Brief history of Disneyland

Disney currently runs five theme parks around the world. They are located in California and Florida in the US, in Tokyo, Paris and in the Hong Kong SAR. All have generated huge profits but the parks have also faced tough times.

In 1955, the first Disneyland park opened in Los Angeles, California. It was the world's first modern theme park, combining Disney cartoon characters with games and rides.

The park was an instant hit. To capitalize on its success, Disney began building a bigger one in Orlando, Florida. In 1971, the new park opened to the public after five years of construction, costing a staggering 760 million US dollars.

Disney decided that two parks would be enough for the American market and focused its expansion on Europe and Asia. Paris Disneyland opened in 1992, and two years later Tokyo's venue opened.

Both venues were hugely popular in the first few years. Paris Disneyland received more visitors than the Louvre and Eiffel Tower. Tokyo Disneyland handled more visitors than the total visitors in the US.

The latest Hong Kong park opened in 2005, as the SAR government hoped it could stimulate its economy by attracting more travellers from the mainland and overseas.

In recent years, Disneyland parks have not been profitable, despite heavy investment. The past third quarter saw a 9 percent sales drop and a 19 percent income decrease, at all five venues. The financial crisis is certainly a cause. But considering that Mickey Mouse is already 80 years old, Shanghai has to come up with a fresh way to create another Disneyland fever in five years.