HONG KONG: Disneyland updates [Archive]

hkskyline

March 6th, 2005, 12:38 AM

Hong Kong Disneyland Opens Hotel Reservation Hotline

http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/b8278715d1f6de/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_intro_btopimg.gif

HONG KONG (February 15, 2005) - A magical vacation at Hong Kong Disneyland is now just a phone call away as the theme park today announced the launch of its Hotel Reservation Hotline on (852) 1830 830.

In the lead up to Hong Kong Disneyland's opening on September 12, the Hotel Reservation Hotline is open to guests who have been waiting to be among the first to book a complete magical Disney vacation. The exciting vacation package includes a stay at either the Victorian-style Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel or the Tinseltown-inspired Disney's Hollywood Hotel, accompanied with Hong Kong Disneyland Park tickets.

During today's official launch ceremony, Roy Tan Hardy, Vice President Marketing and Sales and Peter Lowe, General Manager Hotel Operations, presented an exciting glimpse into the magical vacations guests will enjoy.

"The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, which includes two Disney hotels and our world famous Disney theme park, will offer an unparalleled, world-class family vacation experience for guests of all ages," Hardy said. "Our Disney hotels are the first premium resorts in Hong Kong designed specifically for families and will extend and complement the immersive and magical experience that our Park offers, complete with dining, shopping and entertainment."

Built on Walt Disney's founding vision of a family place where 'parents and children can have fun together', the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort will offer families an ultimate retreat from their usual daily setting to a place where they can actually stay in the heart of the Disney magic.

"In an urban setting like Hong Kong, our hotels are uniquely positioned with our theme park setting and a spacious and naturally spectacular environment. The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is a world away from the hustle and bustle of city life yet is still close enough - just 20 minutes from Central - to be a convenient retreat for both local and international guests," Hardy said.

In keeping with the tradition of Disney resorts worldwide, Hong Kong Disneyland's family friendliness will be reflected throughout, from the hotels' design and themed dining experiences to the world-class facilities and famous guest hospitality.

"Our guests will delight in the unique and special touches that are dedicated to children and families, which include complimentary mini bar, bedtime stories on TV, Mickey wake-up calls and bite-sized kids menus," Lowe said. "This attention to detail - what we call the Disney Difference - has become the hallmark of a Disney vacation and is why Disney Resorts are the number one family vacation destinations in the world."

Whether guests choose to stay at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel or Disney's Hollywood Hotel, the Resort promises an unforgettable vacation that will inspire family traditions for years to come.

From today onwards, the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel Reservation Hotline welcomes individual bookings from guests, and will operate from 9:00am to 6:00pm Monday to Sunday.

For the convenience of callers, information will be available in three languages - Cantonese, English, and Mandarin. Local calls will be toll free while standard IDD rates will apply to international calls.

Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel features 400 rooms in a lush and relaxing landscape of gardens, offering a choice of park view, sea view or even sea view rooms with balconies. This world-class hotel will offer a variety of dining experiences featuring local and international cuisines, a wedding gazebo where Disney's Fairytale Weddings will be held, a Victorian Spa and a Mickey-inspired botanical maze. Room rates start from HK$1,600 for a Park View Room and HK$1,800 for a Sea View Room.

The Hotel will also boast a sophisticated convention center featuring one of Hong Kong's largest and most spectacular ballrooms. It is the perfect setting for private and corporate entertainment and meetings.

Disney's Hollywood Hotel is designed in the Art Deco style of architecture with whimsical Mickey Mouse-inspired motifs. It includes dining, shopping, a lounge, a piano-shaped swimming pool, and an expansive lawn that unfolds like a map of Los Angeles with popular and well-known Hollywood streets, landmarks and icons.

It offers 600 rooms with garden views, park views and sea views. Room rates start from HK$1,000 for a Garden View Room and HK$1,100 for a Park View Room to HK$1,200 for a Sea View Room.

All prices for both hotels already include 10% service charge and are subject to government tax.

EarlyBird

March 6th, 2005, 06:43 AM

I want to know how big it is!

VAN-TO

March 6th, 2005, 06:55 AM

It would be nice if Universal Studios could be built in HK, but Sunny Bay does look awfully small for a park as big as Universal.

It'll make it up for not having Splash Mountain @ Disneyland HK.

philip

March 7th, 2005, 12:07 AM

Pictures of the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, they are ultra-beautiful and ultra-upscale!
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/d13d962f354126/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_intro_img1.gif
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/b8278715d1f6de/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_intro_btopimg.gif

Lobby:
http://a416.g.akamai.net/7/416/1574/bd1cc7d9ffb2e2/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_dr_img4.gif
http://a688.g.akamai.net/7/688/1574/bc61904bb568b9/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_intro_img2.gif
http://a1248.g.akamai.net/7/1248/1574/59d4b73820d65f/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_dr_img1.gif

Ballrooms:
http://a736.g.akamai.net/7/736/1574/230b583c947c45/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_intro_img3.gif

Guest Rooms:
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/144557f1e47ba9/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_gr_img1.gif
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/523b244cf842e3/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_gr_img2.gif
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/a0c096cc31178a/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_gr_img3.gif

Restaurants:
http://a736.g.akamai.net/7/736/1574/c5e8af8778fc3b/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/hkdh_dr_img2.gif

philip

March 7th, 2005, 12:12 AM

Pictures of the Hollywood Hotel, a more affortable hotel but still very nice!
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/d987dc4daf98d0/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/ddh_intro_img1.gif
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/83bbeff5795f27/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/dhh_intro_btopimg.gif

Lobby:
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/7b48d9e0798839/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/ddh_intro_img2.gif
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/61c675e0470a8a/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/ddh_intro_img4.gif

Guest Rooms:
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/8e9a8d63a4c115/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/ddh_gr_img1.gif

Restaurants:
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/6767ae9ca77696/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/ddh_intro_img3.gif
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/1a4244c8d88977/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/ddh_dr_img1.gif
http://a1700.g.akamai.net/7/1700/1574/2d5018baad473c/www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/ddh_dr_img3.gif

hkskyline

March 9th, 2005, 05:23 PM

New Disneyland Takes 10,000 Hotel Bookings
Wednesday March 9, 7:48 am ET
By William Foreman, Associated Press Writer

HONG KONG (AP) -- The Hong Kong Disneyland theme park set to open in September has already booked 10,000 room reservations for its hotel since it opened a customer call center three weeks ago, officials said Wednesday.

"It really took us by surprise, the volume of calls coming in," said Bill Ernest, managing director of operations at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Ernest said Hong Kong residents have made most of the 10,000 reservations at the park's 1,000-room hotel, though the park expects that about 40 percent of the visitors will eventually come from mainland China.

The park, scheduled to open Sept. 12 as a joint venture between the Hong Kong government and The Walt Disney Co., is being built on reclaimed land at Penny's Bay on Hong Kong's outlying Lantau island.

It will employ about 5,000 people, from cleaners and concession workers to musicians and dancers, said Esther Wong, manager of public affairs. It will begin by hiring 3,000 during in third week of April, she said.

About 500 performers will be needed -- and the park will probably have to look outside Hong Kong for many of them, said Don Robinson, the park's group managing director. "We've already been doing auditions for characters, singers and dancers," he said.

The territory's environmental secretary said Wednesday Hong Kong Disneyland is expected to generate 29,000 pounds of trash every day.

Disney operations in France are having financial problems, and Ernest said the company has learned it needs to do a better job of listening to what the public wants. Hong Kong Disneyland will make special efforts to cater to Asian tastes, Ernest said, adding that most of the food will be Chinese.

hkskyline

March 11th, 2005, 07:46 AM

Waste management plan for Hong Kong Disneyland being drawn up

Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and an oral reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, in the Legislative Council meeting today (March 9) :

Question:
Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

(a) the amount of waste to be produced daily by the Hong Kong Disneyland ("HKDL") upon its opening in September this year; and whether there are plans to recover and recycle such waste; if so, of the details of the plans;

(b) which of the facilities in HKDL have adopted energy-saving designs; and

(c) whether renewable energy will be used in HKDL; if so, of the details, including the percentage of the electricity thus saved against the total electricity consumption?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) According to information provided by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks Limited (HKITPL), Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL), including the affiliated hotels, will generate about 13 tons of waste per day after its opening. In the course of providing entertainment, HKITPL also attaches great importance to protecting the environment. It is now drawing up a comprehensive Waste Management Plan (WMP) and will design and implement suitable measures to minimise waste. HKITPL is required to submit the WMP to the Director of Environmental Protection for approval at least one month before HKDL commences operation. The WMP shall include details of how the mitigation measures of operational waste management will be implemented, together with the arrangements for avoidance, minimisation, material recovery/recycling, collection, transportation and disposal of various types of waste generated during the operation of the theme park. Preliminary information from HKITPL suggests that examples of waste management measures to be adopted include :

* Encouraging separation at source of recyclable materials by providing convenient access to recycling bins both in guest areas and back of house facilities;

* Reducing the use of paper towels through the use of hand-dryers in lieu of paper towels in most public washroom facilities;

* Use of reusable delivery cages, totes and containers for transportation of food and products between warehouses/back of house facilities to various outlets within the theme park; and

* Encouraging the use of reusable utensils and containers in restaurants and food outlets within the theme park where feasible.

(b) According to the HKITPL, its environmental policy is to strive for improved water and energy conservation in existing operations, and to incorporate into its design and operations an extensive Energy Management System which monitors and controls the energy consumption of electrical and mechanical facilities, air conditioning systems, water supply systems, lighting systems, etc in the theme park.

The Energy Management System enables precise and efficient ventilation, temperature and humidity control. The theme park uses high-efficiency centralised water-cooled systems. Depending on the number of occupants at the time, the ventilation systems introduce suitable amount of fresh air into buildings thereby avoiding excessive hot, humid outside air mixing with indoor air. Cool, dry exhaust air is used to remove heat and moisture from the entering ventilation air and as a result, the compressor operations of the air conditioning systems can be minimised.

The Energy Management System also precisely coordinates outdoor lighting installations. Dusk and dawn times are calculated daily to control the lighting and avoid wastage.

The system monitors and records the energy consumption levels park-wide and will generate notification to responsible personnel where energy consumption limits are exceeded. This will enable early detection and rectification of faulty facilities.

In addition, where feasible, heat-insulating materials have been used in walls, roofs and windows to reduce cooling loads during summer.

(c) According to HKITPL, HKDL has not used renewable energy systems for the time being. However, the company will continue to monitor developments in the use of renewable energy in Hong Kong and consider the feasibility of doing so at the theme park where this could fully meet the design and operational requirements of HKDL.

hkskyline

March 17th, 2005, 06:51 AM

Lawmakers Question Disney on Hong Kong
Wednesday March 16, 1:12 am ET
By Min Lee, Associated Press Writer

HONG KONG (AP) -- Lawmakers on Wednesday questioned The Walt Disney Co.'s 20-year option to buy a 54-hectare (130-acre) site near Hong Kong Disneyland, saying the government should consider letting other theme parks use the land.

"From Hong Kong's standpoint, it doesn't necessarily have to be Disneyland. Other than Disneyland, there are many other theme parks popular in the world," opposition lawmaker Sin Chung-kai said at a legislative hearing on Hong Kong Disneyland, due to open Sept. 12.

Disney has the first claim to the site up to 2019. The option can be extended up to 10 years if visitor numbers hit 8 million.

Commissioner for Tourism Eva Cheng defended the arrangement, saying it was necessary to secure the Disney deal.

"If Disney knew there would be a different theme park nearby, it would have affected Disney's decision to build Hong Kong Disneyland at the time. This is fair," she said.

She said the government hopes to launch talks with Disney on exercising its land option soon.

However, Hong Kong media last year quoted Financial Secretary Henry Tang as saying that the government has approached three other U.S. theme park companies about coming to Hong Kong -- Six Flags Inc., Universal Studios, and Warner Bros. Studios -- a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

The 125-hectare (310-acre) Hong Kong Disneyland is a joint venture between Disney and the Hong Kong government, but local taxpayers are footing most of its US$3.5 billion (euro2.6 million) price tag. Critics have questioned whether Hong Kong got a good deal.

Cheng said the government will test the park and its transportation infrastructure ahead of the scheduled opening by inviting tour operators and Hong Kong residents to visit.

Separately, government engineering official Yip Sai-chor told lawmakers the government has nearly finished processing 30,000 cubic meters (1.05 million cubic feet) of toxic mud from a shipyard cleared for Disneyland's construction. The waste was treated at an island off Hong Kong, prompting at least one protest.

hkskyline

March 17th, 2005, 06:00 PM

Lawmakers want third theme park near Disney
Grace Lam, Hong Kong Standard
March 17, 2005

Legislators have questioned the government's decision to give Hong Kong Disneyland a 20-year option to buy an adjacent site for expansion, saying other theme parks ought to get a crack at the land.

Commissioner for Tourism Eva Cheng said the government would like to hold talks with Disneyland soon about exercising the option.

But Cheng said Disney might never have agreed to open its park on Lantau Island if it had thought a competitor might set up shop next door.

Hong Kong Disneyland, a joint venture between the government and Walt Disney, was granted an option in 1999 on a site immediately east of Phase 1 of its park, which is due to open on September 12. The company has said it will wait to see if the first phase is successful before deciding whether to build a second phase.

The option is valid for 20 years from 1999, with an automatic right to extend for a futher five years and a conditional right to extend for five years beyond that.

Lawmakers, including Democrat Sin Chung-kai, argued at a Legislative Council committee meeting Wednesday that other popular theme parks might well want the land, and they recalled that Financial Secretary Henry Tang said last year the government was open to the idea of a third theme park, after Ocean Park and Disneyland. He mentioned other park operators like Six Flags and Warner Bros Studio as possibilities.

The Tourism Commision said all infrastructure work at Hong Kong Disneyland is on schedule and on budget, while work on the rail link between the park and Penny's Bay is scheduled for completion in July.

