Watch out Disney. China’s Fantawild looks to become a copycat entertainment powerhouse
Spirits were high in Wuhu, an old industrial city in east China's Anhui Province, as fun-seeking crowds descended on Fantawild Adventure Theme Park during the National Day holiday. More than 165,100 visitors—a record for the park and a 25-percent year-on-year increase—rode thrill rides, ate fun foods and enjoyed interactive games and stage performances.
Fantawild fills its theme parks—four are operational and five will launch soon in China—with independently developed content and technology. From its cartoons, animated films and digital games to its 3-D imaging technologies, all are on display at Fantawild's fun themed centers.
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The company also has namesake theme parks in Iran, Ukraine and South Africa.
4G theme park network
Like Disney and Universal Studios parks, Fantawild is a fourth-generation theme park focusing on visitor participation, interaction and overall experience, said Shang Linlin, Vice President of Fantawild.
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Fantawild's technology is "as good as Disney's, if not better," said Shang.
"It is the company's ultimate goal to match and surpass Disney in every facet imaginable," said Liang Guangwei, President of Huaqiang Holdings.
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For its overseas projects, Fantawild has cooperated with its partners familiar with local cultures, legal and business environments and the managing authorities. As the intellectual copyright holder of core technologies and equipment, Fantawild requires its partners to purchase equipment, just as Disney does. But compared with Disney theme parks, Fantawild's are less expensive. The Johannesburg Fantawild Park in South Africa, which is 770,000 square meters, will cost $250 million and take three years to complete. The Disney project in Shanghai, which is still being discussed, is reportedly worth 40 billion yuan ($6 billion).
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China became the second country after the United States capable of exporting an entire theme park operation when Fantawild's Iran project, worth about $111 million, was inked in 2007.
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To add versatility to its core competitiveness, Huaqiang bought a technology company with about 50 employees in 1998, and that company became Fantawild. With parental investment, Fantawild set out to make 4-D theaters with cylindrical screens in 2000. In 2002, Fantawild registered a patent in the United States for 3-D film imaging on cylindrical screens and has since developed and exported 4-D theater systems to more than 40 countries. The company also leased films tailored to the systems of overseas cinema operators.
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Currently, Fantawild holds about 100 patents and 150 trademarks in special film, cartoon and digital game production, software design and equipment manufacturing. Half of its employees are R&D personnel, including creative designers, said Shang.
"Compared with the Hong Kong Disneyland, we have much lower operating costs, thanks to a number of intellectual property rights we have," Shang said. "While the Disneyland operator in Hong Kong will need at least an annual flow of 8 million visitors to make both ends meet, we will lead a cozy life with 2 million visitors every year." ...
full story here. http://www.bjreview.com/16th_Asian_Games/2010-11/16/content_312853.htm