Sales channels 'overwhelmed' as customers compete to visit new park on opening day

Disney fans desperate to visit its Shanghai theme park on opening day crashed the official website on the first day of tickets sales.

The company says the first batch of tickets for June 16 were snapped up in just five minutes after going on sale at noon on March 28, with interest so intense that online services were overwhelmed.

A flagship Disney store in the Lujiazui area of Shanghai. Provided to China Daily

"The response was tremendous," according to the Shanghai Disney Resort. "We had more than 5 million hits on our official website in less than half an hour. The volume overwhelmed our system for a short period of time, but all of our ticketing channels - official website, WeChat, Alitrip Store and Reservation Center - are operating normally."

The company did not say how many tickets were sold.

The new resort's flagship store on Alitrip, one of its authorized ticket sellers, says it sold out standard admission tickets and two-day tickets, adding that more than 20,000 tickets went in 30 minutes.

The theme park offers regular tickets for 370 yuan ($57; 50 euros) and peak-time tickets - dates in high demand - for 499 yuan. Admission for the grand opening period, June 16 to 30, costs 499 yuan.

Ben Cavender, principal at China Market Research Group, says it's good for Disney to have other channels through which to sell tickets, such as Alitrip, phone hotlines and accounts on the WeChat app.

Meanwhile, hotels at the resort have started to take bookings, with rooms at Shanghai Disneyland Hotel starting at 1,650 yuan and those at Toy Story Hotel priced at 850 yuan.

Admission charges for The Lion King, the musical show, range from 290 to 1,000 yuan.

Li Song, 32, bought tickets for three days - the opening day, one night at Disneyland Hotel, three nights at Toy Story Hotel, and a ticket for The Lion King.

"You have to be there on the first day," says Li, who has been to the Disney parks in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris and Anaheim, California. "I missed the opening days for other Disney parks, so I couldn't afford to miss this one."

Shanghai Disney Resort expects to receive more than 10 million visitors a year, or about 27,000 a day, according to Shanghai Shendi Group, which set up the joint venture with The Walt Disney Co.