If you can see both at once it could also ruin Space Mountains forced perspective (like happened in Orlando)
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HKDL gets new castle, frozen land and marvel land.
- Thread starter Kiwiduck
- Start date
There is an article that appeared on Japanese financial newspaper, Nikkei, that suggests HKDL is going to restart talks with the government to purchase phase 2 land.
This article is under a paywall and is in Japanese so be mindful that this is what I interpreted from the google translated opening paragraph.
This article is under a paywall and is in Japanese so be mindful that this is what I interpreted from the google translated opening paragraph.
Stevie Amsterdam
Well-Known Member
I'd love a second park and it would probably justify another 11+ hour flight for me to visit again. But to say the resort needs a new park is a bit much. There are several unique rides, almost everything is in pristine condition and wait times are incredibly low, compared to all the other Disney parks around the world.
Take Tokyo, for example. Based on the visitor numbers alone that one needs a third park.
Thus far they obviously don’t think a shopping district would offer a ROI.
Not even a cafe and Disney store on the esplanade.
cjkeating
Well-Known Member
HKDL seem to have snuck in a last minute refurbishment for Mystic Manor which is bang in the middle of my upcoming trip. I know it is what it is but having Mystic Manor closed is really annoying. I'm not sure when it was posted but it was not showing when they had other attractions posted as closed on their calendar.
Due to operational adjustments, Mystic Manor will be temporarily suspended from May 6 to May 19, 2025.
Due to operational adjustments, Mystic Manor will be temporarily suspended from May 6 to May 19, 2025.
Supersnow84
Well-Known Member
I think they are stuck in a chicken and egg situation
People don’t see the single park as enough to justify spending extended periods of time there so Disney doesn’t see a shopping district as worth it but since there isn’t a shopping district it contributes to why people don’t spend enough time there to justify a shopping district
HKDL alone doesn’t have enough space to make the resort a multi day destination by itself even if they used every piece of space they had including the cast only areas. If they made every part of the current park land accessible it would be a strong 2 weak 3 day park for most guests. They simply need more in the wider resort to make it worth people to stay longer, Disneyland can’t do it alone
It’s a fantastic resort ( so much so we’re going again this year despite others being closer) but it seems to be wanting to be bigger and stumbling at the final hurdle time after time; be it a second park, forth hotel or shopping street. All the pieces are ready but they just can’t put them into place.
Hopefully the attendance increase continues and a decision is made. It has so much potential.
Supersnow84
Well-Known Member
That’s the feeling I get, it’s so close to greatness, the diehard community has already realised it. It’s just missing that last jump to put it on the map like Tokyo to your general park fans
It just needs something that’s not Disneyland, whatever that is they just need to go for it and do that thing
Stevie Amsterdam
Well-Known Member
Bummer mate
I totally understand the disappointment.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Yes, it seems so close to being a real destination resort including the fact it is so conveniently located near the airport for those flying in. As long as there is just one theme park and a few hotels, though, basing a holiday around HKDL Resort is going to be a hard sell for most people.
The problem seems to be whether the numbers really work for a second park and you really don't want a WDSP situation where a weak second park becomes a weight dragging down the entire resort just as it was becoming profitable. My impression is that, were they to open a second park, they would have to make sure it didn't face the criticisms of the original park for being too small/underbuilt and be prepared for at least a few years of losses as they worked to build the market for the resort beyond Hong Kong. Considering how much all this would cost and the uncertainty it would ever pay off, I unfortunately understand why they may not be keen to pull the trigger.
Certainly for non-locals (like us) I don’t know why they don’t market it more as a destination that offers a world class park plus a convenient base to explore Hong Kong. Like you said airport access is so easy and anyone who’s done it knows how good access to the city is.
In Europe you see zero advertising for it.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Yeah, you would think they would package it that way. I remember Disneyland brochures back in the day (I'm thinking early 1990s) with a page or two about the attractions of Southern California as a way of pitching it as a base for a longer vacation. You would think HKDL could pitch itself similarly as a good way to take a family vacation to Hong Kong.
I haven't lived in Australia for a while, but I do go back every year for about a month and my impression is that HKDL has largely dropped off the radar there, too. I remember it was advertised when the resort first opened, but now they seem to exclusively pitch Disneyland in Anaheim to Australians and a lot more aggressively than the used to. However, HKDL is closer and probably cheaper to get to. I believe Australian tourism to the US has dropped substantially in recent months as it is from everywhere else, so it could be an opportunity to take a fresh look at pitching HKDL as an alternative.
