July 14, 2025

Asia’s Comeback? IAAPA Asia & Legoland Shanghai’s Opening

Asia was expected to become the new theme park capital of the world—then the pandemic hit. Where are we now?

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IAAPA Trends Asia Legoland

Asia was expected to become the new theme park capital of the world—then the pandemic hit. IAAPA Asia drew 7,000+ attendees to Shanghai, but is that enough to signal Asia’s tourism comeback? Philip reports from the show floor, including takeaways from Disney executive Jill Estorino’s keynote, where she credited young adult women with shaping the guest culture at Shanghai Disneyland—impacting everything from merchandise and mobile content creation to how F&B is presented across the park. Meanwhile, Legoland Shanghai, including its eight themed lands, 85 million bricks, and resort-wide creative choices, has set a new quality bar for IP-driven family parks in the region. With the Chinese park market projected to nearly double by 2028, we ask: Is the APAC surge real—and what lessons should operators everywhere take from Shanghai’s blend of detail, service, and social-savvy design? Listen to weekly BONUS episodes on our Patreon.

WEBVTT

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From our studios in Los Angeles and Tampa. This is

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green Tag Thing Park and thirty. I'm Philip. I'm doing

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it as always on my co host Scott Swinson of

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Scott Swinson Created Development. On green Tag, we break down

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the week's top news and explain why it matters to

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industry professionals. And we are both back from our trip

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through Asia, so this week we're going to discuss takeaways

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from AYAPA Asia and also the opening of Lego Land Shanghai.

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Cool. Yes, I wish I'd been able to go to

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Ayappa Asia. I missed it by like three or no

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one day. One day I was it ended and I

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landed in Hong Kong the next day.

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So yes, yeah, So I was at AAPA Asia and

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did the trip through Shanghai, and Scott was also in

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Asia working with a client and did so we got

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to see a lot of the mainland attractions from different cities.

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Basically, Yes, I was in Juhai and Guangzhou.

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Yeah, and I was in Shanghai and Shenzhen. So we

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have an nice sampling here to talk about. And of

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course we had different interpreters and wholly different experiences, so

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we can kind of wrap that into the context as

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we discussed this week's news. So let's start off with

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some numbers from IAPA Asia AAPA Asia. It says here

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that they welcomed over seven thousand verified attendees, with five

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six hundred qualified buyers and three hundred exhibiting companies from

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eighty five countries. And of course during the event itself,

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I went to all of the pre shows, but there

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was the pre show tour of Lego Land Shanghai before

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it opened to the public, so we got to see

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it before it opened to the public. There was also

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a tour Edu tour of Legoland of Disneyland Shanghai Disneyland,

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where we got to see the show, the new show

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they have there, as well as the kitchen tours and

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do that kind of stuff. And then there was the

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after party, the opening ceremony at Shanghai Disneyland, where they

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did a partal not a shutdown but like a mix

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in with a dedicated food and beverage area. And then

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of course they had the multiple days of the show itself,

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so quite a few activities planned for the regions around

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and of course the Monday, so they had the opening

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reception where of course you as usual, you bring in

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samplings of local culture and discussions of attractions coming in

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the local area and local investment. And then the leadership

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breakfast was on the second day in the morning, and

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the leadership Breakfast was led by Jill Estorino, which is

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the president and managing director for Disney Parks International. So

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we got a nice sampling. We got to hear from

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Jill about some of her experiences working in Asia and

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how it works differently and what's going on with the

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operations there. That was day two, and day one, during

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the opening ceremony you got to hear about the plan

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investment for the area. And then before it even started,

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we got to see Lego Land and we got to

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learn about some of the operations at the Disneyland Park. Yeah. Uh,

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let's see.

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So, any how.

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Should we do this? Any questions discussion?

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How should we The first question that comes up that

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comes in my mind is because Jill so it's interesting.

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I was doing work at Chamlong Spaceship in in Juhai,

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and in a pre show of one of the big

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shows there, they did a whole video on the visit

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from members of Ayappa and and and it included Jill

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and Massi and and Jakob, you know, all the the

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Iappa folk and Uh. It was really interesting because they

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were all talking about how there is a certain vibrancy

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in China specifically, and of course they were very complimentary

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of of mister Sue and and uh the ocean kingdom

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that's in in Juhai and and Chamlong Space ship. But

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what did did Jill? Is there anything that you captured

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from Jill that was specific and unique about the China

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market and the expanding China market right now?

