Hong Kong Disneyland
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| Disney theme park | |
  Mickey and Minnie in summer outfits at Main Street, U.S.A. |
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| Hong Kong Disneyland | |
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| Resort | Hong Kong Disneyland Resort |
| Opening Day | September 12, 2005 |
| Theme | Magic Kingdom |
| Website | Hong Kong Disneyland Homepage |
| Operator | Hong Kong International Theme Parks |
| Hong Kong Disneyland | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 香港迪士尼樂園 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 香港迪士尼乐园 | ||||||||||
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| Hong Kong Disneyland Resort |
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Hong Kong Disneyland |
| Resort hotels |
| Hong Kong International Theme Parks |
Hong Kong Disneyland (Chinese: 香港迪士尼樂園) is the first theme park inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks.
Hong Kong Disneyland, the fifth Magic Kingdom-style park, is located on a reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. After years of negotiations and construction, the park opened to visitors on September 12, 2005, considered an auspicious date according to Chinese almanacs for the opening of a new business. Disney attempted to avoid problems of cultural backlash by attempting to incorporate Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when designing and building the resort, including adherence to the rules of Feng Shui. For instance, a bend was put in a walkway near the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort entrance so good "chi" energy wouldn't flow into the South China Sea. [1]
The park consists of four themed lands similar to other Disneyland parks: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland. There is as yet no Frontierland, although it may be included in future expansion projects. The theme park's cast members use English and Chinese, including Cantonese and Mandarin dialects, to communicate verbally. Guide Maps are printed in both Traditional and Simplified characters, English, French, and in Japanese.
The capacity of the park is 34,000 visitors per day[2], and is the smallest Disneyland park. It has so far fallen short of meeting its targeted visitorship figures. The park attracted 5.2 million visitors in its first year, below its target of 5.6 million. Visitor numbers fell 20% in the second year to 4 million, which was below company targets,[3] inciting criticisms from local legislators.[4] However, the park attendance slightly increased by 8% in the third year, attracting a total of 4.5 million visitors in 2007-2008 fiscal year. Since the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005, the theme park has attracted 15 million guests.
The park's small size is often cited to explain its under-performance. Currently 22.4 hectares (55 acres) in size, it will be expanded to 27.4 hectares (68 acres)[5] when three new themed areas are completed. The announced areas, namely Grizzly Trail, Mystic Point and Toy Story Land, are all located outside the Disneyland Railroad track, south to the current Adventureland. After the opening of the three new lands, the park is expected to handle 7.92 million to 8.92 million visitors in 2014. Eventually, the park capacity will increase to handle up to 10 million visitors annually over a 15 year expansion period.[6]
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[edit] Dedication
| “ | To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Many years ago, Walt Disney introduced the world to enchanted realms of fantasy and adventure, yesterday and tomorrow, in a magical place called Disneyland. Today that spirit of imagination and discovery comes to life in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Disneyland is dedicated to the young and the young at heart - with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration, and an enduring symbol of the cooperation, friendship and understanding between the people of Hong Kong and the United States of America. |
” |
Michael D Eisner and Donald Tsang, September 12, 2005
[edit] Construction
An audience of more than 400 guests celebrated the ground breaking of Hong Kong Disneyland on January 12, 2003.Those present included Tung Chee Hwa, then Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China; Michael D. Eisner, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company; and Robert A. Iger, President of The Walt Disney Company.[7]
On September 23, 2004, a special "castle topping ceremony" was held in the park to commemorate the placing of the tallest turret on Sleeping Beauty Castle. Among those present were Tung Chee Hwa, then Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Jay Rasulo, president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts; Michael Eisner, then CEO of The Walt Disney Company; and Bob Iger, president of The Walt Disney Company, in addition to Mickey Mouse and other costumed characters. Hong Kong Disneyland had the shortest construction period among all of the Disneyland-style theme parks.
The park adds new attractions continuously. See Future construction for more details
[edit] Themed areas
The park consists of four classic themed lands, which are Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.
In 2014, Hong Kong Disneyland will include a total of seven themed lands with the addition of Grizzly Trail, Mystic Point and Toy Story Land, which were announced for the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland. The first new themed land is expected to open in late 2011.
[edit] Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A. is patterned after a typical Midwest town of the early 20th century. Hong Kong Disneyland's Main Street is a replica of the original Main Street in Disneyland, with a combination of Queen Anne architecture and complete new interior designs of the buildings. It is reminiscent of the Victorian period of America with the train station, town square, city hall, firehouse complete with a steam-powered pump engine, emporium, shops, double-decker bus, and other bits of memorabilia.
Main Street is also the first area guests enter upon entering the park. At the far end of Main Street, U.S.A. is Sleeping Beauty Castle, which provides entrance to Fantasyland by way of a drawbridge across a moat. The Hub, which is a portal Adventureland and Tomorrowland.