Before it opens, the theme park and all supporting facilities will undergo a month-long comprehensive testing and adjustment period, the commission said. According to the government, the park will attract 5.6 million visitors a year and generate HK$148 billion over 40 years.

hkskyline

March 18th, 2005, 06:57 AM

How Eisner Handles the Transition Is Crucial
By Bruce Orwall and Kate Kelly
16 March 2005
The Asian Wall Street Journal

When Michael Eisner was unemployed after graduating from college in 1964, he traveled to Paris and wrote three plays. One of them was about a couple that froze to death after getting trapped on a ski lift in Canada. Mr. Eisner quickly decided he wasn't a playwright, returned to New York and began climbing the entertainment-industry ladder with a job logging TV commercials for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

More than 40 years later, Mr. Eisner will soon be at loose ends again. At the end of September, 21 years after he became Walt Disney Co.'s chief executive, he will hand the job off to Disney President Robert Iger. Mr. Eisner will stay on the board for five months after that. Under his employment agreement, he will receive post-termination bonuses of at least $6 million annually for the three years after his departure.

The 63-year-old Mr. Eisner, who declined an interview request, hasn't specified what he wants to do after Disney but has suggested he would like to continue in the entertainment industry in some capacity. That may mean some kind of production company that generates content for film, television and maybe even Broadway, an area he long has been drawn to. And though his ambitions as a dramatist weren't realized, Mr. Eisner has turned to another kind of writing: He is the author of "Camp," a book about his youthful summer-camp experiences in Vermont that will be published this year.

Disney Chairman George Mitchell has said that Messrs. Eisner and Iger will "share duties" during the transition. Since Mr. Eisner isn't known as the most collegial executive in the business world -- his clashes with colleagues have been the stuff of both legend and courtroom drama -- sharing may be a difficult assignment for the longtime Disney chief.

Yet people close to the company say Mr. Eisner already has been more low-key within Disney since announcing last fall that he would be stepping down as CEO. He has been less visible, these people say, and his famously hands-on approach to managing the company's movie studio and other operations has been muted.

However, others point out that Mr. Eisner has traveled extensively in the past few months, going several times to London, where Disney has opened a stage version of "Mary Poppins," and accompanying Mr. Iger recently to China, where negotiations for a theme park on the mainland are under way.

It is another theme-park project -- Hong Kong Disneyland -- that may be front and center on Mr. Eisner's agenda as he winds up his tenure. The new park, a crucial component of Disney's overall foray into China, is set to open on Sept. 12, and some people close to the company say Mr. Eisner is keen to preside over the debut.

Also on the transition agenda: clearing out other remnants of various unresolved controversies and business deals. At the top of that to-do list is completing the company's expected divorce from Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the co-chairmen of its Miramax Films unit. Talks between Disney and the Weinsteins have been moving slowly for months, but may be nearing resolution, according to people close to the situation.

Joann S. Lublin contributed to this article.

hkskyline

March 29th, 2005, 09:01 AM

Who's afraid of a mouse?
Hong Kong theme park gets ready to compete with Disneyland
By WILLIAM FOREMAN
Associated Press Writer
28 March 2005

HONG KONG (AP) - Ocean Park has been Hong Kong's most successful theme park for nearly 30 years, wowing generations of visitors with dolphin shows, stomach-churning roller coasters and a cable car ride over a mountain with spectacular views of the South China Sea.

But the marine park's hammerhead sharks are about to face a fierce new competitor: Mickey Mouse. Disneyland is opening in Hong Kong in September, so Ocean Park has to figure out how to compete with one of the biggest names in its industry.

It's a problem more companies are facing in the era of globalization. Some stick to what they've always been doing and hope the foreign intruder will stumble or be spurned by loyal local customers. But Ocean Park is taking a riskier approach, making plans to spend 5.55 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$711 million) to revamp an attraction that has become faded, worn and dated.

"Ocean Park needs to survive," said Allan Zeman, one of Hong Kong's most successful entrepreneurs who's overseeing the park's overhaul. "The only way it can survive is if it becomes world class."

But Ocean Park's makeover isn't just about spiffing up a venue. It's also key to Hong Kong's strategy to become Asia's top holiday destination for families. The government is backing both parks financially, and their success might depend on luring enough foreign visitors to a city known more for fine dining, dealmaking and shopping than thrill rides.

"When families think of having a holiday, they will think of Hong Kong first," said Eva Cheng, Hong Kong's tourism commissioner.

Ocean Park has no plans to go head-to-head with Disney, a US$3.5 billion (euro2.7 billion) park built on reclaimed land on Hong Kong's outlying Lantau island, said Tom Mehrmann, Ocean Park's chief executive.

Mehrmann said the two parks will complement each other, and tourists will want to visit both of them. Ocean Park will be about animals and Disney will be about cartoons. Ocean Park will highlight nature, and Disney's theme will be movies. One will have a cable car, and the other a castle.

"We're Hong Kong. They're an American import," Mehrmann said.

Disneyland also says it wants to be a friendly neighbor and work together to make Hong Kong the top draw for families.

"Together with Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland will bring the family tourists to Hong Kong, diversifying the tourism mix and creating new opportunities for the territory," said Don Robinson, group managing director for the Disneyland park.

The government is expected to soon approve the construction of a new subway line to Ocean Park. If built, visitors would be able to take a 30-minute ride between the park and Disneyland, which opens Sept. 12.

About 70 million people have visited Ocean Park since it opened in 1977, says the nonprofit organization that runs the government-owned venue. It calls itself an "edu-tainment" attraction because it mixes rides like the turbo drop with displays of live pandas, sharks, killer whales and other educational sites. It's a popular stop on the school field trip circuit.

A mountain divides the park into two, and the cable car ride over the mountain shuttles people back and forth, providing a stunning view of the South China Sea. The park's new blueprint includes a 1.4-kilometer (0.9-mile) funicular tunnel through the mountain that can transport 5,000 passengers per hour, Mehrmann said.

Other new planned attractions include a "soaker coaster," a roller coaster equipped with water cannons in the cars and on the ground. People riding in the cars can shoot water at people on the ground and they can fire back.

The plans also call for:

-- A typhoon stunt show that combines the special effects of a typhoon with a display of actors fighting with kung fu on a fishing village set.

--A swim with dolphins program and an enclosed stadium -- shaped like a sea turtle's shell -- for killer whale shows.

--An "Ice Palace" with a sub-zero environment that allows visitors to don parkas and have snowball fights and carve ice sculptures.

--A 7.6 million liter (2 million gallon) aquarium with an underwater restaurant.

Ocean Park also wants to copy Disneyland and provide hotels at the site, and the revamp will be mostly funded with a HK$4.05 billion (US$519 million, euro400 million) construction loan from the government or commercial markets.

The park is waiting for the government's approval for the revamp, which would be completed by 2010 and would be done in phases so the entire attraction wouldn't have to be closed.

Tourism Commissioner Cheng said a government task force that's studying the park's proposal is sold on the idea of a refit. "We are now working to see how to best take this forward," she said.

hkskyline

March 31st, 2005, 07:06 PM

Hong Kong Disneyland Seeks Workers
March 31, 2005
By HELEN LUK, Associated Press Writer

HONG KONG - Disney executives on Thursday kicked off a two-month recruitment drive for 3,000 future employees at its Hong Kong theme park set to open in September.

The recruitment — to begin Friday — will fill positions for hotel and park operations, catering, costuming, entertainment, sales, cleaning and security services, Hong Kong Disneyland's Group Managing Director Don Robinson told a news conference.

"To hire 3,000 people within such a short period of time is certainly a challenging job, but we are confident with the high caliber of talent and excellent service attitudes we've witnessed here in Hong Kong, we will be able to recruit the very best people in town," Robinson said.

Greg Wann, the park's vice president of human resources, said 95 percent of the new jobs will be full-time positions and the vast majority of them will have a starting monthly salary of 9,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,154).

Most of the positions will be filled by locals, except for a few acting roles, Robinson said.

Scheduled to open Sept. 12, the park — a joint venture between the Hong Kong government and The Walt Disney Co. — is being built on reclaimed land at Penny's Bay on Hong Kong's outlying island.

Critics had questioned why the government agreed to shoulder most of the $3.5 billion construction cost for the park. But officials argued that the park will boost the territory's tourism and employment.

hkskyline

April 4th, 2005, 11:30 PM

Hong Kong Disneyland Launches Recruitment Drive

HONG KONG, April 1 Asia Pulse - Hong Kong Disneyland Thursday launched one of the city's largest ever recruitment drives, inviting about 3,000 front-line workers.

The world-famous theme park and resort, set to open on Sept. 12 this year, is recruiting 3,000 front-line cast members to help deliver an immerse entertainment experience to guests.

Don Robinson, Hong Kong Disneyland Group Managing Director said "this is one of the most important milestones we have reached in preparation for the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland. We are pleased to be able to contribute to the local economy by creating these magical' job opportunities for the people of Hong Kong."

He added "we are confident that with the high caliber of talent and excellent service attitudes we have witnessed here in Hong Kong, we will be able to recruit the very best people in town. Hong Kong Disneyland will be an ideal platform from which to showcase the best of Hong Kong's hospitality and performing talents to the world."

From April 1, Hong Kong Disneyland will invite eligible candidates to apply for Cast Member roles from a variety of disciplines including hotel operations, merchandise, food & beverage, entertainment, park operations, costuming and security services.

Hong Kong Disneyland project is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government. At the opening day of Sept. 12, Hong Kong Disneyland will comprise a theme park and two hotels. At lease 5.6 million people are expected to visit the Hong Kong Disneyland at the first year of its opening.

hkskyline

April 10th, 2005, 06:09 PM

MICKEY MAO
The Magic Kingdom meets the Middle Kingdom, as Disney sets its sights on China. But for new chief Robert Iger, who has been leading the charge, wishing on a red star could be a risky strategy.
18 April 2005
Fortune

Last October, on the eve of the National Basketball Association's first exhibition game in China, Walt Disney president Robert Iger stepped before a battery of television cameras flanked by NBA commissioner David Stern, Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, and a cadre of other NBA stars. A press conference to announce some blockbuster marketing deal between the NBA and China? Not quite. The venue for the high-profile gathering was a cramped classroom at Yao's alma mater, Gaoan Road Primary School in Shanghai. As cameras whirred and flashbulbs popped, Iger, Yao, and the other NBA luminaries joined a chorus of Chinese children in red neckerchiefs reciting from the pages of a Yao-sized book at the front of the room: "It's a gray, gray rainy day, but Piglet and Roo are ready to play."

Piglet and Roo are characters from A.A. Milne's popular children's stories about a stuffed bear named Winnie-the-Pooh, and Disney billed the storytelling session as part of a worldwide public- service initiative to encourage kids to read. But to properly connect the dots between the beloved bear, the world's second- largest media and entertainment conglomerate, the NBA's tallest player, and the world's fastest-growing economy, it helps to know that Disney owns the rights to Milne's characters; that Disney is the parent company of ESPN sports network; that ESPN secured rights to broadcast the Shanghai exhibition game; and that Iger wants a piece of the China market as badly as Pooh craves honey.

That last also explains why Iger, just anointed successor to CEO Michael Eisner, visited China four times last year. In October, while Eisner was slugging it out with former president Michael Ovitz in a Delaware courtroom, Iger was in Hong Kong inspecting progress on the theme park Disney is building there, in Shanghai catching the NBA game, and in Beijing chatting with China's vice president. Get Disney's new chief talking about China's potential, and he'll rattle off a list of statistics: income levels, Internet penetration figures, mobile-phone and cable-television subscription rates. The way Iger sees it, China, with 290 million people under the age of 14- -more potential Mouseketeers than the entire U.S. population--isn't just a growth opportunity, "it's a needle mover."

Iger has taken to goading executives at Disney's Burbank, Calif., headquarters to prove their China savvy: "If I come back from a China trip and I know more than the guy running the business back in Burbank, he's got a problem." Indeed, so keen is Disney's new chief to bring the Magic Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom that he describes himself as the company's China country manager. "On any given day, I may talk to the person who's running Baby Einstein to see what he's up to [in China] or call the head of television there. It's constant, constant attention."

That's the sort of relentless focus championed by management experts as the secret to cracking the Chinese market. But with apologies to the Disney song, when you wish upon a red star, it makes a big difference who you are. If you're a large foreign multinational selling autos, mobile phones, or fried chicken, have at it: China waits with open arms to take in every dollar you care to invest. But if you happen to be a giant media and entertainment conglomerate--a Disney, say--be prepared for China's mandarins to wrap you in red tape.

Governments the world over restrict foreign media ownership, but China has raised regulation of the industry to a fine and excruciating art. In the developed world and in many other fast- growing economies in Asia, foreign content providers are at least allowed to purchase airtime for their programming over domestically owned networks. Not in China, where regulators limit the ability of non-Chinese companies to sell, distribute, market, and identify the programs they produce. Even cartoons are tightly controlled. Disney's most significant encroachment into China's airwaves is a half-hour kids' show that mixes Disney programming with short segments produced in China. Yet Disney can't call it Mickey Mouse Club lest its signature rodent get too well known, so the program airs as Dragon Club. The myriad prohibitions are meant to prevent criticism of China's communist rulers and to shield the Chinese from the evils of Western cultural imperialism. They're also driven, says Lehman Brothers Asia media analyst Stephen McKeever, by "good old- fashioned mercantilism" to make sure Chinese players get their share of a burgeoning market.

That's bad news for Iger, who has identified international expansion as a cornerstone of Disney strategy. Though Disney's animated menagerie includes some of the most widely recognized characters on the planet, the financial statements of the company that spawned them remain surprisingly provincial. Last year overseas revenue accounted for $6.7 billion, or 22%, of Disney's $30.7 billion in sales, and generated $1.5 billion, or 35%, of operating profit. Sure, that's enough to keep Dumbo in peanuts. But Iger has long argued that given the brand's global reach, the composition of Disney's revenue should look more like that of Coca-Cola or McDonald's, truly multinational giants that count on non-U.S. markets for more than 65% of sales. Iger is pushing for double- digit growth in foreign sales and a more diversified revenue stream. Foreign markets, he vows, must generate at least half of Disney's profits "within the next five years."