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So I want to say yes and no at the

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same time. And what I mean by that is yes

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in that there are unique elements that differ from what

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we would see in the American parks. But know in

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that every region tends to have its own differences, right,

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the way things work in Europe, the way things work

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in the Middle East. As we've talked about Agnauseum on

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the show. Each area think has its uniqueness. So it's

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not different in that it is normal in that it

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has a difference area so one so and it's interesting.

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This is a good way to do it. So let's

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pair learnings I had from the edge you tour with

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some stuff. Jill said, ok, you can kind of talk

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about both them. So Jill talked about the f and

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b at the park and how it was different, but

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she didn't give too many examples other than the pop

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sickles in Zutopia that are from the film right in

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the opening credits. You know he's taking the big melting

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it down and then he's making that so you can

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buy those little animal pops in the park. And she

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talked about that and other food and beverage and how

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different it is on the edge you tour. We got

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to tour the kitchens at Disneyland and we got to

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learn see it firsthand. And the thing that is so

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different as opposed to other facilities. There are so many things,

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but mostly it's set. They are cooking everything for the

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resort there, and it's not being like in America, where

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especially the smaller regional parks, you have things like bread

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that's frozen, it's brought in that it's reheated, or you

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have patties or whatnot. Everything is there and they have

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a whole workflow where even areas of the kitchen have

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like one like doors that close and you can't go

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back out because you're not supposed to walk from like

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a raw meat into a vegetable area, right, so you

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kind of have to lock those areas because they're cooking

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literally everything. And they have even banana specialists, for example,

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that specialize in being able to sort bananas according to

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their lengths because they send different You can't just send

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it to one restaurant, so one whole location will have

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this length of banana so that someone doesn't see a

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different sized banana and feel like they got a different value.

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And so you get this that's a big. Things like

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that are a big, like the uniformity and also having

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to cook things there from scratch, because that is the

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norm in asias that you have fresh, much more fresh

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food that is readily available that is cooked from scratch.

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And the whole idea is why would you go into

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a theme park and get food that is worse than

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what you could get outside. The value the perceived value again,

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like the banana thing, that perceived value is very important,

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right when especially when you're comparing it, well, how come

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you know.

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It's well and it's interesting because it's also very much

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It also echoes the way. For many, many years, many

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socialist countries actually did everything in their country. There was

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a centralized location that did everything the same way and

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then dispersed that out, distributed that out to different areas.

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So it makes sense. It's parallel to the way that

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they're used to working in China specifically. It also is

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interesting that they recognize, you know, we've talked about we've

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talked about creature comfort over and over again, but they

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recognize that the culinary experience is not just sustenance that's

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grab and go. It is a part of the quality

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of the overall day and by creating and by creating

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fresh food as opposed to it, and another reason for

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that too, I'm assuming, and I don't know this for fact,

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but I'm assuming there's also fewer preservatives in the food

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that's coming in, so the food itself doesn't last as long,

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so it's not to be cooked fresh, it can't be

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frozen because it doesn't, or left on a shelf because

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it doesn't have the shelf life that some of the

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American products would have.

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Right, And it also gives them a little bit more control,

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which is something Jill talked about, but I think seeing

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it helped it reinforce it to me. So, for example,

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they also have vegetable specialists that carve mickeys into vegetables,

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and that is not something you do in the US

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because not only is the labor more expensive, so having

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someone to carve that is not you know, tenable for

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our stuff, but also a lot again at the vegetables

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are made in master kitchens and you order them from Cisco,

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and you just receive it from Cisco, right, and then

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you just kind of store it and you put it

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into it. So I'm not saying that we don't have

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restaurants that make that make things from ingredients, but it's

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just different in that everything, right, everything for every thing,

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like they're baking the turkey legs, and he explained how

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these kitchens operate actually twenty four hours a day, so

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they are at he was showing us when we were

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there in the afternoon, they were already stocking up all

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sorts of pantries for like to be able to serve

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the food in the morning, like they were already working

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on the next days warning food service now where they

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would cook all night basically and just roll them into

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cold storage and they would roll them out and disperse

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them throughout the park. So it's a whole it's a

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whole system, right for that that's very different. He also

