
Attendance at Shanghai Disneyland exceeded expectations during its debut year, attracting nearly double the number of visitors compared to its mature counterpart in Hong Kong, according to Walt Disney data.
The number of visitors to the US$5.5 billion theme park reached 11 million earlier this week, several days before its one-year anniversary on Friday, according to Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts.
Watch: Shanghai Disneyland beats estimate with 11 million visitors
It was “a milestone we achieved much faster than even our most ambitious expectations”, Chapek told reporters on Friday. “We were extraordinarily encouraged by the unbelievable result.”
The full-year number beat an earlier estimate of 10 million visitors in the first 12 months by Shenwan Hongyuan Securities.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Disney theme park reported 6.1 million visitors in the financial year to October 1.

Shanghai Disney Resort, Walt Disney’s sixth of its kind worldwide, officially opened on June 16, 2016.