The design of Main Street, U.S.A. utilizes a process to give the appearance of height called forced perspective, frequently used in movies. Buildings down Main Street are built at 3/4 scale on the first level, then 5/8 on the second story, and 1/2 scale on the third—reducing the scale by 1/8 each level up.
[edit] Adventureland
Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland is the biggest among all Disney parks and its atmosphere and layout are very different from its counterparts.
Adventureland resembles Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort as it is home to the key romantic regions of the world. Guests can walk through Polynesia, South Seas, Africa, Southeast Asia with Thailand and Cambodia. It features a large island where Tarzan's Treehouse stands. The island is circled by the Rivers of Adventure, much like the Rivers of America in most Magic Kingdom–style parks' Frontierland area. Attractions are: Jungle River Cruise boat ride, Rafts to Tarzan Island and Tarzan's Treehouse, Liki Tikis, and "Festival of the Lion King" Broadway show. Professor Porter's Trading Post is the only merchandise in Adventureland.
The latest additon of Adventureland was Demon Jungle, an attraction for the annually Haunted Halloween event. The path which lead to Demon Jungle will connect to the recently announced new themed land Grizzly Trail in the future.
[edit] Fantasyland
.JPG)
- Snow White Grotto
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Cinderella Carousel
- Mad Hatter Tea Cups
- Sleeping Beauty Castle
- Sword in the Stone
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Mickey's PhilharMagic
- Fantasy Gardens
- Fantasyland Train Station
- The Golden Mickeys
- "it's a small world"
[edit] Tomorrowland
[edit] Character appearances
Meet 'n' greet is one major feature among all Disney parks. Visitors can to encounter and interact withwith various characters from Disney's animated features and live-action films.
[edit] Main Street, U.S.A.
[edit] Adventureland
[edit] Fantasyland
- Snow White
- Cinderella
- Alice
- Queen of Hearts
- Princess Aurora
- Marie
- Winnie the Pooh
- Piglet
- Tigger
- Eeyore
- Belle
- Esmeralda
- Woody
- Mulan
- Mushu
- Jessie
[edit] Tomorrowland
[edit] Entertainment and celebrations
The park features both a daytime parade "Disney on Parade" and "Disney in the Stars", a fireworks show, in the evening. Seasonal entertainment, such as Disney's Haunted Halloween, A Sparkling Christmas and Disney's Chinese New Year, are held in the park to celebrate main festivals.
[edit] Entertainment
- Disney on Parade
- A day-time parade which features 9 floats with famous Disney characters including Mickey and Friends, Chip 'n' Dale, Disney Princesses, Alice, Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie.
- Disney's Rainy Day Express
- A parade shown on rainy days that consists of a specially designed train with characters wearing brightly colored raincoats.
- High School Musical: LIVE!
- A uniquely created mobile stage-show inspired by the movie High School Musical and its sequel High School Musical 2. It features a troop of singers and dancers mostly from the Philippines and Hong Kong on a mobile stage which will stop at Castle Forecourt for performance with hit songs from the movie, including "What Time Is It?" and "Get'cha Head in the Game". This is a new attraction launched on March 7, 2008..
- Disney in the Stars
- Nightly fireworks based on a similar format used in the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks at other Disney theme parks, fireworks and pyrotechnics are co-ordinated to orchestrated classic Disney music such as "A Whole New World".
- Muppet Mobile Lab
- a free-roving, audio-animatronic entertainment implemented on a Segway platform, an interactive comedy show performed by two Muppet characters, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker. The characters ride their two-wheeled rocket-ship/laboratory vehicle.
[edit] Seasonal entertainment
- Mickey's WaterWorks
- A summer, water-themed parade that consists of seven new floats, 100 performers and 30 Disney characters. This parade was originally created for Mickey's Summer Blast celebration, Mickey's WaterWorks made its debut on July 7, 2007, and now runs annually in the summer months.
- Glow-in-the-Park Halloween Parade
- This parade, designed for the Haunted Halloween event, features seven floats. This parade will be shown again during the Disney's Haunted Halloween event (from 26 September 2008 until 1 November 2008) with a newly-added Ghostly Parade Ship.
- 'Let it Snow' Christmas Parade
- A Christmas parade that features floats with Christmas decorations from Disney on Parade during the A Sparkling Christmas event from 27 November 2008 until 2 January 2009 and now runs annually during the winter months.