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they also mentioned that, uh, they pilot some of the

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new food safety procedures there that to then roll out

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to other places. So they actually have a lab, a

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testing lab on property where they take samples of food

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and they take it over and the results are shared

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with the government and almost in real time, and so

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they have this testing burden, which was interesting because in

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my group, I don't I don't think this is telling

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stories as school. But in my group there was a

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few people there who pointed out that that is not

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some that's great that they're doing this, but it's also

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it creates it makes it harder for smaller places that

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don't have the ability to invest all this into testing

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and investment, and so it's almost like it's building in

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a moat. So it's one of those things that is

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like an example of something that sounds really great to do,

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but then it creates a moat that protects, you know,

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people that are already entrenched, which I don't think that

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anybody understood on the tour, but that's.

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Kind and I guess and I guess My question is

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because these findings are going to the government, does that

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mean that the government in turn makes regulations for those

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people who don't have the who don't have the ability

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to meet those standards. Does it impact them or is

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it just for informational purposes that I think it's.

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I think it's it's the form it is. It is

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the first one where you are.

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Actually going to make standardization rules and regulations so that

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you must have specific holding temperatures. And I'm making this,

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but specific temperatures, specific cooling temperatures, et cetera, et cetera,

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et cetera. It's funny because not just not even I

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didn't get a chance to go into the kitchens and

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theme parks that I was working in, but just in

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the rest or, in the restaurant, in the hotel where

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I was staying, you know, there were there were one,

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oh gosh, at least eight, eight to ten chefs working

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in the buffets to make, you know, making dumplings, making noodles,

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making you know, cooking large pieces of meat in various forms,

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carving carving ham off the off the bone for you.

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It wasn't as though anything was prepackaged. Everything everything was

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made for you, even down to the beautiful little steamed

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buns that are all in shapes like every morning. I

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had to have my hedgehog bun, you know, because it

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was just adorable. So yeah, it's it's very it's a

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very different it's a very different approach for Americans who

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are used to we get good food, but it's all

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prepackaged and was probably made, as you say, in the

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Cisco kitchens in another state.

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Yeah, and so another thing, So Jill did not mention this,

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but it's it's coming off of what exactly you said

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that we did hear about at Disney. And this is

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again when you're doing tours like this with Disney. Okay,

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so we had to put our cell phones like in

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a locked case and you kind of have to. I mean,

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it's really like it's very controlled. It's even controlled down

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into the We had a Q and A like air

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quoting here for those listening, I'm air quoting Q and

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A with the some of the ride engineers. But they

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had a script that they had to read from and

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if the question wasn't on the script, they couldn't answer it.

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It's kind of a thing. So that's that's you know

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how sometimes how it is with some of these places.

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But we did we did get to record at we

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did get to look through some of those places and

234
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see some of the ride vehicles up close and see

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a lot of this stuff. But there was an enormousun

236
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of security. And so what I learned also through it

237
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is that a lot of these things are possible, like

238
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the extra time with food preparation and the extra security

239
00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:55.000
and a lot of this stuff is like no, I

240
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don't want to say security theater, but but there's just

241
00:12:57.159 --> 00:13:01.200
a lot of labor is so cheap as compared to

242
00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:05.080
the US, that you're able to in a way add

243
00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:08.519
extra people in to a lot of areas, uh to

244
00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:11.120
do more of this. So like we're in the US,

245
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we're much more thinking about automation and using AI and

246
00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:16.480
using robots and doing all this kind of stuff. That

247
00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:19.559
stuff does exist in China as well in the factory cities.

248
00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:21.559
But when it comes to this type of food thing,

249
00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:23.759
you know, you can afford to have all these people

250
00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:26.480
cutting Mickey's into vegetables, and you can afford to have

251
00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:30.200
these these so much extra labor with security and and

252
00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:33.320
just people standing around to help you move places and

253
00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.200
all this. It's just because the labor costs is very

254
00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:37.399
different than it is.

