Key Terms

• Universal Studios: A theme park centered around movie IPs, emphasizing scene replication and special - effect experiences.
• Disneyland: Focuses on the combination of stories and amusement facilities to create an immersive experience for all age groups.
• IP Licensing: An operating model for theme parks, where local enterprises may obtain IP licenses for independent operation.
• Investment Intensity: An important indicator to measure the construction quality of theme parks, closely related to the attractiveness of IPs.
• Chinese Elements: An important consideration for the localization of theme parks in China, which requires continuous adaptation at both cultural and technological levels.

Abstract

This episode of Business Is Like This focuses on the popular business of theme parks, exploring its century - long development history and future trends. The program starts from the birthplace of Universal Studios - the Hollywood movie studio, compares the early concepts of Disneyland, and analyzes the essential differences between theme parks and traditional amusement parks. Through the case of Universal Studios Japan turning losses into profits, it reveals the importance of IP and the driving role of innovation in the development of theme parks. At the same time, the program also reflects on the deficiencies of domestic theme parks in IP creation, investment intensity, and localization, and puts forward forward - looking thoughts on the future development of Chinese theme parks.

Insights

The success of a theme park lies not only in the accumulation of amusement facilities but also in whether it can create a unique immersive experience to meet the emotional needs of consumers. While pursuing scale expansion, domestic theme parks should pay more attention to the in - depth exploration of IPs and refined operation, increase investment intensity, and create cultural IPs with Chinese characteristics to stand out in the fierce market competition. In addition, the construction of theme parks also needs to fully consider local cultural factors and achieve the integration of culture and technology to truly win the recognition of consumers.

Views

01 "The Core Competitiveness of Theme Parks Lies in IP"

A powerful IP is the key to attracting tourists. It can not only bring a stable flow of visitors but also drive the sales of derivatives, forming a complete industrial chain.

02 "Innovation Is the Driving Force for the Sustainable Development of Theme Parks"

Theme parks need to constantly introduce new projects and activities to maintain their attractiveness to tourists and extend their life cycle.

03 "Localization Is the Key to the Success of Theme Parks in the Chinese Market"

Theme parks need to combine Chinese cultural elements to create themes and scenes with Chinese characteristics to better meet the needs of Chinese consumers.

In - depth Analysis

Theme Parks: A Feast of Imagination and Capital

As the pandemic gradually stabilizes, the tourism industry is gradually recovering. Theme parks, as an important form of leisure and entertainment, have once again caught people's attention. The grand opening of Universal Studios Beijing has triggered in - depth thinking about theme parks as a "lucrative business". This episode of Business Is Like This analyzes the business logic and development trends of theme parks from three dimensions: history, cases, and reality.

From Hollywood Movie Studios to Global Entertainment Giants

The history of Universal Studios can be traced back to the 1910s in Hollywood. Initially, it was just a movie studio and outdoor shooting location for Universal Pictures. To increase revenue, Universal Pictures transformed the studio into a theme park, allowing tourists to experience the feeling of a Hollywood film set. This model laid the foundation for the birth of theme parks.

Different from Universal Studios, the birth of Disneyland originated from the personal experience of its founder, Walt Disney. He hoped to create a park that both adults and children could enjoy, so he combined the stories in Disney movies with amusement facilities, creating the concept of theme parks.

The essential difference between theme parks and traditional amusement parks is that the former pays more attention to storytelling and immersive experiences, while the latter focuses more on the thrill of amusement facilities. To achieve better immersion, Disney established a special position called "Imagineer" responsible for the scene design and construction of theme parks. These engineers need not only a wild imagination but also the rigor of an engineer to create scenes full of details and Easter eggs.

The Revival of Universal Studios Japan

Universal Studios Japan was once in an operating dilemma and faced the risk of bankruptcy. To turn the situation around, then - general manager Sun Gangyi went against the odds and introduced the latest IP at that time, Harry Potter, which had already opened in the United States. This move cost a huge amount of money, but he believed that the strong appeal of Harry Potter could bring a turning point to the park.

While introducing Harry Potter, Sun Gangyi also took a series of innovative measures. For example, he positioned the park as an "entertainment boutique store", introducing whatever was popular in the market; strengthened the appeal to families with 3 - 6 - year - old children; and launched activities such as the "backward - running roller coaster". These measures successfully increased the passenger flow and finally helped Universal Studios Japan turn losses into profits.

The case of Universal Studios Japan shows that IP is the key to the success of theme parks. A powerful IP can not only bring a stable flow of visitors but also drive the sales of derivatives, forming a complete industrial chain. In addition, innovation is also the driving force for the sustainable development of theme parks. Only by constantly introducing new projects and activities can theme parks maintain their attractiveness to tourists and extend their life cycle.

The Dilemma and Future of Chinese Theme Parks

In recent years, there has been a boom in the construction of Chinese theme parks. However, compared with Disneyland and Universal Studios, Chinese theme parks still have deficiencies in IP creation, investment intensity, and localization.

On the one hand, domestic theme parks lack original IPs with international influence. For example, although "Boonie Bears" of Fantawild has a certain popularity in China, its appeal is far less than that of Mickey Mouse of Disney and Harry Potter of Universal Studios. On the other hand, the investment intensity of domestic theme parks is generally low, resulting in the difficulty of matching the facility quality and service level with international first - class theme parks.

In addition, localization is also an important challenge for Chinese theme parks. Although many parks try to incorporate Chinese elements, they often remain on the surface and are difficult to truly impress consumers. During the construction of Universal Studios Beijing, the Chinese and American sides had multiple discussions on the proportion of Chinese elements, and finally determined it to be 30%.

To solve these problems, Chinese theme parks need to make efforts in the following aspects:

1. Strengthen the in - depth exploration and refined operation of IPs. Not only should they create cultural IPs with Chinese characteristics, but also pay attention to the derivative development of IPs to form a complete industrial chain.
2. Increase investment intensity and focus on facility quality and service level. Only by investing enough funds can they create attractive theme parks.
3. Achieve the integration of culture and technology to create themes and scenes with Chinese characteristics. Localization should not only stay on the surface but also deeply explore the connotation of Chinese culture and combine it with modern technology to truly win the recognition of consumers.

Forward - looking Thoughts

With the continuous development of the Chinese economy and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the theme park market still has great development potential. In the future, Chinese theme parks will show the following development trends:

• Differentiated competition. Each theme park will pay more attention to differentiated positioning and create themes and scenes with its own characteristics.
• Technology - enabled. New technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality will be more widely used in theme parks to enhance the immersive experience of tourists.
• Integration of culture and tourism. Theme parks will be deeply integrated with industries such as tourism and culture to form more diversified products and services.

The development of Chinese theme parks requires more imagination, service awareness, and capital investment. Only in this way can they truly create theme parks with international competitiveness and bring more joy and surprises to people.