<p> Entertainment giant Disney opened a massive theme park in Shanghai today, hoping to win over communist-ruled China's growing middle class with the ultimate American cultural export.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Thousands waited in long lines in the rain-drenched park, hoping to be among the first to ride attractions such as a futuristic rollercoaster based on the "Tron" science fiction films.<br /><br />The opening comes after tragedy struck Disney's resort in the US state of Florida, where an alligator killed a two-year- old child at the shore of a lake in the massive complex.<br /><br />Walt Disney World said it had shut down all of its Florida resort beaches and marinas as a precaution after the incident.<br /><br />The Shanghai resort is the US company's sixth in the world and the first in mainland China - there is already one in Hong Kong.<br /><br />Workers broke ground on the project in 2011 and the Shanghai Disney Resort now sprawls over 3.9 square kilometres on the city's outskirts, with a fairy-tale castle soaring over the horizon.<br /><br />But the launch of the USD 5.5-billion resort, representing one of the biggest ever foreign investments in China, comes as growth in the world's second largest economy slumps to its lowest level in a quarter century.<br /><br />Still, the world's most populous country is simply too big to ignore, Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger said.<br /><br />"We wanted to make a strong statement. After all, this is the largest market in the world," he told journalists before the park opened.<br /><br />Iger himself viewed the present site for the project, which is a cooperative venture with state-backed Shanghai Shendi Group, in 1999.<br /><br />Speaking at an opening ceremony, he said: "This is one of the most exciting moments in the history of the Walt Disney Company."<br /><br />Despite the economic slowdown, some changes over the past five years are in Disney's favour: the government's shift towards encouraging domestic consumption as the new driver of growth and relaxation of the strict "one child" family planning policy.<br /><br />The highest-ranking Chinese official to attend the opening, Vice Premier Wang Yang, said the rain was a "symbol of fortune".<br /><br />He forecast a "golden era" for tourism in China, which would help boost the economy. "I would like to call this rain a rain of US dollars or Renminbi."<br /><br />Disney calculates there are 330 million people living within a three-hour journey of Shanghai who are potential customers.</p>
<p> Entertainment giant Disney opened a massive theme park in Shanghai today, hoping to win over communist-ruled China's growing middle class with the ultimate American cultural export.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Thousands waited in long lines in the rain-drenched park, hoping to be among the first to ride attractions such as a futuristic rollercoaster based on the "Tron" science fiction films.<br /><br />The opening comes after tragedy struck Disney's resort in the US state of Florida, where an alligator killed a two-year- old child at the shore of a lake in the massive complex.<br /><br />Walt Disney World said it had shut down all of its Florida resort beaches and marinas as a precaution after the incident.<br /><br />The Shanghai resort is the US company's sixth in the world and the first in mainland China - there is already one in Hong Kong.<br /><br />Workers broke ground on the project in 2011 and the Shanghai Disney Resort now sprawls over 3.9 square kilometres on the city's outskirts, with a fairy-tale castle soaring over the horizon.<br /><br />But the launch of the USD 5.5-billion resort, representing one of the biggest ever foreign investments in China, comes as growth in the world's second largest economy slumps to its lowest level in a quarter century.<br /><br />Still, the world's most populous country is simply too big to ignore, Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger said.<br /><br />"We wanted to make a strong statement. After all, this is the largest market in the world," he told journalists before the park opened.<br /><br />Iger himself viewed the present site for the project, which is a cooperative venture with state-backed Shanghai Shendi Group, in 1999.<br /><br />Speaking at an opening ceremony, he said: "This is one of the most exciting moments in the history of the Walt Disney Company."<br /><br />Despite the economic slowdown, some changes over the past five years are in Disney's favour: the government's shift towards encouraging domestic consumption as the new driver of growth and relaxation of the strict "one child" family planning policy.<br /><br />The highest-ranking Chinese official to attend the opening, Vice Premier Wang Yang, said the rain was a "symbol of fortune".<br /><br />He forecast a "golden era" for tourism in China, which would help boost the economy. "I would like to call this rain a rain of US dollars or Renminbi."<br /><br />Disney calculates there are 330 million people living within a three-hour journey of Shanghai who are potential customers.</p>