255
00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.720
We're looking for in the US. We're looking for efficiencies

256
00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:44.799
to reduce labor and there that's not necessary because they're

257
00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:48.360
looking to employ people. Exactly, Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's a

258
00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:50.879
that's an interesting an interesting point and a very interesting

259
00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.279
point of difference too, because I noticed that as well,

260
00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:58.279
that it wasn't. It wasn't that you'd you'd walk in

261
00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:01.919
and you'd see the automatic dumpling maker, you know, spitting

262
00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.080
things out and dropping them into boiling water. No, these

263
00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:05.759
were all being made by hand, and you'd see them

264
00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:09.399
made by hand and passed off to the other guy. Yeah,

265
00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:12.960
it was. You're absolutely right, it's a it's a different

266
00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:18.919
it's a different mindset, you know. And and because and

267
00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:20.639
I guess it comes down to what your what your

268
00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:22.840
resources are. You know, if you're in a if you're

269
00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:29.080
in an environment where uh the resources are human and labor, yep,

270
00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:32.039
then take full advantage of that. You know that that

271
00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:32.919
makes total sense.

272
00:14:34.759 --> 00:14:39.000
Yeah, we going back then to Jill's presentation, Jill spoke

273
00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.320
a lot about the z Utopia land because of course

274
00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:46.000
Utopia it's it's a unique area there in that you know,

275
00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.720
it was it's not available in the US parks. That

276
00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:52.080
the zoo, the size of Zutopia, the ride they have there,

277
00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:56.679
and it's also one that is I think, according to her,

278
00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:59.440
I want not uniquely Asian, but it's one of those

279
00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:03.440
areas where the IP is much more popular in Asia

280
00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:06.080
than some of the IPS, and so they justified the

281
00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:09.759
investment in it. And she did speak about how they

282
00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:13.159
did some stuff there they wouldn't do other places because

283
00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:18.080
of it, like how they made it much more social

284
00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:22.279
media friendly, how they change it over for Christmas, how

285
00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:25.559
they add in kind of food with local flavor and

286
00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:28.559
try to work it in to the themed land, and

287
00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:33.519
she kind of gave also examples about how the demographic

288
00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.679
is different in those areas. So she said, for example,

289
00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:39.799
the young adult female has taken hold of this brand

290
00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:42.879
and of this park, and they're creating a sophisticated energy

291
00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:46.480
inside the park. They bring their fashion sensibility, their modern perspectives,

292
00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:49.320
and their technology capability. The park has become not only

293
00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:51.759
a backdrop for their we chat, which we talked a

294
00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:55.240
lot about about making sure there's backdrops in that Zoutopias specifically,

295
00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:58.120
but they're also creating a vibe in the park. And

296
00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:03.000
she talked about the flower Shop, which Disney Imagineers recreated

297
00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.559
as a facade in the new Land, complete with plants

298
00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:09.200
and props to make the store appear believable in all guests,

299
00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:11.519
in all the selfies and all of the social media stuff,

300
00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:15.279
and then of course the food. She goes into the

301
00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:19.759
food and all that. So I think again that's an

302
00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:22.399
area where like that is unique to the China market.

303
00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.159
But you see every region has a thing like that,

304
00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:27.720
where you have they have some sort of differentiator. But

305
00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.639
that was specifically she talked about in her talk about Zootobea,

306
00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:32.559
about all those things. Then she also talked about the

307
00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:34.919
Duffian Friends and the expansion of that where they they're

308
00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:37.240
not characters here in the US, but they debuted in

309
00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:40.080
Tokyo twenty years ago and to date there's five hundred

310
00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:43.480
million in annual merch sales, so five hundred million each

311
00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:46.559
year for Duffian Friends. It's so popular that they even

312
00:16:46.600 --> 00:16:49.840
made a Duffy Month that is a special event that

313
00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:52.480
happens in September and it boosts a tendance by more

314
00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:55.799
than fifty percent. They've added a Stella buffet, which is sells.

315
00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:58.679
One of the new characters in Duffy. They do enjoy

316
00:16:58.720 --> 00:17:02.679
the moon activities with Duffy and Friends. They also have

317
00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:08.480
been introducing new characters into the Duffy franchise. But like

318
00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:11.359
those characters obviously, since they don't have a movie that

319
00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:14.200
go that come from, it's generated from the park. So

320
00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:16.279
the story of those characters is told by the marketing

321
00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.480
team and then cold then using local, so they they

322
00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:23.960
kind of it's almost like designed for local. So specifically

323
00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:28.880
Stella is the one that they've made and Stella and

324
00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:32.640
Lena Bell are designed as the kind of young, sophisticated,

325
00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:37.799
fashionable woman who is a but the that resonates with

326
00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.960
the audience there because it's it's mostly that audience there,

327
00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:43.599
the young woman in Asia defining who they want to

328
00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:47.119
be is how they described it. So they said merch

329
00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:51.119
usually sells out in two hours and and then and

330
00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:54.400
that they in in Asia they say the bear that

331
00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:55.200
started it all.

