Shanghai Disney guest food ban criticised by Chinese state media

A  week after the issue generated widespread comment among China’s online community, a ban on guests bringing outside snacks into the Shanghai Disney Resort has seen Chinese state media accuse the Walt Disney Company of “double standards”.

Following a Chinese college student's reported legal action against the Shanghai them park for refusing her entry with food she had bought elsewhere, China’s People’s Daily, accused Walt Disney Company of adopting double standards in its Asian parks and those in the USA, where it said the same rules did not apply.

The People’s Daily commentary read “As a multinational company, Disney doesn’t just have parks in Asia - the rule doesn’t apply to those in Europe and America. If banning outside food is understandable, going through visitors’ bags by hand is an infringement of consumers’ privacy and dignity.”

As reported in the South China Morning Post, the Walt Disney Company responded to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV claiming that the ban was consistent with most theme parks in China, as well as with other Disney parks in Asia, advising “if visitors bring their own food and beverages, they may enjoy them in the rest area outside the park.”

The South China Morning Post reported that while many were unhappy about the food ban, some web users noted it was a common practice in the Chinese theme park industry.

A commenter on China’s Weibo service noted: “Not just Disney, there are so many theme parks on the mainland that ban outside food and beverages and search visitors’ bags. There have been plenty of such consumer complaints being ignored over the years. Let’s treat all of them fairly.”