A Review of the Shanghai Disneyland 10-Year Celebration

JMS episode 385 A Review of the Shanghai Disneyland 10 Year Celebration Bob Weis

“Once those parks and resorts are there, they really become owned by the audience experiencing them.”

There is something special about going back to a place you helped create and seeing what it has become. Bob Weis recently had that opportunity when he returned to China for the 10th anniversary of Shanghai Disneyland. Bob is the former president of Walt Disney Imagineering. He spent about seven years working on the project before the park even opened. So while Shanghai Disneyland is celebrating ten years, Bob joked that it feels more like a 17-year anniversary for him.

More than 150 people involved in bringing Shanghai Disneyland to life came back for the celebration. Imagineers joined people from entertainment and operations. They traveled from around the world, some even emerging from their retirement. Bob described it as a reunion filled with hugs and plenty of emotion.

I can understand why. You spend years working alongside people to create something that has never existed before, then come back years later and see millions of people enjoying it.

What I enjoyed hearing from Bob is that Shanghai Disneyland hasn’t stopped evolving. Zootopia has become incredibly popular. A new Spider-Man coaster is under construction, and the resort continues to add hotels. Even the attractions that have been there since opening continue to evolve as Imagineers look for ways to make the experience better.

Toward the end of our conversation, Bob said something that connected his Disney experience with my background in national parks. Eventually, these places become emotionally owned by the people who visit them.

That’s why people care so deeply about Disney parks. It’s also why Americans feel such pride in our national parks. The people who create or protect these places certainly matter, but eventually the place becomes part of someone else’s story.

Bob put it simply: “We have the privilege to create places that people love.”

Ten years later, that’s exactly what has happened in Shanghai.