[edit] Park celebrations
| Celebration | Attractions and entertainment* | Year |
|---|---|---|
| A Magical Christmas | Tree Lighting Ceremony | 2005 |
| Magical Chinese New Year | Chinese New Year Celebration Stageshow | 2006 |
| Disney's Halloween | The Villains' Lair; and Halloween Costume Mini-Parade |
2006 |
| A Magical Christmas | Santa's Corner; and Mickey's Sing-a-long Tree Lighting |
2006 |
| Disney's Chinese New Year | Disney "Come and Celebrate" Stageshow | 2007 |
| Pirate Takeover | Captain Jack Sparrow's Pirate Boot Camp; Mirabella, the Gypsy Fortune Teller; "The Doctor of Soul" Voodoo Drum Show; Pirate Procession; and Pirate Party Nights |
2007 |
| Mickey's Summer Blast | Animation Academy; Mickey's WaterWorks; and Stitch's Summer Blast Dance Party |
2007 |
| Disney's Haunted Halloween | Main Street Haunted Hotel; Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy; Villain in Adventureland; and Glow in-the-Park Halloween Parade |
2007 |
| A Sparkling Christmas | Santa's Workshop; Ice Fantasy; 'Let it Snow' Christmas Parade; and Sparkling Castle Lights |
2007 |
| Year of the Mouse Celebration | Mickey's House; A Salute to Mickey Statues; Mickey's Rockin’ the Mouse Castle Show; Adventures in Fashion; and Rhythum of Life: Dragon Procession |
2008 |
| Nonstop Summer Fun | "it's a small world"; Turtle Talk with Crush; Mickey's WaterWorks; High School Musical: LIVE! and Muppet Mobile Lab |
2008 |
| Disney's Haunted Halloween | Demon Jungle; Main Street Haunted Hotel; Adventureland Haunted Trial; Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy; Scary Photo Fun; and Glow-in-the-Park Halloween Parade |
2008 |
| A Sparkling Christmas - Royal Kingdom | Mickey's Christmas House; 'Let it Snow' Christmas Parade; Royal Christmas Ball; and Sparkling Castle Lights |
2008 |
| Mickey Celebrates the Year of the Ox | Lucky Trail; Mickey's House; and Celebration in the Street Procession |
2009 |
| Celebration of Love | 2009 | |
| Star Guest Program | Star Guest Badge; Mickey's House; Magical Moments; and Exclusive Star Experiences |
2009 |
| Summer Fun, Stitch Style | Stich's Get Silly Photo Scenes; Stitch Summer Dance Bash; and Mickey's Waterworks |
2009 |
| Disney's Haunted Halloween | Alien Invasion; Demon Jungle; Main Street Haunted Hotel; Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy; Scary Photo Fun; and Glow in-the-Park Halloween Parade |
2009 |
| A Sparkling Christmas - A Winter Wonderland | "it's a small world christmas"; 'Let it Snow' Christmas Parade; and Lights of Winter |
2009 |
Note*: Festive entertainment is shown in italic
[edit] Future construction
[edit] Finished construction
The Phase 1 Extension began with three new attractions for Tomorrowland that opened in the summer of 2006. In 2008, the Art of Animation, which is located in the Opera House, and the classical attraction "it's a small world" was added.
The outer edge of Adventureland was under construction from early May to September 2008, adjacent to Festival of The Lion King and the rafts dock. Digging was under way beneath the berm, to permit expansion beyond the railroad track perimeter. A temporary structure for Demon Jungle, an exclusive attraction for the 2008 Halloween season was built in the area beyond the railroad. Also, the walkway will link to new themed lands in the future.
[edit] Recent construction
The Walt Disney Company has been negotiating with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong on funding the upcoming Phase 1 Extension. The park plans to introduce three new theme lands, which will increase the total land area of the park by about 12 hectares. A number of new thrilling rides had been chosen and will be built in order to satisfy the market of young-adults and teenagers. It is reported that the preparation for groundbreaking has been finished and the park is ready to start the construction once it has granted permission from the government. In order to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Hong Kong Disneyland, the park is aiming to start the construction in 2009 so that the first part of the extension will be able to open in 2011, while the second part of the project is expected to be finished in 2013, one year prior to the opening of the Shanghai Resort.
On 30 June 2009, Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, announced that the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland had been approved by the Executive Council. The park will receive three new themed lands, they are Grizzly Trail, Mystic Point and Toy Story Land. The park will feature a total of seven themed areas after the completion of all the new attraction. Later in July 2009, the Legislative Council approved the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland. Constructions of the three lands may start in late 2009.
[edit] Planned construction
Currently, a new shopping district (see Downtown Disney) and the third hotel are taken into discussions. Announcements of these two additions for the resort may be made in March 2010.
For long-term construction, with the reclaimed land reserved for the Phase 2 Extension and the Disneyland park being blocked by the Park Promenade (a pedestrian walkway which links the MTR Disneyland Resort Station, Disneyland park and Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel), it is expected that the resort's second Disney theme park will be built on that site.
A Phase 3 Extension is also being considered by the Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong Government.
