Hong Kong Disneyland Opens!

Yenfid

Yenfid

Active Member
Original Poster
Disney Opens Theme Park in Hong Kong
September 12, 2005 8:53 AM EDT
HONG KONG - Hong Kong Disneyland threw open its gates to the public Monday, marking Mickey Mouse's biggest push into China - a market the U.S. company hopes will flood the theme park with splurging tourists from the world's most populous nation.

With the pink Snow White Castle behind them, Disney executives and a senior Chinese leader celebrated the opening with musicians clanging cymbals, Chinese lion dancers prancing precariously on tall poles and fireworks bursting in the sky.

The ceremony ended with a parade of skipping Disney characters old and new: Mickey, Donald Duck, Mushu the dragon, Lilo and Winnie the Pooh.

Robert Iger, president of the Walt Disney Co., said it was exciting being part of China's future. "As millions discover the wonders of Hong Kong and China - one of the most rapidly growing travel destinations in the world - the future is indeed bright," he said.

Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong called the park, "Hong Kongers' eternal carnival."

Hundreds of visitors lined up outside the park's gate, waiting to get in amid muggy, sweltering heat.

Michael Kuzma, of Celebration, Fla., began queuing up a day early and was first in line. "I think for over 50 years, the American people have experienced the happiness of Disney theme parks. I hope the people of China can enjoy the happiness," the 36-year-old consultant said.

The attraction and its two resort hotels are surrounded by mountains on lush Lantau Island, just 30 minutes away by subway from bustling central Hong Kong. It looks much like the first Disneyland in California, with a Space Mountain thrill ride, a classic Cinderella Carousel and Sleeping Beauty Castle - which Disney predicts will be one of the most photographed buildings in Asia.

Hong Kong's government - the biggest investor in the $3.5 billion park - says the attraction will help turn this global financial capital into Asia's best family holiday spot.

Disney hopes the park, the 11th in its global empire, will be a magnet for increasingly wealthy Chinese tourists, who have a reputation for being big-spenders.

Iger, president of Walt Disney Co., has said the Hong Kong park is a "first big step" in expanding the company's reach into China, where generations have grown up with little or no familiarity with Mickey Mouse.

Iger said the park would create a media buzz and word-of-mouth excitement that would ignite interest in Disney films, TV shows and other products. Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television broadcast the Disneyland opening live to viewers across China.

Michael Eisner, Disney's chief executive officer, said China and Disneyland will be a perfect match because they both value families.

"You go to the park and you see mothers, daughters and kids and grandparents. The family unit in China is unbelievably strong. It's not just Hong Kong, it's mainland China," Eisner said.

An hour before Monday's opening ceremony, a small crowd of labor, human rights and anti-Disney activists gathered outside the park's front gate, chanting "No Conscience" and "Evil Mickey." They were protesting alleged labor abuses at factories making Disney products in China. Disney has said it's investigating the claims.

Hong Kong and Disney struck a deal to build the park in 1999 - just two years after the former British colony returned to Chinese rule. The city had been battered by the Asian financial crisis, and desperately needed a new project to boost its spirits and troubled economy.

Disneyland says it employs 5,000 people and will draw 5.6 million visitors in its first year.

So far, the biggest complaint among some of the thousands who got a sneak peak at the park during a soft opening period has been that Hong Kong Disneyland is too small. It's Disney's smallest park at about 100 acres.

The entire attraction - including the two hotels - is 298 acres, and there's room to expand to nearly 500 acres.

Chinese tourist Zhang Wei predicted the park would be a big hit with the mainland Chinese.

"Disney has a big name and it will definitely attract people and be a success," said the 38-year-old businessman from Beijing as he finished watching the daily parade of floats carrying a waving Little Mermaid, Alice in Wonderland and Buzz Lightyear.

Hong Kongers have a reputation for being brusque and unsmiling, but the Disneyland staff - including cleaners and guards - have been trying to master the Disney tradition of giving guests a warm smile and hello.

The greetings were Hong Kong visitor Evie Chan's favorite thing about the park. "The staff here is very friendly," said Chan, an employee of a marketing firm in her late 20s. "It's like we've known each other for a long time."
 
Tim G

Tim G

Well-Known Member
Yesterday, (Sep. 12) Just after one o'clock on a steamy afternoon, hundreds of Chinese sprinted down Main St, U.S.A., past the Corner Cafe and Sweet Store in their Disney T-shirts and caps, holding on to their cameras.

Too rushed to talk, they ran through the heat of a Hong Kong summer's day, to the hottest ride in town, Space Mountain in Tomorrowland, just minutes after Disneyland flung open its gates in its first foray into the massive China market.

Hong Kong banker Candy Lau was one of the first in line.
She had taken the day off with her husband, and was trying the rides amid horror stories of two-hour lines.

In a show of support for the special administrative territory perched on its southern coast, China's Vice President Zeng Qinghong attended the opening at the 129-hectare (318-acre) park, flanked by Hong Kong's leader Donald Tsang and Disney's top executives.

As many as 16,000 people were set to flock to Penny Bay on Lantau Island, a half-hour train ride from this congested city's central business area.

