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    First Cafés, Then Bars — Now, Young Chinese Study, Work at Disneyland

    With pricey annual passes in hand, students and office workers are squeezing productivity into theme park trips, making the most of every visit.

    At Shanghai Disneyland, visitors queue for rides, popcorn, and photos with their favorite characters. Cai Cai lines up for a quiet bench — to flip open her textbook, and prepare for an upcoming English exam.

    Between study sessions, the 22-year-old math major wanders through the park, snaps photos with Disney characters, and pauses to watch the afternoon parade. Study, break, repeat, somehow fitting exam prep into a place built for escape.

    “I wanted to relax, but spending an entire day at Disneyland seemed like a waste of time to me. That’s when I got the idea to study there,” Cai told Sixth Tone. Once her studies were done, she ended the day with fireworks. “The experience helps me to relax mentally while remaining productive.”

    With academic pressure high and work hours long, young Chinese long sought out unconventional spaces to balance study and escape. Coffee shops, hotel lobbies, and self-study rooms became makeshift classrooms. Then came daytime karaoke lounges, bathhouses, and even bars hosting academic debates.

    At Shanghai Disneyland and Universal Studios Beijing, for instance, it’s not unusual to see students hunched over textbooks on café patios or office workers reviewing reports between roller coasters. Some sit in designated rest areas with tablets in hand, while others time their study breaks around parades and fireworks.

    The trend is especially popular among annual pass holders looking to get the most out of their memberships. Disney’s pass starts at 1,399 yuan ($190), while Universal Studios offers a student pass for 988 yuan. With three visits, the cost evens out, making theme parks a practical escape for frequent visitors.

    A lifelong Disney fan, Cai bought the 1,399 yuan pass last March. Her campus sits just 30 minutes from the park, making quick visits easy. As exams approached, she struggled to balance studying with downtime — until she decided to do both at once.

    According to Cai, she focuses on tasks like vocabulary recitation and quick exercises that don’t require long periods of concentration. Beyond efficiency, studying at Disneyland was about motivation.

    “I want to study hard, get a good job, or continue my education so I can keep living in a big city,” she said.

    In recent months, posts about studying in theme parks have gone viral on Chinese social media. A search for Disney or Universal Studios “self-study” on the lifestyle app Xiaohongshu pulls up thousands of posts, with users sharing study tips and favorite spots inside the parks.

    Despite the buzz, not everyone is convinced. Critics argue that theme parks are hardly ideal for studying, questioning whether participants are truly focused or just staging “performative studying” for social media. The noise, crowds, and distractions, they say, make real concentration nearly impossible.

    For Xian Douhua, a 26-year-old PhD student in medicine, theme parks offer something libraries can’t — energy. “Studying at home or in a library felt stifling,” she said. She had always preferred cafés, where white noise helped her focus.

    But at Universal Studios in Beijing, the atmosphere made even research papers feel less daunting. “Seeing everyone dressed up and happy really helps ease the stress of writing papers.”

    Since last summer, she has followed a simple routine: arrive around noon, study between shows, and wrap up by 7 or 8 p.m. To save time, she picks rides with waits under 30 minutes. “It’s about balance,” she said.

    Xian admits theme parks aren’t for everyone. “If you’re easily distracted or have urgent tasks, a traditional study environment is definitely more efficient,” she said. But for her, the lively atmosphere helps shake off stress and keep her motivated.

    She’s mindful of other visitors, choosing quieter spots like less popular restaurants to avoid disruptions. “If I were here just for fun and saw someone studying, I might subconsciously lower my voice,” she said.

    To minimize the impact, she visits during off-peak hours. “As long as it doesn’t break any rules, I think it’s worth trying at least once.”

    Editor: Apurva

    (Header image: Visuals from Xiaohongshu, re-edit by Sixth Tone)