Iger's goal implies a radical redeployment of Disney's resources. Last year 70% of the company's overseas sales came from markets in slow-growing Europe; Asia contributed only $566 million, much of that from Japan, where Disney made more than $160 million in royalties from the consortium that runs Tokyo Disneyland. Iger stands little chance of hitting his foreign-profit mark without substantial gains in Asia's emerging dynamos, China and India. Disney won't say how much it earns in either market--like many multinationals, it doesn't disclose financial results by country. But the consensus among analysts and competitors is that Disney earns considerably less in the two countries combined than the $140 million that Ovitz's severance package was worth. That could change quickly as components of Iger's battle plan fall into place. In India, where broadcast regulations allow more leeway, Disney has made inroads with a sports television joint venture and the launch last year of two animation channels. But the big bet is China, where the company has identified theme parks and consumer products as its dominant profit engines.

On its face, counting on those businesses seems ... well, goofy. Movies and media networks, not parks and plush toys, are Disney's mainstay, accounting for more than two-thirds of worldwide revenues last year. In the U.S., Disney has sold off its stores, unable to make a go of hawking mouse ears and Piglet pencil boxes on its own. Why should it fare any better in a country famed for plunging prices, razor-thin margins, and rampant piracy? And while Disney's flagship U.S. parks are reliable cash cows, the company's record in operating theme parks overseas is spottier than 101 Dalmatians. Burbank balked in the 1980s when Japanese developers pitched the idea of bringing Disneyland to Tokyo, judging the Disneyland experience too American to export. Instead of investing, Disney opted to license rights in Japan in exchange for 10% of ticket sales and 5% of receipts on food and concessions. Big mistake: Japanese families can't get enough of Tokyo Disneyland. "The failure to take an ownership position in Tokyo Disneyland was exceptionally costly," Eisner wrote in his 1998 autobiography, Work in Progress. But his decision to retain a stake in Euro Disney, a theme park outside Paris, proved an even bigger error. The French venture, of which Disney now owns 40%, has been a financial sinkhole. In 12 years of operation, it has never come close to meeting its original target of 17 million visitors a year, despite generous capital infusions from Disney and Saudi Arabia's Prince al-Waleed.

Determined to finally get it right, Disney drove a hard bargain in Hong Kong, demanding a fat stake for a next-to-nothing investment. Desperate to bring jobs and tourists to their then- beleaguered economy, Hong Kong officials capitulated, agreeing to put up $2.9 billion in taxpayer money, donate land, and build a network of access roads and railways in exchange for a 57% share. Disney got its 43% for just $314 million, a sum it will recoup almost immediately because it also insisted on a 5% royalty fee for management and operation.

Nestled in a cove on Lantau Island, with views of the downtown skyline six miles away, Hong Kong Disneyland, which is scheduled to open Sept. 12, will look and feel like the original Disneyland, complete with Main Street, Sleeping Beauty's castle, and Tomorrowland. But there are some modifications. Architects went to great lengths to heed instructions of a feng shui master who, among other things, ordered the entire layout rotated several degrees to foster harmony with the elements. Staff will accommodate guests in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese, and food will cater to Chinese palates. Disney projects that the park will receive about six million visitors the first year, about 40% of them from China's mainland.

Hong Kong Disneyland is mostly a dress rehearsal for the main event--a theme park in Shanghai. Iger says Disney has been engaged for some time in "a cordial discussion, if not actual negotiations," with Shanghai officials about opening a park within the next six years. There, too, he is playing hardball, rebuffing demands to move faster. But the long-term success of Disney's Chinese parks will require more than good feng shui and hard bargaining. In other markets, Disney's film, TV, and publishing operations smoothed the way for new parks, ensuring that from the moment they set foot on Main Street, visitors felt at home. In China, says Jay Rasulo, president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, "for the first time, we'll be opening in a market where not all of our guests will know us well. The brand recognition is high, but the depth of the storytelling isn't there." That matters, executives say, because guests stay longer, spend more, and return more often when they invest emotionally in the characters.

To fill the void, Disney is mounting a grass-roots brand- building campaign--and experimenting with novel marketing techniques. In perhaps the most unlikely union of Mickey and Mao, Disney last year teamed up with the 70 million--member Communist Youth League to host a series of sessions billed as aiding reading skills and creativity. Disney performers toured half a dozen "children's palaces" in Guangdong province, telling stories using the Disney characters and encouraging children to draw pictures of Mickey Mouse. More sessions are planned this spring. Disney's alliance with the youth league doesn't raise eyebrows in a nation where few distinguish between advertising and propaganda. Sometimes it's unclear who's propagandizing whom. At Yao Ming's elementary school, a zealous 12-year-old scolded NBA veteran Bob Lanier for mispronouncing the word "ooze" while reading a Winnie-the-Pooh story. Afterward the boy explained that he knew the proper English pronunciation because his class had spent weeks practicing for the event.

Disney's bid for China's hearts and minds reaches back to the 1930s, when its first animated features played at cinemas in Beijing and Shanghai. Disney films, along with most other forms of foreign entertainment, were banned after Mao swept to power in 1949. During the Cultural Revolution, the mere possession of a Mickey Mouse watch would have constituted a serious cultural crime. Mickey had to wait until 1986, a decade after Mao's death, for rehabilitation. In that year Disney signed a licensing agreement with China's national network to supply cartoons for broadcast on Sunday evenings. That remained the extent of Disney's presence in China until well into the 1990s, when ESPN struck a deal to syndicate international sports programming and Disney won permission to publish a weekly comics magazine for children. In 1994, Disney forged the partnership with Beijing TV that created Dragon Club. Now in its tenth year, Dragon Club airs on more than 40 stations across China, reaching an estimated 60 million households. Winnie-the-Pooh figures prominently in CCTV's flagship kids' show, The Big Windmill, and on CCTV's new children's channel. All told, Disney-branded segments reach more than 380 million households, making the company "the No. 1 provider of Western programming to China," according to Andy Bird, president of Disney International.

Iger's own interest in China goes back to his first Beijing visit in 1979, when he was with ABC Sports. "I stayed in a hotel--I swear, this is the complete truth--my mattress was filled with straw," he recalls. "No one spoke English. I spoke no Chinese. It was almost a joke, but a great adventure." He returned in 1994, as the president of ABC-TV, to inaugurate Dragon Club.

But Disney is hardly the only belle at the ball. In programming of all forms, Disney lags behind News Corp., whose China ambitions are no less grand. The centerpiece of News Corp.'s China strategy is its 38% stake in Phoenix Satellite, a Chinese-language network based in Hong Kong. Operated in partnership with a former People's Liberation Army officer, Phoenix owns five channels and boasts that its shows reach 200 million mainland viewers. The company's biggest success is news and current-affairs programming, which offers a livelier alternative to the official fare on state-run channels. Last year Phoenix, listed in Hong Kong, reported a profit of $21 million on ad sales of $100 million. Beijing has also allowed News Corp.'s StarTV to broadcast Chinese-language entertainment programs via cable networks in Guangdong province.

Viacom, which owns Nickelodeon, announced an agreement with Shanghai Media Group in November to produce children's TV programming. The deal was the first to follow a declaration by China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television that foreigners are permitted to own up to 49% of Chinese television production companies. Time Warner, the largest of the global media giants (and parent of FORTUNE's publisher), has been least active in pressing for entry into the China market. Its affiliate, Chinese Entertainment Television, has also been granted permission to broadcast in Guangdong, but Time Warner ceded majority interest in 2003 to Tom Group, a media company controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing.

Each year titles from Disney and Warner dominate the list of films cleared for distribution in Chinese cinemas. Disney's The Lion King was the first foreign film released in China, and the company has distributed more than a dozen others, including Toy Story, Tarzan, Finding Nemo,and Pirates of the Caribbean. The terms of China's 2001 admission to the World Trade Organization require Beijing to allow the release of 50 foreign films this year, up from ten before accession. But those films do limited box office despite China's vast population and the popularity of Hollywood fare. Consumers would just as soon pay $1 for a counterfeit DVD than two or three times that to see a movie on a large screen in a dilapidated theater.

The breadth of Disney's offerings gives it a distinct advantage in China. Disney on Ice gave 30 performances in three Chinese cities last year and is preparing to expand the tour to 40 cities. Disney is also pushing content over the web in a partnership with Sohu.com, a Chinese Internet portal. Says Rasulo: "No company in the world is better than Disney at marshaling all its business lines for brand building."

But how to make that brand building pay? Piracy has crippled Disney's efforts to profit from DVD sales in China. Since entering the market in 1997, Disney has released nearly 500 VCR and DVD titles, more than any other foreign studio. Still, in 2003 it sold just 3.4 million disks. Finding Nemo,which Disney touts as the bestselling animated feature in China, had legal sales of only 284,000 copies. Legitimate disks sell for as much as ten times the price of a knockoff, and most Chinese consumers wouldn't know where to buy them even if they were willing to pay the difference. At the Xiangyang market in Shanghai, vendors tout pirated Disney titles alongside phony handbags. At one table a woman shows shoppers a trash bag stuffed with Disney knockoffs, including The Incredibles,Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid. Nine dollars buys an eight-disk set of Mickey Mouse in Living Color, with the forged signature of Roy E. Disney on the box. "This Disney stuff sells like crazy," she says. "I usually have 100 titles, but I can't keep them in stock."

It says a lot about Iger's battle plan that in December, when he finally hired a full-time China country manager, he picked Stanley Cheung, former head of Johnson & Johnson's consumer products business in China. Cheung's first task will be to expand Disney's retail and distribution network. Disney reported that China consumer products sales topped $128 million in 2003 and that the segment's contribution to overall sales in China is double Disney's global average of 8%. Cheung wants to double the number of Disney Corners, upscale retail outlets selling toys and branded kids' wear, to 2,200 shops by the end of the year. He also sees improved opportunities for Disney products as foreign retailers such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour expand in China. "Regulations are loosening," says Cheung. "We have the right legal structure. Suddenly everything's coming together."

That would no doubt gratify Iger, who joked before getting the nod to succeed Eisner that he could be the subject of his own reality TV show. His suggested title: The Apprentice Survivor Millionaire. Just don't look for it to be broadcast on Chinese airwaves anytime soon. ?

As Iger sees it, with 290 million people under the age of 14--more potential Mousketeers than the entire population of the U.S.--China is a "needle mover."The consensus among analysts is that Disney earns considerably less in China and India combined than the $140 million Ovitz's severance package was worth."We'll be opening in a market where not all of our guests will know us well. The brand recognition is high, but the depth of the storytelling isn't there.""This Disney stuff sells like crazy," says a woman hawking pirated Disney tapes in Shanghai. "I usually have 100 titles, but I can't keep them in stock."

hkskyline

April 12th, 2005, 02:12 AM

九月開幕工程密鑼緊鼓
鳥瞰迷人迪士尼
12/04/2005
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/news/heading.gif

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/news/20050412/img/sn02041220_big.jpg

【本報訊】香港迪士尼樂園開幕倒數期尚餘五個月，為爭取更多內地人於九月十二日開幕日來港，及八月中安排的公眾試玩，樂園工程分秒必爭。本報記者昨由直升機鳥瞰樂園所見，大部分遊戲設施已準備就緒，「探險世界」內的「森林河流之旅」有小船行駛測試。

歷險河小船試航

位於竹篙灣、面積達一百二十六公頃的樂園已見雛形。大家最關心的機動遊戲接近完成，「明日世界」的地標「飛越太空山」更是非常矚目。由多個小行星組成、屬香港獨有的「太空飛碟」已準備就緒，遊客可駕駛太空飛碟於三分鐘內穿梭各個行星。面積佔整個樂園幾乎三分一的「探險世界」，恍如一個非洲原始森林。昨日所見，「森林河流之旅」小船在歷險河流中徐徐行駛，測試航道安全。

至於迪士尼兩間酒店正進行最後修葺，迪士尼好萊塢酒店亦設計獨特，室外有一個鋼琴形泳池，「琴鍵」向�酒店大堂。樂園其他配套設施也接近完成，樂園外的大型停車場足以停泊數百輛私家車，方便市民駕車往遊玩；迪士尼樂園酒店旁的碼頭亦隨時歡迎客人登陸。

N/A

April 17th, 2005, 01:48 AM

5 months to go.:cheers:

coldstar

April 17th, 2005, 03:08 AM

If you mean BIG ATTRACTIONS, then there are jungle cruise, Lion Kong Show, Space mountain.

There are many smaller rides at the 3 themed sections, click on the links to seee them:
Adventureland (http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/advland_fs_attraction.html)
http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/al_intro_topimg.gif.http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/al_att_simg1.gif.http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/al_att_simg6.gif.http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/al_att_simg9.gif

Fantasyland (http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/fanland_fs_attraction.html)
http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/fl_intro_topimg.gif.http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/fl_att_simg4.gif.http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/fl_att_simg2.gif.http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/fl_att_simg3.gif

Tomorrowland (http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/tomland_fs_attraction.html)
http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/tl_intro_topimg.gif.http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/tl_att_simg1.gif.http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/tl_att_simg2.gif.http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/eng/preview/diary/images/hkdl/tl_dining_simg1.gif

Great, but how come they don't have 'Westernland' 'Toontown' 'Critter country' et al like Tokyo Disneyland?

vincent

April 17th, 2005, 03:15 AM

again, this is only phase1 of the disneyland guys.

hkskyline

April 25th, 2005, 03:32 PM

Monday April 25, 3:20 PM
Hong Kong Disneyland unveils rail line for its theme park

AP - With the help of Donald Duck and a cloud of silver confetti, officials unveiled a new rail line Monday for Hong Kong Disneyland _ the world's first train route specifically dedicated for a theme park.

The 3.5-kilometer (2-mile) train line, which cost 2 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$257 million, Â€197 million), will be able to shuttle about 10,000 passengers per hour to the park, set to open Sept. 12, said Disneyland and the city's Mass Transit Rail Corp. The park and subway operator financed the project.

The line will be a branch off the subway line from Central Hong Kong to outlying Lantau Island, where Disneyland is being built.

"Disneyland Resort line will take visitors to a magical world," MTRC Chief Executive C.K. Chow said. "The 3.5 minute train journey is not to be missed for all Disneyland visitors who wish to enjoy the full experience."