332
00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:58.640
So that's funny. So it's interesting because in the in

333
00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:02.599
the Hong Kong Airport there is a Disneyland Hong Kong store,

334
00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:05.519
and I would say three quarters of the merchandise there

335
00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:09.519
is Duffy and Friends. It's not yes, they have some

336
00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:11.759
they have some of the traditional or what we think

337
00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:13.920
of in the US as the more traditional characters of

338
00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.799
Mickey Minnie Donald, but three quarters of it is is

339
00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:20.680
Duffy and Friends, and that includes Plush. One of the

340
00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:24.000
things that they did talk about though, in the parks

341
00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:30.440
in Juwhai is that they haven't they have trouble identifying

342
00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:35.880
how the merchandise sales are going, because you know, with

343
00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:39.079
with merchandise, the Chinese audience apparently buys very differently than

344
00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:42.799
the American audience does. And I think it. I think

345
00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:44.680
it's funny that you say that the Duffy merchandise sells

346
00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:47.480
out so very quickly. But the only thing I can

347
00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:50.640
think of is it's simply because it is. It is

348
00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:55.119
their merchen, it's their merchandise. It's not I'm buying something

349
00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:57.759
from some other country or some other park. It is

350
00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:01.880
specifically from the Chinese market for the Chinese people.

351
00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:05.559
Yep, Yeah, because what I heard. Also, we heard this

352
00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:08.839
a few times at the merch area, So that was

353
00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:12.000
a big takeaway for me. The first item was a

354
00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.200
big takeaway in terms of basically them needing even with

355
00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.119
a brand as strong as Disney, with the IP as

356
00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:19.720
strong as Disney, they still need to develop something for

357
00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.920
the local region. And that local item they're really need

358
00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:24.799
into and then they find a way to work that

359
00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:27.160
then into some of the new lands and the new

360
00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:30.039
areas they're doing. So again it's brilliant by Disney, but

361
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:32.720
it also just demonstrates that you need to kind of

362
00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:35.480
meet the audience and meet that local thing where it is.

363
00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:37.559
And then when it comes to the merch tales, what

364
00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:40.079
we heard from the merchandising team we toured that is

365
00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:45.240
that I think sometimes Americans have a perception that China

366
00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:48.640
is cheap, and it's more accurate to say that China

367
00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:53.480
is obsessed with value at every level. And so it's

368
00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:55.880
the banana thing, it's the food thing, it's all this,

369
00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:59.440
and so if you're gonna make merchandise, it needs to

370
00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:04.880
be of value. So maybe because they love Stella, they'll

371
00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:07.000
get the Stella stuff, But when it's a Mickey thing

372
00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:08.720
or a backpack or this or that, like, it has

373
00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:10.839
to be nice according to the price, right, so it

374
00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:13.599
has to appear to be a good value. You're like,

375
00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:16.160
I guess you're not buying it just because it's theme

376
00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:19.279
park merchandise, right, right. You make the decisions based off

377
00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:22.599
of value effectively, and that's why they have a lot

378
00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:25.640
of merch that is not done in the US because

379
00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:28.279
in the US we need certain profit margins right right

380
00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:30.640
for all of our stuff, and that's I think less

381
00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:34.000
important there as much as it's more concern of the value,

382
00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:36.119
it's less a concern of the of the profit margin

383
00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:36.960
in particular.

384
00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:40.160
So yeah, that makes total sense. I mean again, it's

385
00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:42.880
it's quality of product, and not just the quality of

386
00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:45.319
the of the product that you're experiencing while you're at

387
00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:46.720
the park, but the quality of the product that you

388
00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:48.880
take home as well, or the product the quality of

389
00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:52.720
the product that you consume while you're there. So it's correct.

390
00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:56.440
It's interesting because in the US, and we've talked about

391
00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.839
this a lot as far as the culinary side goes,

392
00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:03.240
is there are certain parks that do culinary incredibly well.

