A lone security guard stands watch over the ruins of the American Dream theme park on the outskirts of Shanghai, now just a cautionary tale for starry-eyed foreign investors.
Opened with great fanfare in 1996, the US$50-million amusement park shut its doors last year, brought down by its distant location, lack of public transport and high ticket prices, industry officials said.
If Walt Disney opens a theme park in Shanghai, Mickey Mouse will be treading the well-worn path of other investors, some of them dismal failures, in a sector crowded with similar projects.
Industry officials estimate at least seven amusement or water parks, foreign-invested and home-grown, have gone bust in Shanghai because of lack of funds, poor planning and fierce competition.
Shanghai has 80 registered amusement parks, though most are small, city officials say. The only two large theme parks remaining are Jinjiang and Tropical Tempest, a foreign-invested water park.
Disney has a preliminary deal with Shanghai for a park, but sources say more negotiations are needed to bring the Magic Kingdom to the city. Disney will not confirm or deny if it has signed an agreement.