Disney doesn't Mickey Mouse around when it comes to self-promotion.

And its inaugural expo promoting the company's philosophy and products to an enthusiastic public is just one more sign of that.

About 20,000 people from all over the world visited the D23 Expo - the number paying tribute to the year Walt Disney set up the company - in Anaheim, Los Angeles, from Sept 10 to Sept 13.

The expo is an extension of the D23 club, a fan community established in March.

For $37 a day, visitors could catch exclusive previews of upcoming films and new theme park attractions, while also viewing the company's latest technological innovations and consumer products.

But there were few Chinese - or even Asians - in attendance, mostly because the schedule tacked two weekdays on to a weekend and was too expensive for them.

This made the presence of Chinese bloggers Li Song and Edmond Poon, who came at the company's invitation, all the more special.

"It is really a dream journey I would never have imagined," says Li, who works as a public relations manager in Beijing.

The 26-year-old has been a huge Disney buff since childhood. At age 18, he set up an unofficial online fan community, which has grown to be the largest of its kind in China.

Li had lunch with Disney International's chairman Andy Bird and Disney Studios Motion Picture Production president Oren Aviv. He previewed new footage from The Princess and the Frog and Toy Story 3, and screamed with tens of thousands of fans over the unexpected appearance of Johnny Depp at a presentation about Disney films.

And when he happened to meet Thomas Schumacher, a senior film and drama producer who created The Lion King, in a restaurant, he got free tickets to see Mary Poppins in New York. He also visited Schumacher's office after the two discussed their mutual passion for his works.

"Disney's concern for their fans exceeds my expectations," Li says. "I was in ecstasy during the trip."

Li was invited because he has long sung praises of the company. But Poon was invited because of his longstanding criticism of Disney.

The 40-year-old director of a company's merchandising department frequently blasted Hong Kong Disneyland in his blog and raised suggestions for improvement. The Hong Kong native often e-mailed the theme park's administrators to point out their shortcomings, too.

"I believe Disney's care of its fans also works for its own good," he says. "It will increase our love and loyalty."

Disney's profits declined in the most recent quarter because of dips in TV advertising revenues, DVD sales and domestic theme park attendance. The Los Angeles Times reported the firm's film studio suffered its first operating loss since 2005, despite the success of Up. ABC's summer primetime viewership also declined.

Emerging countries like China - home to a huge market that is less impacted by the recession than the West - make for an understandably tempting target.

As early as the 1930s, the animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs delighted Shanghai audiences. Today, the Magic Kingdom's business in the Middle Kingdom includes consumer products, TV, interactive media, movies and a theme park in Hong Kong.

According to Bird, licensing and retailing brought in the most revenue among all of its businesses in China last year. He refused to give details beyond calling China "an extremely important market".

"We are like a little baby in China, with a lot of space to grow," he told China Daily.

The Chinese government strictly controls foreign TV channels' launches on the mainland. So Disney still must partner with local TV networks to release content. And the interactive media business, mainly dealing with mobile or online games and communities, is relatively new.

Some of Disney's films are big hits in China, such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Up.

But the government's annual import cap of 20 foreign films remains a huge obstacle for garnering truly huge revenues and makes marketing film-themed products tricky business.

The two films co-produced with local talent - The Magic Gourd (Baohulu de Mimi) and Trail of the Panda (Xiongmao Huijialu) - did not rake in a huge box office gross, either.

A theme park seems to be the best way to attract more consumers, because it offers a venue for people to experience Disney's "magic" directly.

The upcoming expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland and the opening of Shanghai Disneyland will hopefully change the firm's fortune.

As CEO Robert Iger confirmed during the expo, the company has inked an agreement with the Shanghai government for the theme park's construction and is waiting for final approval from Beijing. There is no timetable for the project yet but it's expected to cover 8 sq km - six times the area of Hong Kong's Disney.

(China Daily September 16, 2009)