Although the official opening of Shanghai Disneyland is still a month away, thousands of guests got the opportunity to get a first-hand experience of the theme park as it kicked off its six weeks trial operations on Saturday, May 7.

Tens of thousands of Chinese tourists flocked in long lines to take a glimpse of the $5.5 billion Disney resort in Shanghai. Saturday was an invite-only affair with some 10,000 staff, their family members and other guests welcomed. More people excitedly came the following day - Sunday, May 8 - with the headcount reaching approximately 30,000, according to Shanghai Daily.

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"The enthusiasm that we have seen before the park has even opened is surprising," Elliott Weiss, a professor from the University of Virginia who wrote a case study on Disney's entry to China, told Bloomberg. "It is probably a combination of the strength of the Disney brand and the changing structure of the Chinese economy, where the middle class consumer is rising and showing a preference for western brands."

The chosen guests were given exclusive access to some of the park's famous rides including Mickey's Storybook Express, Lives like Tarzan: Call of the Jungle, Golden Fairytale Fanfare, Frozen: A Sing-Along Celebration in Fantasyland and Peter Pan's Flight in Fantasyland.

While some were patient, others complained of the long lines and the that took at least an hour just to get on a ride.

The resort attracted both the young and the elderly. A number of elderly people were spotted at the park over the weekend. One 85-year-old retiree from Shanghai said Disneyland "opens the eyes of the old people and young people to see something like this."

The Shanghai Disenyland six-week trial will see the site over 10,000 visitors a day. China International Capital Corp. analysts, spearheaded by Xin Yang, estimate the guest list would include nearly 15 million visitors before the year ends.

TagsShanghai Disneyland, Shanghai, china, tourism, Walt Disney