Disney
Resort experience vision for inclusive, technology-enabled entertainment.
How might Disney create a future resort experience that remains globally consistent while feeling locally meaningful to Chinese families?
Children in Asia nowadays may not be familiar with Disney's classic characters and stories, while younger parents bring new expectations for family vacations. These shifts shaped a new set of design principles for the 2030 resort experience.
Explored future entertainment and hospitality experience strategy for Shanghai Disney Resort, aligning local and global stakeholders around a 2030 hotel vision. The work translated family, inclusivity, technology-enabled interaction, and repeat-visit behavior into strategic experience directions for a large-scale consumer destination brand.
Challenge
Disney needed a future-facing resort concept that could resonate with local audiences while supporting global alignment. Past resort experiences had not fully reflected local insights, lifestyle habits, family expectations, and cultural differences, which limited guest satisfaction and emotional relevance. The challenge was to create a locally meaningful Disney brand experience by combining storytelling, hospitality, technology-enabled engagement, inclusive family needs, and a long-term vision for Shanghai's future resort experience.
Solution
I led the team to translate China-specific guest insights, family travel behaviors, and Disney's global values into a 2030 hotel experience strategy. We created three guest archetypes, needs-driven scenarios, four creative directions, and twelve opportunity concepts, connecting hospitality, spatial storytelling, IP engagement, data-enabled personalization, and culturally aware service into a locally resonant Disney brand ecosystem.
Impact
Created an opportunity for Disney headquarters to understand Asian guest behaviors, family travel habits, and cultural expectations beyond standard global assumptions. The work turned local insight into concrete resort and mixed-reality design scenarios, helping teams align hospitality, IP storytelling, spatial interaction, and technology use around culturally specific moments that could deepen resonance and repeat visitation.
About
Disney
Shanghai Disneyland has been revealed as Disney's highest-earning international theme park, paying out over $500 million in profits since its opening a decade ago and welcomed its 100 millionth guest in 2025, becoming China’s most visited theme park and one of the world’s five most visited. Continued expansion across themed lands, hotels, retail, dining, and locally resonant storytelling reflects China’s strategic importance to Disney’s future hospitality and immersive experiences.