The trains' windows and the straphangers are shaped like Mickey Mouse. The ceiling and the sides of the train are painted red, yellow, purple and blue.

The park is a joint venture between the Hong Kong government and The Walt Disney Co. It's being built on reclaimed land at Penny's Bay.

Critics have criticized the government for shouldering most of the US$3.5 billion construction cost for the park. But officials have argued that the park will boost employment and help make Hong Kong a major tourist destination.

Nightsky

April 26th, 2005, 12:32 AM

@Philip. You forgot to mention the park in Florida.

coldstar

April 27th, 2005, 03:28 AM

again, this is only phase1 of the disneyland guys.

thanx. so what would phase2 be?

Right now Hong kong Disneyland does not have: Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Tom Sawyers Island & Rivers of America, Toon Town, It's a Small World, Star Tours, etc.

Those attractions themselves are the true essence of Disney's Magic Kingdom, and most costly amusement facilities in the whole park. Why were those attractions not included in phase1 of Hong Kong Disneyland?

vincent

April 27th, 2005, 03:38 AM

the plan is still unknown for phase 2. You know, phase 1 is a "test ground". The scale, content of phase 2 willl be determined later.

scorpion

April 27th, 2005, 04:42 AM

they were burned by several serious miscalculations during paris-d., so they're trying a go slow approach (if that's even possible in burgeoning 21st c. china!)...

Sexas

April 27th, 2005, 11:28 AM

Hong Kong Disneyland unveils first Disneyland Resort Line train :)

25 April 2005

Hong Kong Disneyland and the MTR Corporation today unveiled the first Disneyland Resort Line train, which will bring guests to the heart of the magic at China’s first Disney theme park, set to open on September 12, 2005.

The MTR Disneyland Resort Line, which comprises two new stations - Sunny Bay Station and Disneyland Resort Station - and whimsical Disney-themed trains, were exclusively designed by the MTR Corporation in conjunction with Disney’s Imagineers.

Today’s Disneyland Resort Line train unveiling at Sunny Bay Station marks the very first dedicated train line for a Disney theme park anywhere in the world and will offer Hong Kong Disneyland guests an exciting and convenient journey, being just 23.5 minutes from Central.

“Since Disneyland Resort Line trains serve a single destination, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, we thought it was important that they incorporate ‘Disney’ touches into the trains to begin the transition from the real world of Hong Kong to the magical realm of Hong Kong Disneyland,” said Mr. Don Robinson, Group Managing Director of Hong Kong Disneyland. “The MTR Corporation team has done a terrific job of creating trains that are fun and exciting, in keeping with the spirit of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.”

The trains themselves are sleek and modern, but their colors and fanciful details, including Mickey Mouse-shaped windows trimmed in red that look out over gold ribbons and sparkling pixie dust, provide a classic look that enables them to appear equally at home in either of their destinations: the futuristic Sunny Bay Station and the Victorian-themed Disneyland Resort Station.

This feeling of enchantment continues inside the trains, which are painted in vibrant hues of blue, red, yellow and violet, and boast ceilings that look like star-filled skies. Each car highlights classic photos illustrating Walt Disney’s own fascination with trains, and feature bronze figurines depicting many of the classic characters he created, including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Chip ‘n’ Dale, Tinker Bell, Pluto, Snow White and Jiminy Cricket.

All of these details combine to create a sense of playful anticipation for visitors as they make their way to the magical kingdom of Hong Kong Disneyland.

Mr. C K Chow, Chief Executive Officer of MTR Corporation said, “The 3.5-minute train journey is not to be missed for Hong Kong Disneyland guests wishing to enjoy the full theme park experience. The Disneyland Resort Line takes visitors on a journey through time from Hong Kong’s modern MTR network to the Victorian-themed Disneyland Resort Station. It will be a ride to enjoy and remember.”

Passengers riding the MTR can reach Sunny Bay Station from anywhere in Hong Kong. After arriving at the station, passengers take only a short walk across the platform to begin their magical journey to Disneyland Resort Station which is just in front of Hong Kong Disneyland. From Tsing Yi Station, the journey will be 9.5 minutes for a fare of HK$12.60 using the Octopus card. From Kowloon Station, it will take just 20.5 minutes for a fare of HK$18.10 and from Hong Kong Station, the journey time will be 23.5 minutes for a fare of HK$23.10.

The two stations of the new line, namely Sunny Bay Station and Disneyland Resort Station, feature open-air designs providing natural ventilation and the best utilization of natural lighting. Station platforms are fitted with platform gates similar to the platform screen doors installed in most MTR stations in Hong Kong. Facilities for passengers with special needs including lifts, tactile guide paths, and wide gates are also provided.

The MTR Disneyland Resort Line will operate using an advanced signaling system that allows fully automatic train operations. The technology has been proven around the world and is a common mode of operation particularly for tourism attractions in many different world cities.

Umm...please post some Disney rail pictures...the one from the news site not working... :sleepy:

hkskyline

April 28th, 2005, 03:50 AM

Nothing Mickey Mouse about feng shui
Hong Kong Disney execs consult specialist. Trying to make certain that new park reflects local culture and avoids past mistakes
LAURA HOLSON
New York Times
27 April 2005

When building the new entrance to Hong Kong Disneyland, Walt Disney executives decided to shift the angle of the front gate by 12 degrees.

They did so after consulting a feng shui specialist, who said the change would ensure prosperity for the park.

Disney also put a bend in the walkway from the train station to the gate, to make sure the flow of positive energy, or chi, did not slip past the entrance and out to the China Sea.

Heeding the advice of a feng shui consultant is one of many steps Disney executives have taken at the park to reflect the local culture - and to make sure they do not repeat some mistakes of the past.

When Disney opened Disneyland Paris in a former sugar beet field outside Paris in 1992, the company was roundly criticized for being culturally insensitive to its European guests. Now Disney burns incense ritually as each building is finished in Hong Kong, and has picked a lucky day (Sept. 12) for the opening.

The cash stakes are high: International growth is a critical part of Disney's expansion efforts. In Asia, Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear and Winnie-the-Pooh are hardly household names. Disney wants to change that.

Mainland China is expected to become one of the world's largest tourist destinations in the next 15 years, according to the World Tourism Organization, an international group that oversees policy issues.

That trend bodes well for Disney, as Hong Kong itself is already in the top 15.

"It used to be Disney was exported on its own terms," said Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse University.

"But in the late 20th and early 21st century, America's cultural imperialism was tested. Now, instead of being the ugly Americans, which some foreigners used to find charming, we have to take off our shoes or belch after a meal."

Plans for Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney's 11th theme park and a replica of the original Disneyland, began in 1999 for the undeveloped Lantau Island, a 30-minute train ride from downtown Hong Kong.

Built on Penny's Bay and flanked by mountains, the park is a venture with the Hong Kong government and the first of the parks that Disney wants to build in China, including one in Shanghai. Disney invested $316 million for a 43 per cent equity stake in Hong Kong Disneyland; the rest is owned by the Hong Kong government, which contributed $419 million. (The park has $1.1 billion in debt.)

Some of the dazzling visual effects and nods to cultural differences at Hong Kong Disneyland may seem like so much marketing. One of the park's main ballrooms, which will surely be used for Disney's popular wedding services, measures 888 square metres, because eight is thought to be a number of fortune, said Wing Chao, who is the master planner of architecture and design at Walt Disney Imagineering.

In Chinese, the number four is considered bad luck so there are no fourth-floor buttons in the elevators at the Hollywood Hotel or other hotels in the park.

Cash registers are close to corners or along walls, where such placement is believed to increase prosperity

And in the park's upscale restaurant, Crystal Lotus, Disney installed a virtual koi pond where computer-animated fish dart away from guests who walk on a glass screen.

The pond is one of five feng shui elements in the restaurant; the others are wood, earth, metal and fire, which glows on a screen behind bottles in the bar. "We could not have real fire because of the fire code," said Chao.

After the mishaps at Euro Disney and, closer to home, problems with attendance at its California park in Anaheim, it is easy to understand why the company would take such pains.

"I don't know anything about fire and kitchens and where fire belongs and what doesn't," said Jay Rasulo, president of Disney's theme parks and resorts division. "But I certainly have learned that you need to respect people."

Tourists sniffed at California Adventure when it opened in 2001, saying it looked more like a shopping mall than a theme park. In recent years, Disney added, at considerable expense, the Tower of Terror thrill ride and an attraction based on the animated film A Bug's Life.

The French government recently helped bail out Euro Disney, the parent company of Disneyland Paris, offering loan concessions and investments to save it from bankruptcy.

Azn_chi_boi

April 29th, 2005, 01:24 AM

WHat no "frontierLand" in Disneyland HK even its phrase 1?

If it was up to me I would change the classic "frontierland" to "Olde San Fransico" (you know mountains, water,and railroads). Thats more famous than frontier in HK.

hkskyline

April 29th, 2005, 03:00 PM

Source : (issue 788 / apr 14 05 ) 壹周刊
Photos hosted by jose_kwan from SSP :

Disney hotel

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p5nDSC00946no.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p5mDSC00940no.jpg

Train

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p3-4fDSC01001no.jpg

Fantasyland

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p5cDSC00988no.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p5lDSC00986no.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p5bSite_3no.jpg

Tomorrowland

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p5dDSC00989no.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/DSC00990no.jpg

Advantureland

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p5fDSC00998no.jpg

Main Street

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p5eDSC00993no.jpg

Aerial

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/josekwan/p5aSite_2no.jpg

D_Y2k.2^

April 29th, 2005, 03:06 PM

this is just sooooo great!when is it gonna be opened?

Chad

April 29th, 2005, 03:07 PM

Why does it looks so "Disney"...

hkskyline

April 29th, 2005, 03:16 PM

The park will open on Sept. 12, 2005.

bs_lover_boy

April 30th, 2005, 10:02 AM

The park looks bigger now, but still small when compared to the other DISNEY parks.

hkskyline

April 30th, 2005, 05:10 PM

愉景灣居民接受煙花聲浪
區議員憂污染空氣損健康
http://www.the-sun.com.hk/general/img/endmarker.gif
30/04/2005

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/news/20050430/img/sn04043012_big.jpg
迪士尼樂園昨晚的煙花測試，有區議員擔心濃煙會吹向民居。王嘉昌攝

【本報訊】迪士尼樂園昨晚舉行八晚花測試的首晚「表演」，在附近居住的一萬六千多名愉景灣居民，「欣賞」這場歷時十二分鐘的花後，大部分均認為煙花的聲浪較預期小，惟家住該處的離島區議員容詠嫦則擔心，煙花產生大量濃，恐造成空氣污染損害居民健康。

環保署到場測空氣聲浪

煙花測試昨晚九時正開始，歷時約十二分鐘，期間綻放七彩繽紛的煙花，有扇形、花形、波浪形及龍珠形等，將迪士尼樂園照得光亮奪目。居民李小姐認為，雖然煙花數目不及農曆新年維港花匯演，但煙花的形狀很特別及好看；而離島區議員容詠嫦則認為聲浪可以接受，較汽車從旁邊經過更為細聲。

煙花測試由昨晚開始，到下星期六結束，除星期二晚外，其餘八晚進行歷時約十二分鐘的煙花測試，其中有六晚於九時至九時半進行，一晚於八時至八時半進行，餘下一晚於七時至七時半進行。

環保署人員昨晚到愉景灣測試空氣及聲浪，若不符規定，不排除拒絕迪士尼放煙花。

Azn_chi_boi

April 30th, 2005, 05:26 PM

looks good but too bad, disneyland HK is opening at september, right after the summer.

Too bad there is a main street not a bazzar(like Tokyo's). I would rather have a indoor mainstreet with air condition and a shortcut to tommrowland and aventureland then walking all the way to the castle.

The article above is translate into..

3.0/04/2005 billion
Enlightened gentleman Nepal paradise last night the fireworks
test, had area congressman to worry the thick smoke could blow to the
common people residence. Wang Chiach'ang absorbs
[ Newspaper news ] enlightened the gentleman Nepal paradise
last night to hold eight late □flowered tests the head evening "the
performance", lived more than a ten thousand 6,000 cheerful scenery
bays inhabitant in the nearby, after "the appreciation" this lasted 12
minute □flowers, majority of thought fireworks voice more
anticipated small this place, only the family lived The Islands area
Congressman Rong Yong Chang worried, the fireworks produced massively
is thick □, feared causes the air pollution to impair the inhabitant
health.
The environmental protection bureau arrives measures the air voice
Fireworks test last night nine o'clock are starting, lasted
approximately 12 minutes, period blooms seven colors riotous
fireworks, has fan-shaped, the colored shape, the wave shape and the
dragon 珠形 and so on, will enlighten the gentleman Nepal paradise
to illuminate luminously eye-catching. Inhabitant Miss Li believed,
although the fireworks number is inferior to the lunar calendar new
year the Uygur port □flower to collect develops, but the fireworks
shape very specially and is attractive; But The Islands area
Congressman Rong Yong Chang thought the voice may accept, compares the
automobile from the side process feeble voice.
The fireworks test started by last night, to next week six
conclusions, besides Tuesday late, other eight late carried on the
lasted approximately 12 minutes fireworks test, including six late to
nine o'clock to nine o'clock partly carried on, one late to eight
o'clock to eight o'clock partly carried on, -odd next one was late to
seven o'clock to seven o'clock partly carried on.
The environmental protection bureau personnel last night tested the
air and the voice to cheerful Jing Wan, if the symbol did not
stipulate, did not remove resists 絕 to enlighten gentleman Nepal to
put the fireworks.

Syd-Hk

April 30th, 2005, 05:31 PM

im not sure if this is told or not, but the lantau highway to disneyland road should be completed by now.

kaka.ac

April 30th, 2005, 08:01 PM

dont worry about the size of it .....

