it is often sent to users in the form of template messages or text messages to guide users to participate in exclusive season pass activities. When season pass users use their benefits in the park, they need to open the Benefits Center in the service account and use the corresponding card coupons to enjoy the discounts. This work will bind the card purchaser to his or her personal WeChat account, further reducing the abuse of season pass discounts.

In addition, the "Disney Magical Gifts" mini program provides a service for giving gifts to friends after purchasing tickets. You can choose your favorite card face in the mini program. After payment is completed, a WeChat gift card will be generated and given to friends. If the friend does not claim it within 24 hours, it will be returned. This function is very similar to Starbucks ’ mini program “ Say it with Stars ”. It can be guessed that it is a strategic move after studying Starbucks’s “Say it with Stars” .

On June 15, 2017, Shanghai Disney Resort’s first anniversary, the resort released its first piece of content, “Hold on tight, the Shanghai Disney Resort’s magical first anniversary special train is starting.” The article listed major events in the past year, such as the sale of Shanghai Disneyland’s “ Season Pass” on October 31, 2016, the groundbreaking for the “Toy Story” theme park on November 10, 2016, and the world premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” on May 11, 2017. And some interesting facts, such as: the corn dogs and turkey legs sold were connected end to end, the cumulative length is equivalent to the height of 377 Shanghai Towers; more than 1 million plush toys have been taken home by tourists; more than 9 million fast passes have been issued...

The current estimated number of active fans is 23,000+, and the main content provided on a daily basis is resort news, updates, and other content. Through the Qingbo Index, we can see that the reading volume of relevant articles is not high, about a few thousand. It can be speculated that the reason is that most of the content does not have a high correlation with the users themselves. It is recommended to make adjustments to the operation strategy of the subscription account. You can regularly publish thematic content such as a collection of fresh and interesting things in the park, photos of Disney friends celebrating their birthdays, Chip and Dale's daily acting, the Ducks' daily show of affection, StellaLou's transformation into an Internet celebrity , etc., to attract the attention of fans with content that they like and care about, while also increasing the interest of potential tourists who have not yet been to Disneyland.

3. Attempts under the new retail model

At the beginning of 2018, Disney announced a strategic restructuring plan, which mentioned the combination of theme parks and consumer products businesses, which is essentially a combination of retail and e-commerce businesses. Influenced by the domestic e-commerce atmosphere, Shanghai Disney Resort began to experiment with new retail models as early as 2016. The following is a brief analysis of the Tmall flagship store and the Fliggy flagship store.

3.1 Settled in Tmall flagship store to sell peripherals

Disney online flagship store includes two Tmall online stores: Disney Official Flagship Store and Disney Fashion Flagship Store. The online store and the offline Shanghai Disney flagship store will release new products simultaneously, ensuring that users can enjoy the same unique and high-quality Disney merchandise and promotions, allowing Disney fans across the country to purchase products more easily and conveniently.

Disney Official Flagship Store: Launched on May 19, 2016, the store mainly sells plush toys, cartoon figures, children's clothing and bags, and other products.

Disney Fashion Flagship Store: Launched on May 23, 2017, the store mainly sells luggage, accessories, clothing, home furnishings, digital weekly magazines and other products.

The two stores sell different products and focus on different content, which can meet the needs of more users and allow them to be more targeted when making shopping choices. Choosing to settle in Tmall can provide sufficient traffic to the store, reduce marketing costs, and balance the cost and output ratio of online and offline retail.

However, when searching for products, you will find that many products sold in offline Disney flagship stores are not sold online. It is recommended to enrich the online product categories and SKUs to facilitate users' purchases.

In addition, in conjunction with the online and offline Disney flagship stores, a corresponding "Disney Store" WeChat service account has also been opened to synchronize offline store activities, new product launches, online Tmall flagship store activities and other content.

3.2 Settle in the Fliggy flagship store to sell tickets and value-added services

The "Shanghai Disney Resort Official Flagship Store" located in the Fliggy flagship store mainly sells one-day tickets, two-day tickets, season passes, dining vouchers, exclusive guided tour services, PhotoPass + ticket packages, etc. In addition, this store mainly serves as a platform for the sale of season passes. Users learn about the sale of season passes through channels such as WeChat and Weibo, and complete the purchase at the Fliggy flagship store. By cooperating with Tmall, we added more interesting and fun elements and gameplay to the season pass sales event, expanding the publicity and attracting traffic while increasing sales.

For detailed analysis of the season card activities, please click

Revealed | Why the Shanghai Disney Season Pass, with a customer price of over 1,000 yuan, sold over 70,000 yuan

4. Enjoy the Disneyland Resort with the Disney Resort App

4.1 Overview

On May 10, 2016, the official Shanghai Disney Resort APP (hereinafter referred to as: Disney Resort APP) was launched on the App Store, aiming to enhance visitors' experience. As of April 31, 2018, the product has undergone 13 iterations. The APP supports real-time viewing of estimated waiting times for attractions and entertainment performances, online collection of "Disney Fast Pass" or purchase of "Disney Premier Card", viewing entertainment performance schedules, browsing interactive maps, etc. Basically, tourists can solve most of their park problems by downloading an APP.

