Summary of Key Points
An incident at Shanghai Disneyland, where guests with exclusive cards cut in line, caused outrage among regular visitors. In response, the park reinforced the privileges of these exclusive cards (allowing them to form separate groups and not offering available seats to regular visitors), revealing Disney's use of "price discrimination" to extract money from consumers at every level: by creating anxiety through unlimited crowds, Disney offers different tiers of paid services (basic tickets, early entry cards, exclusive cards, premium guided tours) to exploit customers with varying budgets, ultimately achieving high profits. However, this has sparked debates about fairness and consumer dignity.
1. The Incident That Triggered the Outrage: The Conflict Between Regular Visitors and Exclusive Card Holders
The conflict at Shanghai Disneyland stemmed from a clash between "time and money." A father was waiting in line for his daughter for three hours when guests with exclusive cards continuously cut in front of them, leading him to exclaim, "Who paid more should go first?" This scenario hit a nerve with many people—while regular visitors were stuck in the heat, VIP guests entered quickly, which was infuriating to see.
Netizens divided into two camps:
- Empathy Camp: They viewed exclusive cards as a form of "cutting in line under the guise of service," taking seats that should have gone to regular visitors, especially in front of children, as a violation of dignity.
- Market Camp: They argued that it's only fair for those who pay more to enjoy extra privileges, similar to first-class airline tickets.
However, Disney's subsequent actions escalated the controversy: originally, guests with exclusive cards and regular visitors sat together (with seats available for regulars if needed), but after the incident, they were forced to sit separately, with no seats reserved for regulars—this move was seen as a complete disregard for their needs.
2. Disney's Price Discrimination: From Tickets to Guided Tours, Every Step Is Designed to Empty Your Wallet
Disney's pricing strategy is to make everyone with money pay the most:
- Basic Tickets: Prices range from 400 yuan upwards, with significant differences between weekdays and weekends/holidays (up to 260 yuan more on weekends). There's also an additional 149-yuan "early entry card" for those who don't want to wait.
- Exclusive Cards: For popular attractions, the 180-yuan card eliminates the need to queue, but prices rise annually, making it a sought-after option. To experience all popular attractions, the total cost is at least 2000 yuan per person.
- Premium Guided Tours: priced between 3988 and 6988 yuan per person, offering exclusive access and prime viewing spots for fireworks shows, clearly targeting wealthy customers.
Disney even deliberately prolongs queue times in regular areas by reducing the number of people allowed through—“If regular queues were only 30 minutes long, who would buy the expensive exclusive cards?” This strategy aims to create a sense of discomfort and compel customers to spend more.
3. Why Disney Can Get Away With It: High Attendance Levels Are Their Biggest Advantage
Disney's confidence stems from their massive visitor numbers:
- In 2024, Shanghai Disneyland welcomed 14.7 million visitors, ranking first among Chinese theme parks in annual attendance.
- It took Hong Kong Disneyland nine years to reach the same milestone, highlighting Shanghai Disney's popularity.
- The park never limits visitor numbers; more people mean longer queues, and the more expensive exclusive cards become.
In short, as long as there are enough people willing to queue, Disney can continue to profit from creating anxiety and selling privileges.
4. The Harsher Rule Changes: The Sense of Dignity Is the Final Straw
What's most frustrating is not just the cutting-in behavior but the park's indifferent response to the change in rules:
- Previously, exclusive and regular guests sat together, giving a sense of shared experience. Now, they are completely separated, with seats reserved for exclusive card holders even when there are empty ones—this sends a clear message: "If you didn't pay, you don't deserve these benefits."
- In contrast to first-class airline tickets, where economy class passengers don't have to queue and are separated from first-class customers, Disney's lack of physical separation makes regular visitors feel powerless, especially when parents with children watch others enter quickly.
5. Behind the Business Logic: Your Pain = Disney's Profit
Disney's model is highly profitable:
- In fiscal year 2025, its total revenue was 94.4 billion US dollars (a 3.6% increase), with a net profit of 12.4 billion US dollars (a 149% increase). This success comes from exploiting consumer surplus—making the wealthy pay more for premium services and ordinary visitors buy basic tickets to boost attendance.
- Ironically, Shanghai Disney's basic ticket prices are among the highest compared to local incomes, meaning regular visitors have to endure longer queues and a poorer experience for their money.
While paying for services is a market practice, Disney's approach goes beyond fair differences in service, turning to exploiting consumer pain. This explains why the incident sparked widespread anger: fairness and dignity are more important than just waiting in line.
Conclusion
Disney's commercial success is undeniable, but its practices are indeed problematic. When a company focuses on extracting as much money as possible from consumers while neglecting basic fairness and respect, it may gradually lose customer trust. After all, no one wants to pay for products that also trample on their dignity.