Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland (Chinese: 香港迪士尼樂園) (abbreviated HKDL;[1] also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It was the first Disneyland in Asia outside of Japan until Shanghai Disneyland in 2016.[2] Hong Kong Disneyland is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by Hong Kong International Theme Parks. It is the most visited theme park in Hong Kong, followed by Ocean Park Hong Kong.[3] Hong Kong Disneyland opened to visitors on Monday, September 12, 2005, at 13:00 HKT. Disney attempted to avoid problems of cultural backlash by incorporating Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when designing and building the resort, including adherence to the rules of feng shui. Notably, a bend was put in a walkway near the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort entrance so good qi energy would not flow into the South China Sea.[4]
The park consists of eight themed areas: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, Toy Story Land, and World of Frozen. The newest themed area — World of Frozen, opened on 20 November 2023.[5] There are single tickets and annual passes, called Magic Access, that are available for tourists who visit Hong Kong Disneyland.[6] The theme park's cast members speak Cantonese, English, and Mandarin. Printed guide maps were printed in traditional and simplified Chinese as well as English. Guide maps are now available on the Hong Kong Disneyland mobile app as well as the ability to reserve park visits and other related information for park visits.[7]
The park has a daily capacity of 34,000 visitors[8] — the lowest of all Disneyland parks. 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,[9] inciting criticisms from local legislators.[10] However, the park attendance jumped by 8% in the third year, attracting a total of 4.5 million visitors in 2007. In 2009, the park attendance again increased by 2% to 4.8 million visitors. The attendance continued to surge and received 5.23 million guests in the 2009/2010 fiscal year. Since the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, the theme park has hosted over 100 million guests.[11] According to AECOM and TEA, Hong Kong Disneyland is the 13th most visited theme park in the world in 2013, with 7.4 million visitors.[12]
Majority-owned (53%) by the Hong Kong Government but managed by Disney, the park first turned an annual net profit of HK $109 million (US $13.97 million) for the year ended 29 September 2012.[13][14] However, it has operated at an increasing loss in 2015, 2016 and 2017.[15] Hong Kong Disneyland currently occupies 27.5 hectares (68 acres)[16] and hosts 6 million to 7 million visitors annually. The park capacity will increase to handle up to 10 million visitors annually over a 15-year expansion period.[17]
Amenities[edit]
Hong Kong Disneyland gives out free birthday badges to people celebrating their birthday at Hong Kong Disneyland. Name tags are also available when you ask the cast members. One of the special features of Hong Kong Disneyland is that there are free Disneyland themed stickers given out in the park and hotels. Visitors may ask cast members for these exclusive stickers. Each sticker is themed by an individual Disney character.There are also select cast members who wears stashes offering opportunities for pin-trading.
Criticisms[edit]
2005/2006 Overcrowding problems[edit]
Just before the grand opening, the park was criticised for overestimating the daily capacity.[51] The problem became apparent on the charity preview day on 4 September 2005, when 30,000 locals visited the park. The event turned out to be a disappointment, as there were too many guests. Wait times at fast food outlets were at least 45 minutes, and wait times at rides went up to 2 hours.
Although the park's shareholders and the Hong Kong Government set pressure upon the park to lower the capacity, the park insisted on keeping the limit, only agreeing to relieve the capacity problem by extending the opening time by one hour and introducing more discounts during weekdays. However, the park stated that local visitors tend to stay in the park for more than nine hours per visit, implying that the mentioned practices would do little to solve the problem.
During the Lunar 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 full capacity. Some disgruntled visitors, mainly tourists, attempted to force their way into the park by climbing over the barrier gates.[52] Disneyland management was forced to revise their ticketing policy and designated future periods close to public holidays as 'special days' during which admission would only be allowed through a date-specific ticket. Ticket prices during the week were changed to reflect cheaper prices. Meanwhile, weekend prices were raised. The prices were changed in an attempt to crowd-control so the crowds would be more even throughout the week and therefore the lines would not be as bad on weekends.
Public relations[edit]
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 declared[53] on 24 November 2005, that Disney had 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 tickets to holders of Hong Kong I.D. cards in the period before 2005 Christmas. Also, from March to June 2006, the park offered Hong Kong I.D. card holders the opportunity to purchase a two-day admission ticket for the price of a single day ticket.[54]
In popular culture[edit]
In the 2012 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic comedy film Podaa Podi, a song depicting the relationship between a father and son, written by Vaali and sung by Silambarasan himself, was shot with him and his 1 year old nephew Samarth at Hong Kong Disneyland, making it the first Tamil film to be shot there.
The hit Indian sitcom Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah filmed episodes 1470 to 1478 at Hong Kong Disneyland, where various show characters experienced the attractions.
The music video for the song "Boss" by MIRROR was filmed at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2021.[69]