The users of the Disney Resort APP are mainly visitors to Shanghai Disneyland. Basically, the usage scenarios can be divided into the following categories:

(1) If you are planning to visit Shanghai Disneyland, you can check the operating hours and purchase tickets or Disney Premier Access Pass;

(2) After entering the park, bind your ticket and receive a fast pass;

(3) During the tour, check the waiting time for the activities and performances;

(4) If you are not familiar with the park, you can follow the map to find attractions, restaurants, shops, etc.;

(5) Check the daily schedule of theme parades and entertainment performances and arrive early.

After an in-depth experience of the Disney Resort APP, we obtained the following core logic and product function structure diagram:

Disney Resort APP Core Logic

Disney Resort APP Product Function Structure

4.2 Development

So far, Disney Resort APP has released 13 versions on iOS, and the overall pace is relatively slow. Let’s take a closer look at the entire development trajectory and speed of the Disney Resort APP.

From the above figure, we can see that the number of users of the Disney Resort APP has been in a steady upward trend since its launch. It is conceivable that the reason may be strongly related to the product user group and usage scenarios, and the number of downloads is directly proportional to the cumulative number of visitors. The product is currently in a growth stage.

The following is a brief explanation of the specific product iteration logic in stages:

Phase 1 Product Exploration Period - May 10, 2016 to June 2016, V1.0~V4.1 versions, basic function construction

During this stage, Shanghai Disneyland is still in trial operation, and the Disney Resort APP launched is mainly for tourists invited to the park. It is basically in the stage of exploring product direction. It is initially positioned as a tool to enhance the tourists' park experience. The main functions it supports are basic functions such as park map navigation, ticket purchase, and creation of personal accounts.

It can be seen that in version V4.1, the function of creating a personal account to purchase tickets online has been added, Alipay purchases are supported, and Disney friends can be selected as avatars, forming a closed loop for users to use this APP. Purchasing tickets online can save time queuing on site, and you can enter the park quickly by simply swiping your ID card. Disney Resort has basically achieved one-stop service and full business coverage.

Judging from user reviews, users are quite satisfied with the fact that there is such a product that can help them save time and improve their park experience. In addition, many users will point out the direction of iteration in their comments. For example, some users will point out that the Orlando Disneyland APP can make online reservations for fast passes, book Disney restaurants, bind tickets, etc., and hope that the Shanghai Disney Resort APP can keep up with the pace. However, since the product was just launched and the park is in the trial operation stage, there are three main issues that users often complain about: park information is not updated synchronously, accounts cannot be created, and the text is in English.

After Shanghai Disney Resort officially started operations, no users have complained about the synchronization of information such as the park's operating hours and project descriptions. It is speculated that the relevant issues have been resolved.

Phase 2: Sustained Growth - June 2016 to present, versions V4.1.1 to 5.1, seeking breakthroughs to improve the park experience

Since the official opening of Shanghai Disney Resort on June 16, 2016, the Disney Resort APP has seen sustained growth. All users who have plans to visit the park are potential users of the Disney Resort APP. New functions have been added, including online fast pass collection, exclusive card purchase, checking the next performance time, theme activities, etc. At the same time, by participating in Tmall promotional activities many times, planning seasonal card sales activities and other operational means, we continue to attract new users , and the number of downloads and the rate of favorable comments have steadily increased.

During this phase, the two new functions of online Fast Pass collection and exclusive card purchase have solved the problems previously caused by Fast Passes, such as: long queues to collect Fast Passes, and a second queue to enter attractions; security issues due to the rush to collect Fast Passes; and the emergence of many scalpers and fake Fast Passes. In addition, purchasing Disney Premier Pass online also provides tourists with another option. When the queues for rides are too long, they can purchase this service to enjoy priority access to exclusive channels and save time. To a certain extent, these two functional points have made significant breakthroughs in improving users' park experience.

It can also be found from user reviews that obtaining fast passes and purchasing exclusive cards online are major breakthroughs and have received a lot of positive reviews. They can provide great help for users in making strategies and arranging park visits, and convenience and speed are also a point mentioned by many users. However, there are still product issues such as crashes and inability to register, and we may need to iterate faster to resolve such problems as soon as possible.

Through the analysis of the above product iterations, we can find that the logic of each product iteration is to put improving user experience first and provide effective methods to solve the problems currently encountered by users.