迪士尼五年後擴建
【本報綜合報道】香港迪士尼樂園開幕已進入倒數階段，香港迪士尼集團行政總裁羅彬深在新加坡透露，樂園在揭幕後的五年會繼續進行第二期擴展，以迎戰或與環球片場合作建主題公園的新加坡新賭場。

羅彬深出席新加坡一個經濟論壇時表示，相信迪士尼啟用及投入運作後，香港迪士尼仍會繼續擴充樂園，以確保樂園具備吸引力。

他又說，亞洲地區的旅遊業有足夠空間容納不同娛樂設施，亦不認為任何一項設施是獨一無二的。

首年 560 萬人次入場
加州迪士尼方面代表稱，有信心香港迪士尼首年入場人次能達至五百六十萬人的目標，同時美國亦有人訂香港迪士尼兩間酒店的房間，無論家庭客或商務會議團體，都希望入住香港迪士尼的酒店。
from Oriental Daily

The CEO of Hong Kong Disney said there will have Hong Kong Disney Land phase 2
after 5 years....... About 2010...

FM 2258

May 1st, 2005, 02:01 AM

scorpion

May 1st, 2005, 02:25 AM

they were burnt by that strategy in paris. ironically, they should've reversed the two strategies!

vincent

May 1st, 2005, 03:45 AM

why in phases?? It is almost a standard in the construction industry in build things in phases (especially large project). Reasons? i think it is pretty obvious.

FM 2258

May 1st, 2005, 03:47 AM

why in phases?? It is almost a standard in the construction industry in build things in phases (especially large project). Reasons? i think it is pretty obvious.

I see your point. Just like they're doing with Union Square. Hell, even the new Tollway project in Central Texas is being done in phases. Oh well. Feel a little silly now that I asked. I guess I thought it would be better for new visitors to get the finished experience versus a partial experience knowing there are more phases to be completed.

silly thing

May 1st, 2005, 09:11 AM

according to the news report, hk disney may will hv coorporation with universial studio to develop the phase 2

philip

May 1st, 2005, 09:38 AM

according to the news report, hk disney may will hv coorporation with universial studio to develop the phase 2
No, that's not what the article said. The article said Hong Kong Disneyland needs to develop phase 2 in 5 years to compete with a New Casino Project in Singapore, which the casino developer is cooperating with Universal Studios Park.

There are official press release stating that Hong Kong government gives Disney the exclusive right to use that land AND the phase 2 land (which is being reclaimed from sea right now) for the next 10 years. If Disney doesn't build anything on that land, then HK government can get back the land and give the land to somebody else, and in that case, it will be HK government cooperating with Universal Studios, not Disney cooperating with Universal.

For Disney to cooperate with Universal is like for Mercedes to cooperate with BMW, it's impossible.

hkskyline

May 1st, 2005, 03:19 PM

South China Morning Post
May 1, 2005
Community entitled to Disneyland details

The eagerly awaited launch of Hong Kong's Disneyland is now only a few months away. Our city's bid to establish the top tourist destination in Asia is about to be put to the test. And the stakes are high.

Disney's first "magic kingdom" in China has been gradually taking shape over the past two years and is now nearing completion. The site at Penny's Bay on Lantau will soon provide a new home for Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and a host of other favourite characters.

The top turret of Sleeping Beauty's Castle was put in place last year, as work continued to construct Space Mountain. Thousands of jobs at the park have gone on offer, and bookings are coming in for Disney's two theme hotels.

Last week, new trains that will take visitors to the park from Sunny Bay on North Lantau were unveiled, complete with Mickey Mouse-shaped windows.

Everything appears to be set for a spectacular launch in September, when the park will finally open its doors to visitors. It is expected to receive 5.6 million of them a year.

There are, however, some important questions concerning the launch which are yet to be answered.

Concerns have been raised that a potential flood of initial visitors could cause chaos both at the park and at the mainland border.

Disney has not revealed how many visitors it expects on the opening day. The park has a capacity of 30,000. It is not yet known whether tickets will be available at the gate or whether - as the government has requested - they must be booked in advance.

No details of any contingency plans to cope with the expected crowds have been revealed. And there is no word on suggestions that special immigration controls should be set up at the park to ease potential congestion at the border.

Answers to these questions should be provided so that Hong Kong people can feel confident that all will go well when the big day arrives. There are considerable logistical problems to be overcome.

More than a third of visitors to the park are expected to come from the mainland. The relaxation of immigration controls for mainland travellers to Hong Kong has greatly increased their numbers over the past two years. The "golden week" holiday, for example, which began yesterday, is expected to see 460,000 mainland tourists enter Hong Kong.

The arrangements for the expected influx of Disney tourists will need to be carefully worked out and made public well in advance of the opening.

It is worth remembering, as the launch approaches, how much this park means to Hong Kong. The government went to great lengths to seal the deal, which was announced in 1999. The investment involves the spending of $ 22 billion in taxpayers' money. The necessary land and infrastructure has been provided.

This great expense and effort is believed worthwhile because Disneyland is the key to Hong Kong's bid to become the top tourist destination in Asia. It has the potential to transform Hong Kong's image, attract more family -orientated tourists and pay big dividends.

The community therefore has a big stake in Disneyland's success. It is entitled to be kept informed of developments and details. Public interest is mounting.

Concerns that Disney would soon launch a new rival theme park in Shanghai have dissipated. It now looks as if the first mainland Disneyland will not arrive until at least 2010. But, as we report today, Disney is considering opening another Asian theme park, in India. Our city's park can, in time, expect to face growing competition.

We are looking forward to the grand opening of Hong Kong Disneyland and hope it will be a great success. But the park will be more likely to work its magic if the public are kept well informed.

coldstar

May 1st, 2005, 04:13 PM

No, that's not what the article said. The article said Hong Kong Disneyland needs to develop phase 2 in 5 years to compete with a New Casino Project in Singapore, which the casino developer is cooperating with Universal Studios Park.

There are official press release stating that Hong Kong government gives Disney the exclusive right to use that land AND the phase 2 land (which is being reclaimed from sea right now) for the next 10 years. If Disney doesn't build anything on that land, then HK government can get back the land and give the land to somebody else, and in that case, it will be HK government cooperating with Universal Studios, not Disney cooperating with Universal.

For Disney to cooperate with Universal is like for Mercedes to cooperate with BMW, it's impossible.

Just in my opinion. Since I've been to both Universal Studios Japan, Osaka and Universal Studios Hollyhood, LA , I'm sure Disneyland is much better and more attractive theme park than Universal. It seems to me that the phase 2 of Hong Kong's Disneyland should be the expanding and upgrading of phase 1, not constructing another theme park such as crappy Six Flags or Universal Studios. As far as I know, Hong Kong Disneyland (phase 1) is not sufficient compared with the counterparts in USA and Japan, thus I'd like to express considerable skepticisim that people would not go to such a tiny park repeatedly. As for Tokyo Disney resort (Land and Sea), every year they open one or two new attractions to spend huge money (0.2 billion US$ per attraction). It is reported that they are planning to open the 3rd Disney theme park next to them. If there's no scope for new attractons or new theme sections, that means the death for theme park management, I think.

vvill

May 1st, 2005, 06:01 PM

Just in my opinion. Since I've been to both Universal Studios Japan, Osaka and Universal Studios Hollyhood, LA , I'm sure Disneyland is much better and more attractive theme park than Universal. It seems to me that the phase 2 of Hong Kong's Disneyland should be the expanding and upgrading of phase 1, not constructing another theme park such as crappy Six Flags or Universal Studios. As far as I know, Hong Kong Disneyland (phase 1) is not sufficient compared with the counterparts in USA and Japan, thus I'd like to express considerable skepticisim that people would not go to such a tiny park repeatedly. As for Tokyo Disney resort (Land and Sea), every year they open one or two new attractions to spend huge money (0.2 billion US$ per attraction). It is reported that they are planning to open the 3rd Disney theme park next to them. If there's no scope for new attractons or new theme sections, that means the death for theme park management, I think.

i also think there'd be a need for the phase 2 development for hk's disneyland. i mean even for myself, i'd love to go there once but i can't see myself going there again. in fact, i'm expecting strong criticisms from the press once it's opened, saying like it's ridiculous for the government to spend shit loads of money for infrastructure so that disney can build their theme park on it. (the whole piece of land is reclaimed)

as for the six flags thing or the universal studios, i think the government is planning not to put them near the disneyland but rather it'll be in Yum O (Sunny Bay) which is where the interchange station will be for disneyland.

one thing which i believe would be quite spectacular instead would be the water recreational centre right next to the park which is wholly developed by the government. that's a huge artificial lake which will be opened at the same time! :)

InitialD18

May 1st, 2005, 07:41 PM

I myself totally agree ... Disney in HK is going to be totally bashed by the media specially the ones who went to other parks ... to be honest disney didn't spend as much as they could for the hk park ... I believe when they planned the park they didn't realized how much potential the chinese market is ...
Phase 2 according to news article would appear in 5 years ... but i sure hope they would be expanded at the rate like the tokyo ones ...

Ocean Park on the other hand is getting quite a face lift ... the new phase being planned looks really good ... when the new phase expansion finishes i think the two parks can complement each other very well ...

hk's sister city Macau has a fisherman wharf theme park finished this year also ...

spicytimothy

May 1st, 2005, 09:27 PM

i wouldn't call Macau fishermen's Wharf a theme park... it's got a volcano and a ride and what not but it's mainly a shopping/dining/yacht destination... can't compare to a ticket-at-the-door theme park...

i agree the media's gonna bash it like there's no tomorrow, but i really think they should look at long term... new theme park is to attract new tourists that wouldn't hv come otherwise... the main factor isn't to get people going to the park more than once! it's to attract ppl that came b4 to come see it, and ppl who never came b4 to come for the first time... in the long run, hving a disleyland puts HK into the club of only 5 cities in the world... that helps more than just tourism.

hkskyline

May 5th, 2005, 08:13 PM

Talents land jobs in HK Disneyland
5 May 2005
Manila Standard

With the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland later this year, Manila is reaping an unexpected harvest.

Filipino performers will earn US$1,270 to US$1,909 in Hong Kong, a big jump from their P600 to P3,000 per show here in Manila.

Walt Disney Entertainment, in partnership with the San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts (SMFPA) under its artistic director and award-winning composer Ryan Cayabyab, auditioned members of notable Filipino theater and dance companies.

Disney's talent casting representatives flew in from Hong Kong on March 30 and April 1, and again on April 15 to do a series of screenings. Eventually, they picked the final cast of singers, dancers, and character performers for their Hong Kong assignment. Disneyland will open on Sept. 12.

Cayabyab said the talent casting reps returned to Manila because they were overwhelmed by the wealth of Filipino talent they saw in the other auditions held worldwide. Aside from that, Walt Disney Entertainment was so impressed with SMFPA's management of the two previous auditions for musicians and vocalists (in November 2004 and in January this year).

Deo Dipasupil, the audition's enlistment coordinator, said: "The partnership between Walt Disney Entertainment and SMFPA covers only the audition itself. Whatever the result may be, it is between Disney Entertainment and the talents themselves."

He also said that any information about the screenings that was not included in their previous releases is considered confidential. A source in SMFPA said the performers' salaries range from HK$10,000 to HK$15,000 or US$1,270 to US$1909, similar to the rates of Walt Disney World in Florida.

An insider in the theater circuit said members of Tanghalang Pilipino, Ballet Philippines, Repertory Philippines, Bayanihan Dance Co., and Gantimpala Theater Foundation, among other groups, were invited to join the audition. More than a hundred showed up.

According to Repertory Philippines' Ayam Barredo, nine members of their company have left. Jaime del Prado, Ralion Alonzo, Phiona Baranda, Franz Imperial, Maki Sera, Amty Sietereales, Wendell Frando, Myrene Hernandez, and Jay Lopez were rehearsing for the company's newest production, "The Emperor's New Clothes," set to open in Manila in August, when Walt Disney Entertainment in Hong Kong called them up individually and confirmed they had passed the test.

Barredo sees this as a good sign because as veteran performers find better opportunities abroad, "doors will be opened for aspiring, young, equally talented artists back here."

As Don Robinson, Hong Kong Disneyland group managing director, said on their Web site : "Hong Kong Disneyland will be an ideal platform from which to showcase the best performing talents to the world."

In line with the theme park's opening, Hong Kong Disneyland, a 126 hectare property overlooking the waters of Penny's Bay in Lantau, partnered with MTR Corp., to create the MTR Disneyland Resort line.

Walt Disney Entertainment is still looking for full-time performers for Walt Disney World in Florida and Tokyo Disney Resort.

hkskyline

May 6th, 2005, 02:10 PM

Disney may woo rich tourists in phase two
Luxury hotel operators are interested, says InvestHK chief
Dennis Eng
06 May 2005
South China Morning Post

Disney's Hong Kong theme park might try to appeal to more affluent tourists by bringing in celebrity American chef Wolfgang Puck and international hotel chains to run businesses there.

According to InvestHK director-general Mike Rowse, a number of hotel operators have expressed an interest in Hong Kong. The idea of their managing any - or all - of the three hotels slated for the park's second phase has been broached.

"The Disney park can accommodate three hotels in the first phase of construction and three more in the second phase. Do they really want to manage all of them?" Mr Rowse said yesterday.

A Disney spokeswoman said the park's immediate priority was the September 12 opening with two hotels, which the company owns and manages. The second phase will not begin until the park draws 10 million visitors a year.

Disney's parks usually have enough attractions to last a visitor longer than a single day's stay, and the company prefers to maintain control of hotels within its destination resorts, to capture the overnight visitor market. This is not surprising given that tourists who spend two or three days at the park represent a much more lucrative target market than those who just visit for the day and stay with friends and family.

Although Hong Kong Disneyland said it would also operate all the park eateries, apart from two Chinese-style outlets run by Maxim's Caterers, the addition of a Wolfgang Puck restaurant would signal a strategy the company had tried before.

Disney's California Adventure, which opened in February 2001, had Avalon Cove, an upscale seafood restaurant by Mr Puck. It also featured high-end wine producer Robert Mondavi's posh Golden Vine Winery restaurant in a bid to lure big-spending customers.

However, in October that year, low visitor numbers forced the two partners to reduce their investment and close the restaurants.

The Wolfgang Puck Express eatery now operates in Disney Marketplace and Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida. These outlets serve pizzas, salads and sandwiches. InvestHK said the chef had discussed the possibility of setting up shop in Hong Kong.

"If Wolfgang Puck and Disney already have a relationship, they would be talking," Mr Rowse added without elaborating.