Organizers say the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland is likely to be the biggest media event since the former British colony was handed over to China in 1997.

The opening comes six years after Hong Kong's government and the California-based Disney agreed to jointly develop the $3.5 billion project.

Hong Kong was in the doldrums at the time, and desperately wanted to add some glamour to its economy, known for banking, investment, shopping and shipping.

Hong Kong has battled setbacks from the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s and the deadly SARS epidemic of 2003.

For Disney, Hong Kong was a launch pad into the world's most populous nation and fastest-growing market, and a huge play on China's burgeoning middle class.

In a show of support for the beleaguered Hong Kong, China allowed its nationals to travel to the city of 6.8 million people in 2003.

Since then, floods of mainland Chinese have flocked to Hong Kong picking up brand-name goods, crowding to its jewelry stores and eating out at its myriad restaurants.

The world's best-known entertainment company is counting on these increasingly affluent mainland tourists in its third international venture, and it's second in Asia after Japan.
Officials estimate one-third of the visitors at Hong Kong Disneyland will be from mainland China, one-third from Hong Kong and the rest from Southeast Asia.

As many as 150 million people live within a 300-mile radius of Disneyland, and Disney is counting on this population to visit and stay at the park.

In a telephone survey of 1,500 mainland Chinese who lived in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, market research firm AC Neilsen said one-third would either consider going or would go to Disneyland.

Disney says it has learned from its park in France. It decided to start off small in Hong Kong, so that it could become profitable with 5.6 million visitors a year, and build the second phase later on.

The U.S.-based company also learned that it needed to fit into the local culture after it realized it made a major faux pas in Paris by not serving wine.

In Hong Kong, feng shui has played a large part in the park's design.
It moved its main gate so it was facing the right direction, put a bend in its walkway so that "chi" or energy does not flow into the South China Sea and does not have the unlucky number four in its elevators.

A feature of the Hong Kong park are the Chinese garden pavilions, where trigger-happy picture snappers can pose with Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters.
The 21 rides at the Hong Kong park are tame, after market research showed Asians weren't after the more scary versions.

In weeks of rehearsals leading up the grand opening, where as many as 100,000 people turned up, Disney discovered that Asians like to have long, expensive dinners and had to upscale on mobile food trolleys and seats.

Still the park, which looks much like the first Disneyland in California, with a Sleeping Beauty Castle, Space Mountain thrill ride and a Cinderella Carousel, has been beset by obstacles.

Earlier in the year, beetles began eating up the beds, while in August packs of wild dogs wondered down from the hills and invaded the park.

And the reviews have not all been rosy.
Early visitors said the lines were too long and the size at hectares (311 acres) was too small (Tokyo has 180 hectares, Paris 1,943 and Florida 11,300 hectares).

Disney also had to ditch shark fin's soup after local uproar over its use.

Still, the majority of people in Hong Kong support the park, according to local surveys and China's government is also very much behind the project.

Disney officials believe once the park is built out to 180 hectares, it will attract 10 million visitors annually.

Hong Kong leaders hope that the region will diversify into a family destination, China's state-run news agency said in September report.

Disney has said that it will focus on Hong Kong for the next decade, with the second phase of the park under discussion.

Some facts:

- The park is expected to boost tourism and consumer spending, which is a driver of the local economy.

- Some 5.6 million visitors are expected to visit Hong Kong Disneyland in its first year, more than half of them from mainland China and many of them first-time visitors to Hong Kong.

- Hong Kong Disneyland projects visitor numbers will reach 10 million a year within a few years.

- Investment house CLSA forecasts the benefits of the opening of Disneyland in terms of tourism and extra spending will help Hong Kong's economy grow by 7 percent this year, making it one of Asia's best performers.

- Hong Kong Disneyland estimates the park will generate US$19 billion in revenue over 40 years.

- The government and Disney have formed a joint-venture company, with the government owning 57 percent and Disney 43 percent.

- The park will create 18,000 jobs across the economy in its first year and another 36,000 jobs in the next two decades, according to government estimates.



And now.... I'm going to bed, it's been one hell of a day... (burb):D :slurp: :lol:
 
MiCkEyROCKSxalp

MiCkEyROCKSxalp

New Member
Yenfid said:
With the pink Snow White Castle behind them, Disney executives and a senior Chinese leader celebrated the opening with musicians clanging cymbals, Chinese lion dancers prancing precariously on tall poles and fireworks bursting in the sky.
Click to expand...
Not Snow White Castle, Sleeping Beauty!!
 
Connor002

Connor002

Active Member
Yay! It's finally opened, maybe now they can put some more focus on their stateside parks. Not to say that they have ignored us, far from it, but maybe now they can focus on expanding and improving our parks.
 
dflye

dflye

New Member
Connor002 said:
Yay! It's finally opened, maybe now they can put some more focus on their stateside parks. Not to say that they have ignored us, far from it, but maybe now they can focus on expanding and improving our parks.
Click to expand...
While I hope for the same, I think Disney is going to be focusing on multiple fronts at once.

From the Miami Herald:
The company is now on a push to conquer the tougher Asia market. Disney said it is in discussions to open a second China park, most likely in Shanghai, sometime in the next decade.
Click to expand...
 

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