5. Leave the photography to LePaiTong

5.1 Overview

PhotoPass is a value-added service launched by Shanghai Disney Resort that provides visitors with photo-taking services during their visit to Disney. The services currently provided and their corresponding prices are as follows:

The main business logic is as follows:

It can be seen that in addition to taking photos offline, viewing, purchasing and downloading photos are all done on the APP. The following is a brief analysis of the LePaiTong APP.

5.2 APP Development

On May 6, 2016, the LePhotoTong APP was launched on the App Store, initially positioned as an APP for browsing, purchasing and downloading LePhotoTong photos. As of April 31, 2018, the product has undergone 16 iterations. The APP currently supports scanning and binding of LePhotoPass one-day passes and quarterly passes, selecting photos to download, adding stickers, filters and frames, sharing and printing photos, checking the distance to nearby photo spots, and purchasing LePhotoPass services online. Basically, the purpose of using LePaiTong is to liberate tourists' energy and enhance user experience.

The users of LePaiTong APP are mainly tourists of Shanghai Disneyland. Basically, the usage scenarios can be divided into the following categories:

(1) I want to take photos with Disney friends, but my cell phone photos are not good enough and I need a professional photographer to help me;

(2) If you go to Disneyland alone, you won’t be able to take selfies in many places, so you’ll need someone to help you take photos;

(3) Carrying a SLR to the park is heavy and inconvenient, but you still want to take good pictures;

(4) When you go out with your family or friends and want to take a nice photo;

(5) I saw my friends post photos they took at Disneyland with beautiful frames and magic photos, and I wanted them too;

(6) You cannot take selfies when playing certain activities, but you still want to record them.

In addition, after an in-depth experience with the LePaiTong APP, we obtained the following core logic and product function structure diagram:

LePaiTong APP core logic

LePaiTong APP product function structure

Up to now, LePaiTong APP has released 16 versions on iOS, and the overall pace is relatively slow. Let’s take a closer look at the entire development trajectory and speed of the LePaiTong APP.

From the above figure, we can see that the number of users of LePaiTong APP has been in a steady upward trend since its launch. It is conceivable that the reason may be related to the product user group and usage scenarios, and the number of downloads is related to the cumulative number of visitors. The product is currently in a growth stage.

Looking at the user reviews on Qimai Data, we can find that many users are quite supportive of a product that can connect traditional photography services with the Internet cloud, and are also quite satisfied with the photo effects. However, some users also complained about problems such as unstable servers and high prices for single photos.

Searching for reviews on the One-Day Pass and Seasonal Pass on Alitrip, we can see that users generally say that they like PhotoPass very much, and some of the users who purchased PhotoPass Seasonal Pass are repeat customers. We can guess that this photography service is popular because of its high-quality photos, exquisite frames, and easy access.

VI. Conclusion

Based on the above analysis, it can be found that Shanghai Disneyland tested the new retail sector before other parks, and started with new media to reach Chinese consumers, which is closer to the overall Chinese Internet environment. However, there is still room for improvement in some aspects:

(1) It is suggested that the "Shanghai Disney Resort Release" subscription account should make some adjustments in its operational strategy, and regularly publish a collection of fresh and interesting information about the park, so as to attract fans' attention with content that they like and care about, and at the same time increase the interest of potential visitors who have not yet visited Disneyland;

(2) The official Weibo account of Shanghai Disney Resort has a low level of interaction. It is recommended that the content tone be closer to the users’ lives and that more interaction points be added to the copy.

(3) In the next phase, the Disney Resort APP can solve the problems encountered by the current product and think about how to better improve the user experience through the APP. For example, it can add reminders to use and collect the next Fast Pass during the current Fast Pass collection process, and remind you whether the restaurant dining environment is crowded, etc.;

(4) LePaiTong APP can first improve some problems in the use process, and then launch LePaiTong sales strategy through some e-commerce thinking, so as to reduce the average customer price and increase sales from the sensory level;

(5) Many products sold at offline Disney flagship stores are not sold at the online Tmall flagship store. It is recommended to enrich the online product categories and SKUs.

7. Magical Easter Egg Moments

When walking around the park, you will often encounter a staff member holding a "black box" who will suddenly wave to tourists to stop. Don't be nervous ~ This is just the daily survey questionnaire staff of Shanghai Disneyland. Answer the questions based on the questions asked by the staff. They will use a stylus to tap on the screen. Sometimes you need to scan your ticket, and sometimes they will ask for your email address to send you more questionnaires~~ After completing the questionnaire, you will receive a small gift! Next time you see a staff member holding this "black box", take the initiative to approach him and fill in the questionnaire!

In addition, as a little fan who frequents Disney on a daily basis, I really like interacting with Disney friends and watching performances. Some time ago, I also teased the talking trash can "Xiaotui". Let's take a look at the short video below~~ Guess how Xiaotui works!

The author of this article @宋小错 compiled and published by (Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!

Product promotion services: APP promotion services, advertising platform, Longyou Games