I think it says something that the first Disney park annual pass I've ever gotten -- and this is after extensively visiting the U.S. parks for decades -- is for HKDL. Of course, it helps that you can get an AP for HKDL (called "Magic Access") starting at about $30 more than a 2-day ticket... and that the AP allows you to easily save many times that amount just on the cost of staying at one of the on-site hotels, which are both fantastic.
On top of that, the discount on food and merch can also come in handy when you feel tempted to buy out a good chunk of the Archive Shop -- which is stocked full of very nice merchandise themed specifically to Mystic Manor/Mystic Point. In addition to the usual pins, shirts, and plush (the several plush variants of Albert were extremely popular), I appreciated the fact that the store also offered items specifically targeted to the adult Disney fan demographic.
Things like S.E.A. (Society of Explorers and Adventurers, part of a thematic backstory that links HKDL with TDS) leather passport covers and luggage tags, and a very cool polo shirt, are nice enough to warrant a purchase by the casual visitor, but have that extra additional appeal to a diehard Disney fan. To me, this says that the park actually cares about all of its demographic bases, and not just the broadest possible swath of the general public. It's a lesson that some of the domestic parks are only starting to learn -- that catering at the same time to casual, "once in a lifetime" visitors and to diehard Disney fanatics is not a mutually exclusive proposition. (It wasn't just Mystic Point that had "land"-specific merchandise -- Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land also featured a wide variety of items themed specifically to their respective areas. And not once did a merchandise CM fail to ask whether I was an AP when they ran me up -- a fact I appreciated, as it ensured that I received my AP discount on every purchase.)
But in this area, as in many others, HKDL has seen tremendous improvements since I first visited in 2007. I remember trying in vain to find a nice, HKDL-specific T-shirt on that visit -- and the pins and plush on offer were all of the generic "Disney parks" variety. What a difference a few years make -- not to mention the determination by park management to commit to quality and detail over a "lowest common denominator" mentality.
This commitment has clearly permeated down to the CM level. I remember encountering a number of indifferent CMs during my first visit 7 years ago. In addition, despite the fact that HK was a British colony for over a century, I found that many CMs were unwilling or unable to effectively communicate in English with guests. This time around, every CM I encountered was at least proficient in English, if not fluent -- there certainly seemed to be a higher percentage of English-speaking CMs than at TDR. Furthermore, every CM I met was unfailingly polite, helpful, and competent. Even when a particular CM at a store might not know about the availability of a specific type of merchandise, for example, they were able to immediately find a store manager who was both fluent in English and thoroughly knowledgeable. I had many highly enjoyable conversations with CMs, both in the park and hotels, and I felt that HKDL CMs across the board really understand and embrace what it means to work for a Disney theme park.
There were countless examples of CMs going the extra mile to ensure that I had what Disney might characterize as a "magical" vacation. At HKDL, however, the "magic" was more than just lip service -- it was going the extra mile to tend to a guest, not because you're going to get a monetary bonus or some sort of formal recognition, but because it's inherent in the brand of the company you're working for. In short, I really felt the "Disney difference" at HKDL -- something that's been sorely lacking at some of the company's other parks for a long time.
On several occasions, CMs who saw me taking photos, or expressing a particular interest in theming or some other aspect of the park, took the time not only to engage me in conversation, but went out of the way to make the interaction special. In the Main Street Corner Cafe, this meant not only taking a photo of me with my meal, but gathering a group of CMs to help photograph me with a very amusing prop. And after I'd ridden Mystic Manor a couple of times, some CMs recognized me. We had a nice conversation about the attraction, which ended up with them presenting me a beautiful, illustrated and personalized certificate featuring Lord Henry and Albert -- something I would gladly have paid for had it been for sale. (I won't even mention all the stickers and other ephemera that I was given over the course of my visit.)
These are the sorts of interactions that you see depicted in the photos in Disney brochures and websites -- the kind of spontaneous embodiments of so-called "magic" that are actually increasingly rare in real life. The fact that so many HKDL CMs took the time to engage an adult visitor in such a fashion (not to mention a visitor from the U.S., who was unlikely to return to the park in the near future) really amazed and impressed me.