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DLR92
Well-Known Member
It can’t remain a one park resort facility. Disney has to set the bar with its Hong Kong property. Otherwise what the point to have all this expansion land being not utilized? Disney should have learned their mistakes on the past from all regions; Hong Kong, Anaheim, Paris. You can’t under build and provide mediocre service and quality. It a big turn off from a consumer standpoint of view.
Timothy_Q
Well-Known Member
Rushing to build a second park before fleshing out more of the first one would be a huge financial gamble that I don't think would be smart for HKD right now.
Considering the park is still not pulling in the necessary crowds, It would likely put them in the red and make it very hard for them to get out of it, messing up future expansions for decades to come.
HKD still needs a couple more unique E+ tickets to draw people in before thinking of a second gate
Considering the park is still not pulling in the necessary crowds, It would likely put them in the red and make it very hard for them to get out of it, messing up future expansions for decades to come.
HKD still needs a couple more unique E+ tickets to draw people in before thinking of a second gate
I would agree that HKDL needs more E/F-ticket attractions to fully flesh out the park, but the idea of a second gate has been in the works for quite a while now though. The first concept for a second gate appeared very early into HKDL’s life. Disney’s Enchanted Forest would have a treehouse style castle and an animatronic dragon on the bottom level similar to Paris. More recently in the late 2010s, new plans were being developed for a second gate by imagineer Joe Lanzisero before being derailed by the protests and then the pandemic. Joe Lanzisero is famous for developing ToonTown and the canceled Muppets Movie Ride before then being lead at to Tokyo, bringing many attractions to life like Tokyo’s Splash Mountain and Hightower ToT. He’s also famous for bringing Duffy to Tokyo and creating his backstory that led the Duffy and Friends being the phenomenon they are today. Joe was then drafted to HKDL where he developed the 3 mini-land expansion of Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, and Toy Story as well as the Explorer’s Lodge hotel. I’m sure whatever plans he created would’ve been amazing and highly detailed with such a high caliber imagineer behind them.
Supersnow84
Well-Known Member
The resort definitely cannot afford a second gate right now. As we have seen from parks that open after euro Disney the park would need to be launch day Shanghai calibre to be considered acceptable. That’s a massive undertaking for a park that can’t even pull Shanghai’s numbers itself
We have to consider the idea that HK simply just has a potential guest cap that is lower than the other parks. HK itself is much smaller than Shanghai and its a lot harder for the GBA to reach Hong Kong than it is for them to say go to chimelong ocean kingdom. It just might never be feasible for HK to pull numbers like Tokyo because of its position even if it offered equitable offerings
Because when you think about it I’m assuming based on total attractions people would probably put HK a little below the 4 old magic kingdoms but it pulls less than half of their attendance: there seems to be something holding HK back that isn’t quality of its offerings because if that was the only factor it would be pulling at least Shanghai’s numbers if not Paris
We have to consider the idea that HK simply just has a potential guest cap that is lower than the other parks. HK itself is much smaller than Shanghai and its a lot harder for the GBA to reach Hong Kong than it is for them to say go to chimelong ocean kingdom. It just might never be feasible for HK to pull numbers like Tokyo because of its position even if it offered equitable offerings
Because when you think about it I’m assuming based on total attractions people would probably put HK a little below the 4 old magic kingdoms but it pulls less than half of their attendance: there seems to be something holding HK back that isn’t quality of its offerings because if that was the only factor it would be pulling at least Shanghai’s numbers if not Paris
I still think there’s a perception among general public park goers that it’s a small and cheap copy and paste park. And among even less savvy potential visitors many don’t even know it exists. The amount of colleagues I’ve talked to and didn’t know it even existed (“there’s one in Hong Kong as well??!!”)
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I do also wonder whether the potential market is just smaller for HKDL. They seemed to build it with that idea that it would be a scaled-down Disneyland for smaller markets as almost a test case to see if that worked. And, of course, that didn't really fly! On the other hand, they always planned for a second park, hotels, etc., so on some level they must have assumed the potential at least existed for growth.
I would have thought it could be sold effectively as the Disneyland for South-East Asia. You have countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, etc. not too far away, Hong Kong is well-connected by air to the region, and HKDL couldn't be more conveniently located for flying in and going directly between the airport and the resort with minimum hassle for short trips. I don't know how big that market is, but I would have thought if you could make it a fashionable holiday for upper middle class families in the region who stay at the hotels, eat at the restaurants, etc. it could be quite lucrative even if the raw numbers are not at, say, Disneyland Paris levels.
I got the exact same reaction when I mentioned to people back in Melbourne that I was stopping at Hong Kong Disneyland on the way back to Europe!