The Disney spokeswoman said the Hong Kong park had not been contacted by Mr Puck.

hkskyline

May 7th, 2005, 02:50 AM

Legislators lash out at 'greedy' MTRC
Sylvia Hui, Hong Kong Standard
May 7, 2005

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Metro/images/dis0507.jpg

The MTR Corp was accused of being "greedy" and "socially irresponsible" by furious legislators who also described the HK$2 billion Disneyland Resort Line as a shady deal between MTRC and the government and demanded that the company lower the fares it charges.

Legislators attending a Legislative Council subcommittee meeting on railway matters Friday launched the attack when MTRC representatives told the meeting fares to Disneyland will be based on "existing fare structures."

"Although you say train fares to Disneyland are much cheaper than bus fares, there is no reason to base Disney trip fares using your existing structure," said democrat Andrew Cheung.

"Don't forget you are exempted from HK$800 million worth of dividends to the government."

The resort line, which is expected to transport 40 percent of the visitors to the theme park when it opens September 12, was initially considered not financially viable.

In 2002, the government, a major shareholder in the MTRC, agreed to waive its claim for HK$798 million worth of dividends.

Legislators accused the MTRC and the government of bypassing Legco when the 2002 decision was made. They also doubted the profitability of the venture and described the resort line as an overinvestment.

"The people give [the subsidized train line] their public money but MTRC pockets all the goods," said Cheng.

When asked to disclose financial projections for the line, MTRC deputy operations director Andrew McCusker said the information is commercially sensitive. He stressed the fares are highly competitive, but the company will review prices after assessing market response.

The fares ranging from HK$6 to HK$26 - much lower than proposed bus fares at HK$7 to HK$38 - triggered accusations the government is deliberately suppressing other public transport providers to ensure MTRC maintains a reasonable passenger flow.

The government and MTRC were urged to submit written replies on how and when the government will receive the waived dividends.

The attacks were followed by more criticism of MTRC's financial transparency. Legislators were furious when McCusker said that 10 cents charged to each Octopus journey from MTR passengers, aimed to subsidize the fitting of platform screen doors, will "go on indefinitely."

"At the time Legco approved this move we only agreed on charging passengers for the HK$2 billion construction cost of the screen doors," legislator Lau Kong-wah said. "We never agreed to charge people indefinitely for the doors' maintenance and cleaning costs."

Since July 2000 MTRC has collected HK$3 million from passengers for the screen doors, said McCusker.

The government was also accused of failing to maintain its role as gatekeeper of public interests.

MTRC's Disney line train, unveiled late last month, has two new stations at Sunny Bay and Disneyland.

The trains' four carriages, each carrying 180 passengers, are expected to be able to carry 11,000 people during peak hours. However, up to 17,000 people can squeezed in during extremely busy hours.

It is the first train line in the world specially dedicated to a theme park.

scorpion

May 7th, 2005, 04:20 AM

It is the first train line in the world specially dedicated to a theme park.

hello?! shouldn't this be a bona-fide MTRC hit for the entire city??

why is there ANY infighting at all on this?? i don't understand. :(

superchan7

May 7th, 2005, 07:27 PM

It looks like they lifted those trains from spare rolling stock. At least they disguised it well. Hope they aren't filled with creaks and rattles on opening day.

Urban Dave

May 7th, 2005, 08:38 PM

:puke::puke: Why not maglev trains?

spicytimothy

May 7th, 2005, 09:12 PM

^ maglev can't work on such a short distance

as for all the infighting, the Legco in Hong Kong do it all the time... certain faction in the Legco tends to take the opposite stand whenever the gov't propose something big... it's a shame coz on the opposite Singapore has no such hurdle for the gov't and they pass beneficial policies much faster than HK... :-(

hkskyline

May 8th, 2005, 12:49 AM

There needs to be adequate public debate for big projects such as Disneyland and the West Kowloon Cultural District. The government cannot single handedly pass something, although it may be beneficial, without consultation of the stakeholders. After all, taxpayers' money will be used and there is an accountability relationship that must be enforced.

A tolerant society will always want to hear about the other side of the story and the people will decide what course of action to take.

scorpion

May 8th, 2005, 04:32 AM

i believe HK politics is only just evolving out of its island-mentality, and all these debates (including reclamation pro/con) are direct causalities of this relative expansionist thought process--

my only frustration is to see that evolution CONTINUE, and have HK believe in itself and its role in all the world facilitated by its own means

hkskyline

May 13th, 2005, 03:15 AM

New Disneyland takes shine off holiday week in Hong Kong
By Justine Lau in Hong Kong
Published: May 7 2005 03:00 | Last updated: May 7 2005 03:00

The lure of a new Disneyland in Hong Kong has brought its tourism industry a disappointing "Golden Week" holiday as mainland visitors save their cash for when the US theme park opens in September.

While Chinese tourists have provided a big boost to Hong Kong's economy in recent years, the tourism and retail sectors depend for much of their business on the holiday periods around May Day, the lunar new year and National Day when most Chinese travel.

In the first six days of the present Golden Week break - China's week-long May Day celebrations - the number of mainland visitors grew 6.7 per cent compared with last year, to 294,883, according to Hong Kong government figures. This is a substantially lower rise than during Chinese new year in February when visitor numbers rose 14 per cent.

Although Hong Kong is the biggest overseas destination for mainland travellers, the number visiting the territory has been dropping month-on-month since December because Chinese citizens are now allowed to travel to more countries in Asia and Europe.

Tourism operators say people are also saving money to visit Hong Kong later this year after Disneyland - Asia's second - opens on Lantau, the biggest island in the former British colony.

"For the poorer people in China, travelling to Hong Kong is once in a lifetime. They definitely want to include Disneyland in their itineraries," said Charles Ng, chairman of Hong Kong's inbound tour operators association.

Over the longer term, though, the industry is optimistic that Disneyland will generate renewed growth in the number of Chinese tourists. The Hong Kong Tourism Board said it expected visitor numbers to rise rapidly after the opening of Disneyland, which expects to attract 5.6m people in its first year, with 35 per cent of those coming from China.

However, those who visit Hong Kong are spending less than they used to, mainly because they are buying fewer clothes and cheaper jewellery, retailers and tour operators say.

Average spending among travellers from China's northern cities - the biggest-spending Chinese tourists - has fallen by more than 20 per cent from about HK$7,000 ($900, €700, £475) last year to about HK$5,500 during this year's Golden Week, according to Mr Ng. They spent an average of HK$6,000 during the lunar new year.

Andrew Wong, assistant executive manager at Chow Tai Fook, a large Hong Kong jewellery chain, said spending by mainland tourists this week had been 5 per cent less than last year.

hkskyline

May 13th, 2005, 03:18 AM

Hong Kong Confident Of Over 5.6 Mln Disneyland Visitors

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Bernama) -- Hong Kong is confident of surpassing the 5.6 million visitor target set for its Disneyland during the first year of operations.

"Disney's projection is 5.6 million visitors in the first year. They are going to be wrong and, of course, they will be happy to be proven wrong," Hong Kong Financial Secretary Henry Tang said Wednesday.

When opened in September this year, Hong Kong's Disneyland will be the first Disney theme park in the region, which is co-owned by the government.

Tang said last year, there were 21.8 million visitors to Hong Kong, of which 50 percent came from mainland China with high spending power.

On average, each visitor from China spent about US$580 (RM2,204), he added.

Tang was leading a two-day five-member delegation to Malaysia to foster closer economic relations. Tuesday, he called on International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz.

He also called on Second Finance Minister, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

Besides promotions as a cosmopolitan city for tourists, Hong Kong also aimed to promote its eco-tourism as well as religion-tourism sectors.

"We have cable car services to bring tourists to the biggest sitting Buddha," Tang told reporters during a briefing here.

Such measures, he said, would enable Hong Kong to offer a greater range of products and services to its visitors.

plasma169

May 13th, 2005, 05:27 AM

awesome!

HKT

May 13th, 2005, 08:32 PM

Money Magazine from TVB on 2005/05/08

The 1st part program talks about Disney in Hong Kong and how they are finding people to fill up positions. Also, it shows how fire works of The Symphony of Lights are setup in the buildings with closed ups. Sorry, but Cantonese only...

BitComet Torrent File:

財經透視0508.avi.torrent (http://gp.no-ip.com:8245/bt/財經透視0508.avi.torrent)

hoogbouw010

May 13th, 2005, 09:14 PM

Photo: 15 Apr 2005.
http://www.oranga.com/pics3/s200504155642bb.jpg

hkskyline

May 14th, 2005, 04:46 AM

Agence France Presse
May 9, 2005 Monday
Smog unlikely to deter Hong Kong Disneyland visitors: HK finance chief

BANGKOK

Hong Kong's worsening air pollution is unlikely to deter visitors to the new Hong Kong Disneyland theme park when it opens later this year, the territory's
Financial Secretary Henry Tang said Monday.

Tang said some 5.6 million visitors, including one third from outside greater China, were forecast to visit the park in its first year from its September 12
opening.

"We're not particularly worried about it, that people will not come because they're concerned about the air pollution problem," Tang told reporters on the first stop of a four-country trip highlighting 4.0 billion dollars worth of new tourist facilities in the southern Chinese territory.

Most of Hong Kong's air pollution, which a senior government meteorologist in January said cloaked the city in smog for 65 days in 2004, originates in the industrialised Pearl River Delta.

The smog often thwarts views across the territory's famous harbour, and causes breathing problems among residents not to mention several accidents between cargo boats and ferries.

Hong Kong attracted a record 21.8 million visitors in 2004, said Tang, who has acknowledged the city's deteriorating air quality.

The city's Tourism Commissioner Eva Cheng said of the 5.6 million people forecast to visit the new Disneyland, one-third would be from Hong Kong, one-third from mainland China, and the rest from other areas, largely Southeast Asian countries.

BrizzyChris

May 14th, 2005, 05:32 AM

I read somewhere that one of the rides on the way in 2007/2008 is Pirates of the Caribbean, but crossed with Splash Mountain (e.g bigger drop).

hkskyline

May 14th, 2005, 06:37 PM

Free visits to Disney lake
Cheung Chi-fai
14 May 2005
South China Morning Post

Free visits to a Disney-related tourist attraction in Penny's Bay will be allowed from early August, officials said yesterday.

The water recreation centre, an artificial lake built next to the Disney theme park, will be among the first facilities to open before the park begins operating on September 12.

Managed by the Disney company, officials hope the lake will be open to visitors from August 1, but water sports facilities may not be available by then.

The site will also house a botanical garden featuring more than 200 trees, flowers and shrubs.

But officials are concerned that the tranquility of the area could be disturbed by too many visitors attracted by free admission.

Lorenz Tsao Tak-kiang, director of the Civil Engineering and Development Department, said that the lakeside scenery was very beautiful, but admitted: "This lake is likely to be very popular among visitors and it might be a bit noisy when there are too many people touring around."

The 12-hectare lake will also provide an irrigation source for the Penny's Bay facilities.

Water for the lake is mainly drawn from natural surface runoff of rainfall and from the Tai Lam Chung reservoir near Tuen Mun.

hkskyline

May 17th, 2005, 06:26 PM

Fairy Tale Wedding in Hong Kong Disneyland

HONG KONG, May 17 (Xinhua) -- A romantic dream for many young couples to be prince and princess or to get married in a fairy tale castle will come true, Hong Kong Disneyland announced here Tuesday.

Don Robinson, Managing Director of Hong Kong Disneyland, told reporters that Hong Kong Disneyland now welcomes couples to celebrate their nuptials in Disney style with a personalized Fairy Tale Wedding.

He said Hong Kong Disneyland has so far received about 1,000 inquiries from couples interested in holding a fairy tale wedding.

However, Robinson said couples with intentions to get married in Hong Kong Disneyland are still in the stage of consultation and the date of the first fairy tale wedding has not yet decided.

Before the romantic and unforgettable Disneyland wedding, cost is the most practical problem for new couples to consider.

According to the package samples sent out by Hong Kong Disneyland, the price for a wedding banquet in the fairy tale world is around 10,000 Hong Kong dollars per table and the minimum requirement will be ten tables.

To common Hong Kong people with average salary per month around 10,000 Hong Kong dollars, a romantic wedding in Disneyland is still a dream.

hkskyline

May 17th, 2005, 06:27 PM

Disneyland keeps travel agents in dark
Sylvia Hui
16 May 2005
Hong Kong Standard

The date of Hong Kong Disneyland's opening is fast approaching but the theme park is reluctant to let the tourism industry in on its ticket sales plans, frustrated local travel agents told The Standard. Crucial information on the projected swarms of visitors to the park when it opens September 12, and the mechanisms of selling entry tickets to them, has been withheld and communication with the tourism industry is lacking, according to travel agents.

"We have been in numerous discussions with them [Hong Kong Disneyland] but we regret that they have so far been putting off giving us definite answers," said Bonny Ho, in-bound travel manager at Hong Thai Travel.

Ho said he and others in the industry are most anxious about whether they can have a share in the benefits Disneyland will bring.

"The government _ and you and I _ all have a part in the park. But it seems that we cannot do anything to share in the benefits," he said.

According to Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung, Disneyland allows local travel agents a 10 percent commission when they take bookings for the two hotels inside the theme park.

The commission rises to 15 percent when agents book packages for both Disneyland hotel rooms and entrance tickets.

"But Disneyland makes it clear that no one can have any commission for selling entrance tickets because they fear that commissioning tickets will give rise to a black market," Tung said.

Ho said he has learnt of talks between Disney and agents in mainland cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

"According to what I know, Disney has agreed on a definite number of tickets to be sold through these agents," said Ho. "It would be unfair to local agents if Disney does not sell through us."

A Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman, however, was vague about directly selling tickets or offering tour packages to mainland travel agents.

"I can't tell you whether we have or have not been distributing tickets to mainland travel agents. We can only affirm we are in talks with Hong Kong, mainland and overseas agents alike."

Last month, the Immigration Department stepped in and asked Disneyland to help avert potential chaos and uncontrollable crowds at the gate and Lok Ma Chau checkpoint by selling all its tickets in advance, possibly through travel agents.

