Disney banked its biggest-ever profit payout from a non-US theme park last year as part of a lucrative deal with the Chinese government, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Recently filed accounts show that The Walt Disney Company’s theme park in Shanghai paid out £43.1million to one of the US conglomerate’s UK-based subsidiaries in 2025, up from £41.8million the previous year.
Shanghai Disneyland, which opened its doors in 2016, is the entertainment giant’s third biggest park behind its resorts in Orlando, Florida, and Paris.
The 963-acre complex on the outskirts of the city comprises two hotels, a lake and an entertainment district in addition to the fairytale-themed park.
Unlike Disney’s other theme parks, which it controls outright, the US giant owns less than half of the Shanghai resort, with the majority stake controlled by China’s state-owned Shanghai Shendi Group.
