On April 8, Shanghai Disneyland officially began large-scale construction, and is expected to open in 2015. Located far from the city center in Pudong New Area, and with a total investment of 24.50 billion yuan ($3.75 billion), there has public concern over whether the park can reap a profit, or Shanghai benefit from it.

This line of thought is based upon the experiences of Hong Kong Disneyland. Opened in 2005, it has run at a loss every year. Last year it had just 5.60 million visitors – far less than its anticipated 8 million.

However, Shanghai Disneyland – at twice the size than its Hong Kong counterpart – is set to be a success, and bring great profit to its host city, while also benefiting the residents living around the once remote area.

The main reason is that Shanghai Disneyland has a far wider appeal than the Hong Kong theme park. Shanghai is home to 22 million people – around three times as many as Hong Kong. A further 330 million people are within just three hours' traveling time of the park, thanks to the development of high-speed rail links and the new subway lines serving the park.

Then there are the people who would have visited the city anyway who will take the opportunity to visit Disneyland. Shanghai is at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta – one of China's wealthiest regions with a GDP of nearly 7 trillion yuan ($1.07 trillion) and a retail sales figure of 2.97 trillion yuan ($455.14 billion) in 2010, and visitor numbers will keep increasing.

Although Disney has said that the Shanghai and Hong Kong parks complement rather than compete with each other, the Shanghai park will certainly attract visitors who might have otherwise visited its more southern sister.

This is because it is still a relatively complex procedure for Chinese mainland residents to visit Hong Kong, as well as the high cost of air tickets.
All these factors will secure Shanghai Disneyland a stable flow of Chinese patrons, with annual visitor numbers projected to be 10 million.

We can also look at the World Expo 2010 as an example of an expensive project that had its skeptics, but turned out to be a huge success. With 28.6 billion yuan ($4.38 billion) invested in the Expo, many predicted it would be "nothing but a waste of money." This was proved wrong by the huge visitor volume, and the China Pavilion still receiving more than 40,000 visitors daily after the main event itself has finished. When authorities release their financial report on the Expo next month, it is almost certain to prove to have been the most lucrative Expo in history, surpassing the $146 million profit made by the Osaka Expo in 1970.

Unlike the Expo, Disneyland is a longer-term attraction and carries a world-renowned brand name. The company has already established its status on the Chinese mainland with its animations and spin-off products that generate billions of yuan, all of which have paved the way for domestic demand.

The project is also being built and operated by a list of State-owned enterprises led by the Shanghai Municipal Government. This demonstrates the faith that the project will be a success.

So, the stories of the two Chinese Disneylands will differ greatly. With a huge market, supporting infrastructure and integrated development plan, the tale of Shanghai Disneyland is sure to have a happy ending.