393
00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:07.079
There are, but the vast majority of parks here in

394
00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:10.079
the US at least think of culinary as an afterthought.

395
00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:12.640
It's almost like, well, we got to feed them so

396
00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:13.200
they don't leave.

397
00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:18.640
So and Molier we talked about that just with six

398
00:21:18.759 --> 00:21:21.880
fives recently, right saying that, and it's just so funny

399
00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:23.839
that they're like it's like they're finally coming to the

400
00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:26.960
realization that food is important, but like it's been like

401
00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:30.079
this in other areas for a long time, right, And yeah,

402
00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:32.799
in that way is it's almost like the American is

403
00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:35.400
less value in a way in some of these dimensions

404
00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:39.559
where your food wasn't previously thought of as as critical

405
00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:43.000
for the value proposition, but it clearly is, you know,

406
00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:43.920
and merchandise.

407
00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:46.519
I also talked just a little bit about you mentioned

408
00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:51.200
the idea of creating those environments for the in essence

409
00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:54.519
the content creator. You know. One of the things about

410
00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:58.839
I said that I saw in Jomlong Spaceship and in

411
00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:03.559
Ocean Kingdom is it is set up first and foremost

412
00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:07.240
as a selfie museum. I mean, yeah, provides, it provides

413
00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:15.240
atmosphere after atmosphere, environment after environment to capture images. And

414
00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:20.359
the number one the number one activity as I'm watching guests,

415
00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.880
because you know, I watched the guests as much as

416
00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:26.599
I watched the experience itself. The number of guests who

417
00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:28.559
they're vast majority of the vast majority of their day

418
00:22:28.599 --> 00:22:31.359
seem to be spent taking photographs of themselves in these

419
00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:35.920
cool environments, are in front of unique things and posting them,

420
00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:39.799
whether it was still photos or video images or whatever.

421
00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:45.480
So that's that's a very interesting thing that is important

422
00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:48.440
here in the US. But it is, it is a target.

423
00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:52.559
It's a specific design target for things in China, at

424
00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:53.799
least based on my experience.

425
00:22:55.039 --> 00:23:00.680
Yep, well down that vein and pairing that with the

426
00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:02.960
idea of quality. I didn't want to talk about the

427
00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:06.880
tour of Lego Land Changhai Resort. So we got to

428
00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:09.559
tour it early, as I mentioned as part of Ayappa Asia,

429
00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:14.000
and it did already open, and we got the press

430
00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:17.839
release here saying that it's three hundred and eighteen square meters.

431
00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:21.039
The brand new theme park and hotel destination will invite

432
00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:23.480
guests to immerse themselves into eight lands filled with over

433
00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:26.240
seventy five interactive ride shows and attractions, as well as

434
00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.960
explore thousands of Lego models built more than eighty five

435
00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:34.079
million Lego bricks. Let's see ten thousand workers working on

436
00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:37.079
the project with three hundred teams from fifteen countries. So

437
00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:41.880
let me just say this resort is incredible. I mean

438
00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:47.440
the quality of Legolan Changhai. It left me absolutely shocked,

439
00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:52.640
like I was. I was actually like flabbergasted, like and

440
00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:55.720
even people that know me there on the tour was

441
00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:58.480
surprised that I was like, so like, you know, thought

442
00:23:58.519 --> 00:24:00.480
it was so good, but it's.

443
00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:01.559
You don't think anything's good.

444
00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:06.920
No, that's true. It's true. It's true. It was yeah, true,

445
00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:10.319
it was like I was. I mean, if you look closely,

446
00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:13.359
like when you look at the theatrical show, they have

447
00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:15.720
a stage show there, you know, you're like, you know,

448
00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:17.599
kind of like squint and you're like, that's I mean,

449
00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:19.039
you know they could be better, right, All these things

450
00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:24.000
count better. But the theming again, the backdrops, the places

451
00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:29.400
for photos, the backdrops, the theming, uh, it was all excellent.