But the Disney spokeswoman said the proposal is against park policy.

She said ticket-sale arrangements and crowd-control methods are still being studied.

She gave no estimates of the number of visitors expected within the first weeks of the park's operation, but reiterated that 5.6 million visitors a year, or an average of 30,000 visitors a day, are expected and that Hong Kong, mainland and overseas visitors will each make up one third of the numbers.

"Our view is crowd control will be easier with advance ticketing, and 30,000 could be an underestimate on September 12 and the first few days. But it's a question of their policy. We can only remind them that they must disclose relevant information to us and they have agreed," said Tung.

"We hope we can obtain more information by June or July. The market for Hong Kong agents is mainly from Southeast Asia and China _ two to three months will hopefully be sufficient time for promotion."

The agents' fears that the theme park could be a lopsided deal between Disneyland and the government are not new. Although the park has created thousands of jobs, critics have said the government is too accommodating, with taxpayers paying most of the park's HK$27.3 million cost.

hkskyline

May 26th, 2005, 03:02 AM

Hong Kong Disneyland Draws Fire Over Soup
By CHUCK CHIANG, Associated Press Writer
Mon May 23, 3:58 AM ET

HONG KONG - Environmentalists urged Hong Kong Disneyland on Monday not to serve shark fin soup when the park opens in September, but Disney officials said they planned to offer the dish at special banquets in accordance with local customs.

Greenpeace and the Worldwide Fund for Nature have asked Hong Kong Disneyland to take shark fin soup off the menu after the theme park announced last week the delicacy would be served at wedding banquets and other special events at the park.

Environmentalists say millions of sharks are killed each year for their fins, driving many species close to extinction. The fins are hacked off and the fish are dumped back into the sea to die.

"It's a hugely wasteful practice," said Greenpeace spokesman Martin Baker. "We were incredulous when we heard that Disney would be serving shark fin soup."

Baker added, "We would have hoped that a company with a global reach like Disney could have made a statement on the issue."

Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Irene Chan said, "Hong Kong Disneyland takes environmental stewardship very seriously, and we are equally sensitive to local cultures. It is customary for Chinese restaurants and five-star hotels to serve shark's fin soup in Hong Kong as the dish is considered an integral part of Chinese banquets."

Another Disneyland spokeswoman, Esther Wong, stressed that shark fin soup would only be served when customers requested it at special banquets. She declined to discuss whether not selling the dish would substantially hurt business. Wong said that selling the fins wasn't a business issue.

"The whole point is being respectful to local cultures," Wong said. "It is what the locals see as appropriate."

Another Hong Kong environmentalist, Brian Darvell of the South China Diving Club, said, "The very fact it is traditional does not make it right. It's mind-boggling that Disney could be so inconsistent with their environmental line and go on with defending its decision."

vincent

May 26th, 2005, 06:33 AM

why don't those environmentalist just kill themselves? because almost every single things that they do in life would hurt the natural environment in some ways.

Jose Luis

May 26th, 2005, 07:03 AM

any new pictures?

spicytimothy

May 26th, 2005, 09:58 AM

zergcerebrates

May 26th, 2005, 10:12 AM

I agree shark fins should not be served. I have a shark tank in my house so I really love sharks and because the method of how people kill the shark is very uncivilized. Besides shark fins dont really taste much you can substitute it with Vermicelli

hkskyline

May 26th, 2005, 05:26 PM

Disneyland gears up for expansion
Finance secretary says new rides will entice visitors back
Leu Siew Ying in Guangzhou
26 May 2005

Disneyland has embarked on an expansion programme even before it opens to bring more attractions in the second or third year of operation, Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen said yesterday.

"They were not thinking of it initially but they are already expanding the project. They have a lot of land for expansion and the construction will not affect operations," said Mr Tang, who is leading a tourism delegation to Guangzhou.

A Hong Kong Disneyland spokesperson said the expansion is within the park's first phase of development, and the company is now focusing on a successful opening in September. Mr Tang said the expansion was necessary so that in the second and third years, visitors could return to the park and find new attractions.

Hong Kong Disneyland expects that two-thirds of its visitors will come from Guangdong, which also accounts for a similar ratio of mainland solo visits to the SAR.

Travel analysts, however, said immigration bottlenecks, inconvenience of travel and the time it takes to issue a solo visit permit might dampen enthusiasm.

Hong Kong and Guangdong officials will have to discuss the feasibility of a proposal by Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua to increase the number of buses licensed for cross-border operations to ensure smooth immigration clearance.

"We have to discuss this further," he said.

"We hope it will not overwhelm the immigration department but will make it more convenient for border crossers."

In a meeting with Mr Tang on Tuesday, Mr Huang proposed increasing the bus routes into Hong Kong by 60.

When round-the-clock border crossings were introduced in 2003 there were 680 coaches plying 150 routes.

Aboveday

May 26th, 2005, 07:28 PM

phase II is coming!

Koi

May 28th, 2005, 02:09 AM

Tell the Norwegians and Japanese to stop eating whale meat. Wonder if you can get whale meat in Tokyo Disneyland or crocodile burger in Disneyland Florida?

hkskyline

May 28th, 2005, 05:28 PM

Friday May 27, 6:20 PM
U.S. conservation group WildAid joins shark-fin protest at Hong Kong Disneyland

AP - The U.S.-based conservation group WildAid has joined a campaign against Hong Kong Disneyland's plan to sell shark fin soup on its banquet menu at the park's hotel, the organization said Friday.

A WildAid statement accused Disneyland of being "hypocritical" by serving shark fin while saying it cares about the environment.

"You can't have it both ways," WildAid spokesman Victor Wu said in the statement. "Either Disney should withdraw its pro-environment claims, or drop shark fin soup from Hong Kong Disneyland. Anything else is hypocritical."

Greenpeace and the Worldwide Fund for Nature have also urged the park not to serve shark fin when it opens Sept. 12.

Environmentalists say millions of sharks are killed each year for their fins, driving many species close to extinction. The fins are often hacked off and the fish are dumped back into the sea to die.

Hong Kong Disneyland has said it will serve shark fin soup at banquets only when the dish is requested.

Disney spokeswoman Esther Wong said Friday that the park is sticking with its decision to serve shark fin because it's part of the local Chinese culture. She said the need to respect cultures must be balanced with caring for the environment.

But Wu said, "Just because something has been customary in the past is not a justification for wiping out species."

The WildAid spokesman added that Disney "belittles the Chinese people by suggesting that we are not also environmentally conscious or concerned about shark declines."

Don Pacho

June 4th, 2005, 12:49 AM

Honk Kong Disneyland

I’ve just visited Epcot at Walt Disney World, and there was a nice exhibit on Honk Kong Disneyland at the Chinese pavilion. I would like to share some pics of this interesting exhibition of the newest Disney park.

They were giving these cards to all guests

http://img216.echo.cx/img216/4665/hkdisneyland027s1se.jpg

http://img216.echo.cx/img216/5646/hkdisneyland028s3up.jpg

A very schematic model in the middle of the exhibition

http://img216.echo.cx/img216/6417/hkdisneyland001s9ov.jpg

http://img216.echo.cx/img216/8551/hkdisneyland002s6pz.jpg

http://img216.echo.cx/img216/3140/hkdisneyland016s5ur.jpg

http://img27.echo.cx/img27/8025/hkdisneyland017s0qc.jpg

http://img216.echo.cx/img216/994/hkdisneyland018s0oa.jpg

http://img216.echo.cx/img216/9600/hkdisneyland025s5tq.jpg

:)

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting (http://www.imageshack.us)

nazrey

June 4th, 2005, 09:41 AM

Hong Kong Disneyland To Start 100-day Countdown
June 04, 2005 14:26 PM

HONG KONG, June 4 (Bernama) -- Hong Kong Disneyland Friday held a ceremony to celebrate the start of its 100-day countdown before officially open to the public, the Chinese news agency, XINHUA, reported on Saturday.

Hundreds of Disneyland cast members and Hong Kong Disneyland Ambassador Angela To attended the ceremony.

A countdown clock is positioned at the entrance of Team Disney Building to mark the occasion.

Hong Kong Disneyland Group Managing Director Don Robinson said, "the countdown clock will remind every cast member that we are all working together to deliver the magical entertainment experience to our guest from Sept 12."

He said with 100 days to go, Hong Kong Disneyland will deliver a glimpse of the Disney magic to Hong Kong and the nearby region to inspire people to experience the fairy tale land.

-- BERNAMA

LacLongQuan

June 4th, 2005, 10:03 AM

I agree with vincent, but only on this particular occasion.. I think shark fin is too important culturally and tastfully :-p to be ignored in HK... I remember reading on CNN or sth that HK ppl consume 80% of the world's production of Shark Fin worldwide!

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE shark fin.
Do you know how many millions of sharks killed annually just to serve those shark fin soup for "important culturally and tastefully" purpose?

Let me tell you, approximately 50 million sharks are killed annually by the inhumane way of chopping of their fins and throw them back into the sea to die a slow and painful death. Many species are approaching extinction and it totally disrupts the sea's balance system. Oh by the way, the fins are tasteless and doesn't have any nutritional value. It's like throwing your money into the sea when you could substitute it with vermicelli.

LacLongQuan

June 4th, 2005, 10:05 AM

When it comes to nature conservation you Chinese are experts, from consuming bear paws, shark fins, tiger bones to rhino horns, bird's nests and endangered reptiles you people knows no bound.

Rachmaninov

June 4th, 2005, 10:39 AM

Come on mate you know the Japanese also practise whaling.
I personally is neutral on this issue because I'm not a shark fin lover :P

Sexas

June 4th, 2005, 11:48 AM

Come on you guys, how about we kill deers, alligators and kangaroo for food, it just culture difference and don't even get me start on the rocky mountain oyster....Mmm yum!

BrizzyChris

June 4th, 2005, 01:41 PM

Kangaroo meat is apparently quite good.

Principes

June 4th, 2005, 01:49 PM

Cant wait to visit ;)

raymond_tung88

June 4th, 2005, 01:57 PM

Well you know what? Its no use complaining about the shark's fin issue here. Let me remind you that the forumers here can't do anything about what HK Disneyland decides to do so stop wasting our/ your time. I respect the fact that you're trying to stand up to what you believe in but stop with it already. If you detest it so much, just boycott Disney or go to HK Disneyland and set up a petition.

Azn_chi_boi

June 4th, 2005, 02:14 PM

Disneyland HK is great...

However, no frontierland means no Splash Mt and Thunder Mountain = bad.

Why not do a Bazzar rather than Main St(Like Tokyo's). I would rather go to an air condtion mall than a outdoor one.

hkskyline

June 4th, 2005, 04:17 PM

Hong Kong Disneyland Opens in 100 Days
Sat Jun 4, 4:03 AM ET

HONG KONG - Disney officials kicked off a 100-day countdown to their new Hong Kong theme park's opening on Sept. 12.

"We have felt the excitement growing all over Hong Kong and around the region as our grand opening approaches," said Don Robinson, Hong Kong Disneyland group managing director.

Donning gold and black Mickey Mouse hats and white gloves, hundreds of employees at the Hong Kong park celebrated the countdown on Friday.

The company said it has planned a series of promotions for the park in the next 100 days.

Built on reclaimed land on outlying Lantau Island, the park is a joint venture between the Hong Kong government and The Walt Disney Co.

Hong Kong officials say the park is a key part of the territory's plan to become a prime destination for vacationing families.

Don Pacho

June 4th, 2005, 06:14 PM

More of the HK Disneyland exhibit at Epcot

http://img157.echo.cx/img157/9403/hkdisneyland019s6wb.jpg

http://img157.echo.cx/img157/8471/hkdisneyland021s5ht.jpg

http://img157.echo.cx/img157/4194/hkdisneyland006s4mv.jpg

http://img157.echo.cx/img157/7091/hkdisneyland007s6ts.jpg

http://img157.echo.cx/img157/7007/hkdisneyland010s1jk.jpg

http://img157.echo.cx/img157/126/hkdisneyland024s5pf.jpg

http://img157.echo.cx/img157/9469/hkdisneyland012s4zt.jpg

http://img157.echo.cx/img157/4397/hkdisneyland011s6rf.jpg

:)

More to follow…

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting (http://www.imageshack.us)

Manu84

June 4th, 2005, 06:19 PM

is this park smaller than the other disney parks??

bnmaddict

June 4th, 2005, 07:25 PM

is this park smaller than the other disney parks??

Here's the list of "big attractions" running at the opening day:
- Jungle River Cruise
- Space Mountain
- Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
- ... and that's all.

Where are those major attractions you could find at the opening of Disneyland Paris: Big thunder mountain, Phantom manor, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, etc?

It seems that Disney is doing the same mistake they did with Paris' second park (Disney studios), three years ago. They'll open a small unfinished park, and then they'll build attractions in a rush to save the park...

InitialD18

June 4th, 2005, 08:47 PM

due to the financial fiasco and the economic crisis of hkg the park first phase is pretty darn shitty ...
however knowing how popular the park is going to get
phase two is definite ...

from news yesterday: two additional rides would be added shortly including star tour(u/c)...
pirates of the carribbean just needs approval
and it would start construction also ...

raymond_tung88

June 4th, 2005, 09:13 PM

Along the border of the Magic kindom and right above the hotel sites, there's a HUGE piece of land. They could've made the Magic Kingdom to include that part and then there would be a LOT more attractions. Is this going to be just a plain field or will the Magic Kingdom expand one day to include more "themed" areas such as Frontierland and Mickey's Toon Town?

bs_lover_boy

June 4th, 2005, 10:39 PM

Maybe they just want to build a very basic park and then continue to add stuff to it so then visitors will return to the park more often. Look at Ocean Park, people go there for a few times and then they get bored of it. After a while, when new attractions are introduced, people go there again. Maybe disney wants to do that to maintain a constant flow of visitors. That's marketing dudes.

hkskyline

June 5th, 2005, 06:10 AM

Disney park puts out the welcome mat for smokers
Raymond Ma
5 June 2005
South China Morning Post

Disney has revealed that it will not ban smoking in restaurants at its Hong Kong theme park, although it does so at two parks in the United States and one in Japan.

