Here Comes Mickey Mouse! Localization, Disneyization, And Exceptionalism At Overseas Disneyland Resorts

On June 16,2016, Shanghai Disney Resort will hold officially open its gates, not only becoming Mainland China’s first Disney theme park, but also the world’s largest overseas Disney park. The opening of a Disney theme park is not generally viewed as an event that bears close scrutiny; however, the planning and construction of Shanghai Disney Resort has attracted the interest of scholars, journalists, and ordinary Chinese people alike, indicating that Shanghai Disney has more significance than commonly thought. As a purveyor of American popular culture, The Walt Disney Company’s Shanghai resort project not only implies the importation of American culture, but of a specialized Disney culture as well. Opponents of globalization believe that this threatens local culture and traditional social norms, quite possibly replacing pre-existing those norms with global ones, resulting in cultural imperialism. Therefore, The Walt Disney Company must avoid cultural conflict and misunderstanding in order to succeed. At the same time, it must preserve its own unique Disney characteristics.This thesis argues that only by simultaneously balancing localization, Disneyization, and strong cultural exceptionalism can an overseas Disney theme park adapt its content to local audiences’expectations, thereby winning their patronage and gaining large profits. In order to avoid accusations of cultural imperialism and lessen cultural misunderstandings, The Disney Company must employ a localization strategy that makes its goods and services suitable to differing local conditions, only then will it be able to win local customers’acceptance and support. At the same time, every Disney theme park must provide a sophisticated tourism experience, guaranteeing that every guest enjoys the same high quality "magical experience." In order to do this, The Disney Company must employ a process called Disneyization to ensure that these magical experiences are consistent and reproducible. An analysis of the three Asian Disney theme parks will show that both strong Disney exceptionalism and local exceptionalism will ensure that the localization and Disneyization processes work smoothly and that, in fact, these two exceptionalism elements make up the lynchpin of overseas Disney theme park success. Strong local exceptionalism provides clear expectations for theme park planners, ensuring that localization goals are correspondingly clear and thereby allowing the Disney company to directly meet local audiences’expectations. In turn, Disney exceptionalism facilitates the Disneyization process and ensures that a localized overseas park still maintains its Disney essence, meaning that the park exhibits a well-balanced and attractive localization. Only by achieving a complementary balance between Disney exceptionalism and local exceptionalism can an overseas Disney theme park achieve a high degree of localization and Disneyization, thus ensuring park success.This thesis analyzes Disney’s three Asian theme parks, most notably Shanghai Disney Resort, to explore the relationship between Disneyization, localization, and exceptionalism. First, a review of relevant theoretical literature will examine both localization and Disneyization; this will then be used to construct an analytical framework for this paper. Subsequently, case studies of Disney’s two pre-existing Asian theme parks, Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland, will be used to explain the specific workings of Disneyization and localization; the underlying reasons behind the parks’respective successes and failures will then also be explored. This thesis will then use official Disney and media materials to introduce and investigate Shanghai Disney Resort’s localization and Disneyization measures. Finally, the relationship between Shanghai Disney Resort’s localization, Disneyization, and its global significance will be evaluated. Analysis will show that effectiveness of Disney’s three overseas Asian theme park operations is primarily determined by the relative strength or weakness of local exceptionalism. Overseas Disney theme parks cannot be said to be an example of cultural imperialist expansion and do not inevitably threaten local cultures. On the contrary, it will be shown that clear and strong local exceptionalism is a prerequisite for successful localization. Only when Disney exceptionalism and local exceptionalism have a complementary relationship can overseas Disney theme parks achieve a high degree of localization and Disneyization, thus ensuring park profitability and success.Although many scholars have examined localization and Disneyization, their research has overlooked the important functions of local exceptionalism or Disney exceptionalism. Needless to say, prior research has not meaningfully discussed the relationship between localization, Disneyization, and local exceptionalism, or used this to analyze the effectiveness of Disney theme park operations. Analysis of Disney’s three Asian theme parks, especially the soon to open Shanghai Disney Resort, clearly shows that Disney theme park success is inevitably linked with a high degree of localization, Disneyization, and strong local exceptionalism.