Troubles Unfolding for Disney's Newest Park [上海迪士尼遇难题不断]
By Diana Park
Disneyland in China has been the talk of the town and while the park's arrival was anxiously anticipated by literally millions of people, now that the park has been open for over a month, the complaints are starting to roll in.
Despite Disney having put about USD5.5 billion into the new theme park and CEO Bob Iger revealing over a million people have visited and hotels have been booked at 95% occupancy, not everything has been 'magical'.
Accoring to the BBC, on July 10 five rides were suddenly closed without warning. Disney says that was due to 'unpredictable conditions' related to 'maintenance and operational requirements', but many speculate safety reasons were at the core of the closures.
Instead of refunding disgruntled park-goers, Disney offered passes that would be valid for 12 months. Unfortunately that solution was useless for many, such as one woman surnamed Liu who reported to the South China Morning Post that she had arrived from Gansu with her child and would be unable to make the same trip anytime soon.
Issues of fake tickets are also piling onto the controversy. Shanghai paper Xinmin News reported that an online search of 'Shanghai Disneyland tickets' resulted in nearly 1,000 items and that real and fake tickets are nearly impossible to tell apart.
Outside the park, things are looking even darker. Accused of infringing upon labor rights, according to a report by US-based China Labour Watch, called 'The Dark World of Disney', working conditions at Disney's factory in Guangdong are 'terrible' and 'horrifying'. The report reveals that employees work 66 hours a week for an hourly wage between USD1.30-1.50.
But with the Olympics hype, local media have managed to push Disney downfalls to the side. Web portal Sina reports the 'film and theme park business' has been 'good' for Disney, with revenue from the park growing 6% to USD4.38 billion.
Still, the doubts of Disney's success aren't completely buried. The Global Times reports a 'drop in enthusiasm' and that the 'level of service' isn't meeting expectations. Hopefully the big Mouse can turn things around for his new Magic Kingdom!
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上海迪士尼是人们近期讨论的焦点之一，近百万的游客期待着迪士尼的开幕。目前，迪士尼开幕已有一个月之久，抱怨与不满之声也逐渐出现。
迪士尼公司为上海迪士尼投入了约55亿美元。迪士尼CEO Bob Iger透露，有超过1百万游客已驻足迪士尼，95%的宾馆房间已被预订一空。但并非事事都如此顺利。
BBC消息称，7月10日，五个游玩项目未提前通知突然关闭。迪士尼方表示项目关闭是由于与项目检修、运营需要相关的“不可预料的原因”，但很多人推测到关闭的主要原因是安全问题。
迪士尼向拒绝了游客们退票的要求，向其提供一年内有效的迪士尼门票。但遗憾的是，这对很多人来说并没有用处。一位刘姓女士在接受《南华早报》采访时表示，她带着孩子从甘肃过来，近期不可能再来上海了。
假票现象同样困扰着迪士尼。《新民晚报》报道称，在网络搜索关键词“上海迪士尼门票”会出现约1000个搜索结果，这些搜索结果中真假难辨。
主题公园之外的情况更不容乐观。根据总部在美国的中国劳动观察协会的报告《迪士尼里的黑暗世界》，迪士尼被指控存在侵害劳动者权利的行为。迪士尼在广东的工厂被称为“糟糕”而“恐怖”。报告称，工人们一周工作66小时，时薪大约在1.3美元至1.5美元之间。
但在奥运的热潮下，当地媒体终于放了迪士尼一马。新浪网站报道称，迪士尼的电影和主题公园目前运行还不错，收入上海6%达到43.8亿美元。
但是，对于迪士尼的质疑之声依然不绝于耳。《环球时报》表示，人们的热情正在下降，迪士尼的服务水平也远不如预期。多么希望米奇能力挽狂澜，再造一个神奇的迪士尼王国！
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