[edit] Criticisms
[edit] Overcrowding problems
Just before the grand opening, the park was criticised for overestimating the daily capacity limit.[8] The problem became apparent on the charity preview day on 4 September 2005, when 30,000 locals visited the park. This event turned out to be a disaster, there were too many guests. Wait times at fast food outlets were at least 45 minutes in length, and wait times at rides were two hours in length.
Although the community, and the park's biggest shareholder, the Hong Kong Government, put pressure on the park to lower the capacity, the park insisted on keeping the limit and only agreed to relieve the capacity problem by extending opening time by one hour or introducing more discounts during weekdays. However, the park said local visitors tend to stay in the park for about nine hours per visit, implying that the mentioned practices would do little to solve the problem[citation needed].
During Chinese New Year 2006, many visitors arrived at the park in the morning bearing valid tickets, but were refused entry, because the park was already at capacity. Disgruntled visitors attempted to force their way into the park or gain access by climbing over the barrier gates.[9] Disneyland management was forced to revise their ticketing policy and designated future periods close to Chinese public holidays as 'special days' during which admission would only be allowed through a date-specific ticket.
[edit] Food safety panel
Officers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene department, who were asked by Disney staff to take off their badges and caps in order to enter the park, left park visitors feeling very uneasy. The officers investigated a food-poisoning case in the park's restaurants.[10] The chairman of Legco's food Safety panel, Fred Li, described the incident as shocking, and called on the director of the department to take follow-up action against Disney. Hong Kong Disneyland says what happened was inappropriate and has apologised for the incident. The Secretary for Justice has since said that the government did not have enough evidence to make a prosecution, thus dropping the case.
[edit] Fingerprinting
As at other Disney theme parks, visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland have their finger biometrics scanned at the entry gate. Vistors are not warned of the policy beforehand. Scanning is done of all vistors older than 10 years of age, and is used to associate ticket media with the person using it. The company claims that "the 50 sample points from the surface of a guest's finger ... do not contain sufficient information to recreate a fingerprint image." Nonetheless, forensic specialists note that the data collected are more than adequate to establish a positive identification. [11]
[edit] Public relations
Disney initially refused to release the attendance figures after media reports surfaced saying the park's attendance numbers might be lower than expected. Disney finally relented, and declared[12] on November 24, 2005, that Disney had officially welcomed over 1 million guests during its first two months of operation.
In response to negative publicity locally and to boost visitor numbers, Hong Kong Disneyland offered $50 discounts for admission to the park to holders of Hong Kong I.D. cards in the period before Christmas in 2005. In the period from March to June 2006, the park offered holders of Hong Kong I.D. cards the opportunity to buy a two-day admission for the price of a single day.
[edit] Park ambassador
- High glory ambassador
- 2004 to present is Jacky Cheung
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.disneylandreport.com/disneysecrets/hong_kong_disneyland_secrets/hong_kong_disneyland_feng_shui_secrets_facts.html
- ^ Chan, Carrie (December 20, 2007). "Disney ups intake for new year". Hong Kong Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=34507&sid=11427047&con_type=1&d_str=20061220&sear_year=2006. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ^ Hong Kong Disneyland Fails to Hit Target
- ^ Hong Kong legislators criticise Disneyland results - International Herald Tribune
- ^ http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-09/28/content_8744536.htm
- ^ Background information on Hong Kong Disneyland
- ^ Hong Kong Disneyland | Discover More
- ^ "It's a small park: Hong Kong Disneyland faces overcrowding". International Herald Tribune. 2005. http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/07/business/disney.php?page=1. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ^ Fan, Maureen (November 22, 2006). "Disney Culture Shock". Hong Kong Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=20&art_id=32372&sid=10991562&con_type=1&d_str=20061122&sear_year=2006. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ^ Leung, Wendy (November 10, 2005). "Wong under fire as Disney escapes action in FEHD case". Hong Kong Standard. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=25410&sid=5401592&con_type=1&d_str=20051110&sear_year=2005. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ^ Doctorow, Corry (September 1, 2006). "Walt Disney World fingerprints visitors". BoingBoing.com. http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/01/walt-disney-world-fi.html. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051124/ap_on_bi_ge/hong_kong_disneyland_2
[edit] External links
[edit] Official websites
- Hong Kong Disneyland (Official Website) (Chinese & English)
- Hong Kong Disneyland (Official Website) (Japanese)
- Google Maps (Satellite Image) (Latitude: 22.313 Longitude: 114.041)
[edit] Fan websites
- Practical info for parents planning to visit HK Disneyland with babies and toddlers
- HongKongDisneyland.info (Japanese)
- Dreamagic World - Fans site of HKDL providing the most updated news (Japanese)
- 香港主題公園博客誌（Hong Kong Theme Parks Blogazine）(Chinese)(English)
- Hong Kong Disneyland Source (English)
- Hong Kong Disneyland Secrets (English)
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Coordinates: 22°18′48″N 114°02′36″E / 22.31333°N 114.04333°E