452
00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:32.160
The food, I mean everything is Lego food. You know,

453
00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:34.519
you if you buy a sandwich, it comes with Lego print,

454
00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:36.880
with Lego bread like bread shaped like a Lego brick

455
00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:38.680
that is then cut in half with a sandwich in

456
00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:40.720
the middle of it. You know, you got all these

457
00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:45.799
same elements, you know. And so it's the biggest Lego

458
00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:49.240
Land property anywhere. And I think it's incredible. The riodes

459
00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:51.200
are incredible, just everything just a to z. It's it's

460
00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:54.319
very very good. The service I thought was actually better

461
00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:58.079
at Lego Land than at Disney. And I heard later

462
00:24:58.119 --> 00:24:59.960
a little bit more about how that you know, it's

463
00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:02.400
again it's kind of like in this way, Disney was

464
00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:04.960
the pioneer, so all of the stuff starts at Disney,

465
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:07.160
like the training and the service, and that whole thing

466
00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:12.960
has to triggle out from there. So so yeah, I

467
00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:16.920
think the big takeaway for me was just in scene like, oh,

468
00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:20.640
there is a market you know for this type of development.

469
00:25:20.680 --> 00:25:23.160
And I think it's one thing for us to read

470
00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:24.680
the news on the show, which we do where we

471
00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:27.480
the news about the investment and the opportunity in China

472
00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:30.480
and all those stuff. But then you know, you always think, well,

473
00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:33.839
what level of immersion are they really going for? Right

474
00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:36.079
Like are they ready for you know, the full DMX

475
00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:39.359
controllable lighting sequences and shows and this and that, or

476
00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:41.680
is it just like something that's a lower tier like

477
00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:45.039
a six Flags or a Merlin property or something. And

478
00:25:46.839 --> 00:25:49.200
I'm not sure if they're ready for, you know, another

479
00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:56.400
Disneyland or another Universal somewhere, but definitely these these more

480
00:25:56.440 --> 00:25:59.160
regional brands or you know whatever the next step under

481
00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:01.839
brands are excellent quality at this, you know, and you

482
00:26:01.880 --> 00:26:04.279
do have a lot of a lot of and also

483
00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:07.640
the when I went to Demand, I was thinking about Demand,

484
00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:11.440
so it's clear they want to make legal Land approachable

485
00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:13.759
to families. They talk to us about that, so the

486
00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:17.079
pricings you know, different for that. But Disneyland was sold

487
00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:19.720
out and it was not cheap, and it was sold

488
00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:21.839
out the whole the most of the days I was there,

489
00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:25.839
it was completely sold out at at fairly high ticket prices,

490
00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:28.559
you know, And so I do think that again, just

491
00:26:28.599 --> 00:26:31.480
like similar to the US, there is people. There are

492
00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:33.400
people that have money. I mean, yes, a lot of

493
00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:37.200
them do not the middle classes is but there's an

494
00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:39.839
opportunity on both ends, similar to how here there's an

495
00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:42.839
opportunity for the more the more luxury items and the

496
00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:45.319
really good theming, and I think there's also a market

497
00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.319
for more value, family friendly approaches.

498
00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:49.680
But I think, you know, I think you hit the

499
00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:52.920
nail on the head when you said that generally, generally speaking,

500
00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:57.240
Chinese people are value conscious. Yes, so so as long

501
00:26:57.319 --> 00:27:01.359
as the perceived value is worth the amount that they

502
00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:04.440
are spending, then you're right. They're not. They're clearly, I

503
00:27:04.440 --> 00:27:07.200
mean obviously with with Disneyland being sold out, they're not

504
00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:11.119
going to back away from a product that they feel

505
00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:15.119
has a certain level of value for the for the cost.

506
00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:18.680
With with Lego end, you know, It's interesting because that

507
00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:20.680
you mentioned Lego end service you thought was actually better

508
00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:24.279
than than Disney. And I would go so far as

509
00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:27.240
to say that's true in most markets where there is

510
00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:29.400
both a Lego and a Disney. I think the same

511
00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:32.519
is true in Orlando. I think that the Lego Land

512
00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:37.720
has a certain mentality because they are the whole, the

513
00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:40.599
whole mentality in working in any of the Lego Land parks.

514
00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:43.480
And I did one very small project, one very teeny

515
00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:48.279
tiny project for them once, But it's all about connecting

516
00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:50.839
with the audience in a in a hands on way,

517
00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:57.200
and that that mentality that what's the word I'm looking for,

518
00:27:57.240 --> 00:28:02.559
That that sort of environment for their employees leads to

519
00:28:02.599 --> 00:28:06.039
better guest service because it encourages them to really pay

520
00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:08.359
attention to making certain that the guests have what they need.

521
00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:10.920
And if you think about it, it's the same way

522
00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:13.599
they would interact with children playing at a Lego table

523
00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:15.839
to make sure that they had the blocks and the bricks.

524
00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:18.480
They need to find that mentality of do you have

525
00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:20.960
what you need? Are you happy? Are you comfortable? Can

526
00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:23.839
I get you anything? Just sort of sounds like it

527
00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:26.720
spills over into the way they serve their food. The

528
00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:29.440
way they greet guests, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

529
00:28:29.640 --> 00:28:36.200
They're much more They're much more engaged with the guest

530
00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:39.440
experience as opposed to they're part of the guest experience

531
00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:42.000
as opposed to providing the guest experience. And I know

532
00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:44.799
that's a subtle difference, but being engaged with it I

533
00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:49.079
think makes for better customer service overall. And that is

534
00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:53.400
kind of in the Lego just the Lego vernacular, the

535
00:28:53.480 --> 00:28:55.839
Lego way of doing things, no matter where the Lego

536
00:28:55.880 --> 00:28:58.880
park is, because of the size of this one and

537
00:28:58.920 --> 00:29:00.400
the newness of this one. You know, one of the

538
00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:02.400
things that has always impressed me about Lego is each

539
00:29:02.440 --> 00:29:06.240
time they do a new park, it gets better. I've

540
00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:07.880
seen some of the early parks and some of the

541
00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:12.279
later and they just keep improving each time they install

542
00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:15.720
because they recognize, they really look at what the guest

543
00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:18.599
experience is and it may be because they're engaged with it.

544
00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:21.240
They're involved with it, and they want the guests to

545
00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:26.400
actually participate. And if they are participating with the guests,

546
00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:28.079
they have a better understanding of what the guests like,

547
00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:30.240
what the guests don't like, and it just keeps getting

548
00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:32.000
better and better and better and better, and it sounds

549
00:29:32.039 --> 00:29:36.079
like this is the most recent point on the pencil.

550
00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:39.359
This is the new crowning achievement for Lego and that's great.

551
00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:43.200
So as you can see, there's a lot going on

552
00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:46.440
in the Asian market right now. And in this show

553
00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:50.440
we were able to share Phillips notes from both Ayappa

554
00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:53.839
and his experience at Lego and Shanghai. What we're going

555
00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:55.880
to do in Unhinged is to talk a little bit

556
00:29:55.880 --> 00:29:59.079
about the business side because doing business in China is very,

557
00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:01.839
very different than doingusiness in the United States. And we've

558
00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:06.680
both had experience obviously both with UH with Gantum and

559
00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:09.920
the theme parks, and then I'm just starting to tap

560
00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:12.880
into that market and so we're gonna we're gonna kind

561
00:30:12.920 --> 00:30:16.160
of dive into that in Unhinged. So hopefully you'll be

562
00:30:16.160 --> 00:30:19.599
able to find us on Unhinged and and join us there,

563
00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:22.279
but if not, we'll see you again here next week

564
00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:24.759
on behalf of Philipernandez and myself Scott Swinz and this

565
00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:26.680
is Green Tag Theme Park in thirty and we will

566
00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:28.000
see you next week.
Scott Swenson, ICAE Profile Photo
Scott Swenson, ICAE

For over 30 years, Scott Swenson has been bringing stories to life as a writer, director, producer, and performer. His work in theme parks, consumer events, live theatre, and television has given him a broad spectrum of experiences. In 2014, after 21 years with SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Scott formed Scott Swenson Creative Development. Since then he has been providing impactful experiences for clients around the world. Whether he is installing shows on cruise ships or creating seasonal festivals for theme parks, writing educational presentations for zoos and museums or training the next generation of attractions professionals, Scott is always finding new ways to tell stories that engage, educate and entertain.

Philip Hernandez, ICAE Profile Photo
Philip Hernandez, ICAE

CEO of Gantom, Publisher of Haunted Attraction Network

Philip is a journalist reporting on the Haunted House Industry, Horror events, Theme Parks, and Halloween. He is also the CEO of Gantom Lighting and Founder / Publisher of the Haunted Attraction Network, the haunted attraction industry's most prominent news media source. He is based in Los Angeles.