The decision has alarmed child-protection and health groups, who say children visiting Disneyland will be at risk of harm from second-hand smoke - described by some as a form of child abuse.

Local Disney officials said restaurants at the park, which include the Cinderella Ballroom, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Prince Charming and Sorcerer's Lounge, will reserve one-third of seats for non-smokers where there is seating for more than 200.

No seating area for non-smokers will be provided at smaller venues.

The decision complies with Hong Kong's anti-smoking laws.

This comes just three weeks after controversy erupted when Disney refused to pull shark's fin soup from its menus after receiving complaints from environmental groups.

Against Child Abuse director Priscilla Lui Tsang Sun-kai said Disney should be more progressive in its smoking policy, especially since many of Disney's characters are targeted to appeal to children.

Billy Wong Wai-yuk, executive director of the Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights, said: "Disney is associated with an image of being a child-friendly organisation. I hope that they will produce an environment that is not just colourful and pretty because of its popular cartoon characters, but also healthy to youngsters.

"If they place children as their top priority as customers, they should not allow smoking in their restaurants just because stricter laws haven't been passed yet."

The executive director of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, Leung Kin-ming, urged Disney to follow the policies of its US and Japanese theme parks, and ban smoking indoors.

A Disney spokeswoman responded that the park's policies on smoking complied fully with Hong Kong law and said smoking would be banned if tougher tobacco-control legislation is enacted as expected by the middle of next year.

She said Hong Kong Disneyland would adopt a smoke-free policy with designated smoking areas that included restaurants.

The company did not elaborate, nor would it disclose how many of its restaurants in the Lantau park will allocate seating for non-smoking customers to comply with the law.

According to the websites of its four other theme parks, Disney has banned smoking in restaurants at two parks in the US and one in smoker-friendly Japan.

Its theme park in France is the only one where smoking is allowed indoors.

A review by the World Health Organisation in 1999 concluded that passive smoking is a cause of a whole range of illnesses in children, including bronchitis, pneumonia, cot death, and possibly cardiovascular and neurobiological impairment.

A more recent University of Hong Kong study in 2001 found that babies living with two or more smokers were 30 per cent more likely to need hospital treatment than those living in smoke-free homes.

hyacinthus

June 5th, 2005, 08:37 AM

"No seating area for non-smokers will be provided at smaller venues."

That's sad... Isn't Disneyland for children?

Don Pacho

June 5th, 2005, 04:25 PM

HK Disneyland exhibit

http://img295.echo.cx/img295/8972/hkdisneyland022s6xn.jpg

http://img295.echo.cx/img295/8949/hkdisneyland013s6gs.jpg

http://img295.echo.cx/img295/498/hkdisneyland003s2av.jpg

http://img295.echo.cx/img295/6756/hkdisneyland004s8sm.jpg

http://img295.echo.cx/img295/5148/hkdisneyland023s0zs.jpg

http://img295.echo.cx/img295/2453/hkdisneyland005s8at.jpg

http://img295.echo.cx/img295/7069/hkdisneyland008s3ov.jpg

http://img295.echo.cx/img295/2804/hkdisneyland009s9rh.jpg

:)

A few more goodies left…

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting (http://www.imageshack.us)

hkskyline

June 5th, 2005, 06:44 PM

"No seating area for non-smokers will be provided at smaller venues."

That's sad... Isn't Disneyland for children?
Smoking is quite common in the mainland. Hence this move may satisfy the tourists who will frequent the park.

scorpion

June 5th, 2005, 10:56 PM

Poor strategic planning on Disney's part here--

*again*

raymond_tung88

June 6th, 2005, 12:46 AM

Why didn't they make the castle like what the rendering looks like?

http://img157.echo.cx/img157/9469/hkdisneyland012s4zt.jpg

hyacinthus

June 6th, 2005, 02:11 AM

From this http://img157.echo.cx/img157/4397/hkdisneyland011s6rf.jpg, it looks similar to what you have posted w/o the decorative banners and stuff... I think it would be a beautiful and fun place to go... just not very comfortable with the smoking policy... as this is supposed to be a smoke-free place for our children to enjoy. Keep the adults away from the park :colgate:

raymond_tung88

June 6th, 2005, 02:13 AM

scorpion

June 6th, 2005, 02:35 AM

seems like the phase I planning, smoking policy and shark-fin soup policy have already been interpreted as blunders by the public...

627

June 6th, 2005, 03:09 AM

umm what the fuck? keep in mind hongkong.. this is disneyland not theflamingo hilton

they really skewed the essence of Disney in this disneyland.. sharkfin should not be served, and smoking should DEFINITELY not be allowed

raymond_tung88

June 6th, 2005, 04:42 AM

Oh well... Disneyland Paris allows the alcohol to be bought. I'm pretty sure smoking is allowed in certain areas of other Disney theme parks. When you look at it, HK Disneyland is no exception.

scorpion

June 6th, 2005, 06:43 AM

to Disney's credit however, they have stated they're merely meeting HK's current smoking legislation standard, and will immediately comply with much more stringent smoking standards as they're implemented next year...

Aboveday

June 6th, 2005, 10:19 AM

Whatever.I will bring my lung cancer cells into the theme park.

Don Pacho

June 7th, 2005, 02:10 AM

Last pics of the exhibit…

http://img160.echo.cx/img160/6247/hkdisneyland015s9jf.jpg

http://img160.echo.cx/img160/7448/hkdisneyland014s8se.jpg

http://img160.echo.cx/img160/122/hkdisneyland026s8yk.jpg

http://img160.echo.cx/img160/7079/hkdisneyland020s7ug.jpg

:)

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting (http://www.imageshack.us)

BrizzyChris

June 7th, 2005, 07:40 AM

If you look closely at the "land maps", you will notice that there are actually sketches for all the possible extensions just off to the side (noticably to the left in Adventureland and to the right of Tomorrowland).

hkskyline

June 7th, 2005, 05:38 PM

Mickey mouse deposits
7 June 2005
Shanghai Daily

The opening of Hong Kong's Disneyland in September was supposed to be a boon for local travel agencies, but many agents say they are hesitant to sell tickets to the amusement park due to strict regulations, and a huge deposit demanded by park operators.

While shanghai International Travel Service is currently accepting reservations for the first tour group to visit the amusement park, which is scheduled to open on September 12, others say they are worried selling Disney tours will be risky and unprofitable.

Shanghai international's three-day tour, which costs 3,080 yuan (US$371), includes one day at the amusement park and one night at Disney's Hollywood Hotel.

All members of the tour must confirm they will make the trip before July 27 and put down a 1,500 yuan deposit, which they will lose if they later drop out.

"We've received many calls inquiring about the tour," said a salesman with the Shanghai International. "Most calls are from companies that intend to offer the tour to their clients as a bonus. Few individual tourists have called."

Wu derong, general manager of the outbound department of Shanghai CYTS Tours Corporation, said Disneyland had begun meeting with local agencies, and is expected to grant two or three of them the right to sell tickets to the park and book rooms in its hotel.

The appointed dealers won't be offered any discount on park admission tickets, which cost HK$295 (US$38) for adults during the week and HK$350 on weekends, unless they book rooms in the park's hotel, he said. The cheapest rooms in the hotel go for HK$1,000 a night.

Dealers also must pay a 1 million yuan deposit, which they will lose if they don't inform the park about changes to reservations at least 30 days in advance.

"It is unprecedented for a tourist site to place so many requirements on travel agencies," Wu said. "To accept all of them is risky, since we don't know if Disneyland tickets will sell well."

The park will limit the number of visitors it accepts each day to between 30,000 and 35,000, so it wants to prevent companies from booking tickets and then canceling them at the last minute, travel agents explained.

hkskyline

June 9th, 2005, 05:51 AM

CTII, Disney in talks on ticket sales
Mainland travel agency says 1,000 hotel rooms not enough
26 May 2005
South China Morning Post

China Travel International Investment Hong Kong (CTII) is in talks with Hong Kong Disneyland to sell tickets to the theme park through its mainland travel agencies, according to vice-chairman Shen Zhuying.

However, he refused to say whether CTII had asked to be Disneyland's sole agent.

Disney predicts the Lantau entertainment park will attract 5.6 million visitors in its first year, with at least 30 per cent from the mainland.

Mr Shen said the 1,000 rooms that would be available in two hotels from September 13 would not be enough. "We can offer packages providing tickets, hotel accommodation outside the park and transportation services for our customers," he said.

Mr Shen told yesterday's annual general meeting that the company's $2 billion Zhuhai Ocean Hotspring Resort in Zhuhai would open later this year.

"Our resort is different from Disneyland, therefore it will not create direct competition," he said.

CTII has not finalised the admission fee and hotel packages for its Zhuhai resort but the company expects the project to attract two million visitors in the first year. The Zhuhai resort has 1,000 rooms in two luxury hotels, 12 villas, a hot springs centre, medical centre and a 1,200-seat theatre.

During the Labour Day golden week holiday he said the company's travel-related revenue was up 10 per cent on last year.

hkskyline

June 9th, 2005, 10:02 PM

Disney takes shark's fin off menu
Sylvia Hui, Hong Kong Standard
June 10, 2005

Backing down under global pressure from environmentalists, Disney has decided to take the controversial shark's fin soup off its banquet menu - but will still serve it on request after educating customers on the threat to sharks.

In response to protests against its serving shark's fin soup at wedding banquets offered at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, the theme park will give pamphlets detailing the environmental impact of killing sharks to customers who insist on having the soup.

"We have heard many opinions and have given the matter careful consideration," said Irene Chan, spokeswoman for Hong Kong Disneyland.

"But most importantly, [the dish] is an integral part of Chinese banquets in Hong Kong culture, and we strongly believe we should give choice to our guests."

As with abalone and roast suckling pig, shark's fin soup is a traditional Chinese delicacy featured on most banquet menus.

Hong Kong Disneyland plans to serve the dish to newly-weds who request it at the Chinese-style banquets it offers when the park opens on September 12.

But environmentalists around the world are outraged, saying that consumption of the dish is responsible for a sharp decline in shark numbers worldwide.

They have accused Disney of being "unethical"and have threatened a boycott of all things Disney.

Insistent guests will be handed information pamphlets, which will show how sharks are killed, how the fins are harvested and the environmental impact of killing sharks.

The information will be prepared in a manner "suitable for a wedding," Chan said. "We will give them an informed choice, and we fully respect their choices."

She denied the move is a result of heavy pressure from environmentalists, and gave no indication of what dish will replace the pricey shark's fin soup on the menus.

According to Man Chi-sum, chief executive of local group Green Power which is preparing the pamphlet for Disney, the theme park consulted local green groups on their views on shark's fin soup two weeks ago.

Green Power is helping Disney voluntarily and has not received any fees, he said.

"We hope [Disney] will observe customers' reactions and consider not serving the dish entirely in the future," Man said.

"Any environmentalist would not want to see the soup served. But it is also important to have a discussion platform."

The theme park giant has also stressed it will only source shark's fins from "reliable and responsible suppliers" that adhere to relevant international treaties.

But some environmentalists remain unconvinced.

Brian Darvell, a marine protection activist and a member of the South China Diving Club, described the idea of handing out pamphlets as "ludicrous."

"It does nothing for them. The message is contradictory," he said.

"It's like saying, `I have principles, but if you give me a lot of money I can break them.' The word for it is `prostitution."'

The World Wide Fund for Nature , which is in discussions with Disney executives, said Thursday it could not comment while talks are underway.

Cloud

June 11th, 2005, 10:14 PM

When will they begin with phase 2 land reclamation?

Gherkin

June 11th, 2005, 10:45 PM

theres no rollercoasters or castle, looks like a standard fair

scorpion

June 11th, 2005, 11:20 PM

^^^look again.

you've been demoted to 005-status now~~

:bash:

bs_lover_boy

June 11th, 2005, 11:27 PM

When will they begin with phase 2 land reclamation?

I think it began already!

Chad

June 12th, 2005, 01:59 AM

The hotel supposed to be Art-Deco, but why it looks so cheap...

scorpion

June 12th, 2005, 02:08 AM

Chad: those are just water-color impressions...

not to worry!

:)

Don Pacho

June 12th, 2005, 02:32 AM

theres no rollercoasters or castle, looks like a standard fair

space mountain is a rollercoaster

:)

hkskyline

June 14th, 2005, 06:03 AM

Hong Kong Disneyland to tell customers about environmental harm of shark fin soup
By HELEN LUK
10 June 2005

HONG KONG (AP) - Customers who want shark fin soup served at their banquets at Hong Kong Disneyland will be told about the harm done by the industry that supplies the fins, a Disney spokeswoman said Friday.

Disney will work with the Hong Kong environmental group Green Power to produce leaflets about the topic, said spokeswoman Irene Chan.

The pamphlets will be given to people booking banquet tables at the park, which opens Sept. 12, she said.

But Chan said the brochures will not be too graphic, and guests can decide "to read it or not."

Activists have been pressuring Disneyland to take shark fin soup off its menus. They say millions of sharks are killed each year for the traditional Asian delicacy, with fishermen often hacking off the fins and dumping the sharks back into the water where they face certain death.

But Disney has refused to remove the staple Hong Kong banquet dish from its menus.

"We feel that we need to give a choice to our guests," Chan said. "We believe this is important because we need to respect the culture, since most five-star hotels and restaurants are serving it (shark fin soup). But we want to ensure our guests have information to make an informed decision."

Chan also said Disney will use fins from "reliable and responsible suppliers" who kill the shark and use the entire fish.

She said the company wants to strike a balance between "environmental concerns and respect for the local culture."

Environmentalist Cheng Luk-ki of Green Power welcomed Disney's new measure. "It's better than putting shark fin soup on its menu and not discouraging customers from having the dish," Cheng said.

However, he said Disney should drop the dish altogether. He criticized the company for stressing its environmental concerns in its corporate policy, while serving food that he said damaged marine ecology.

"We think it's a bit hypocritical," he said. "It is not too serious about its policy."

The park is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the Hong Kong government.

hkskyline

June 14th, 2005, 06:09 AM

New shark slap at Disney
Doug Crets and Sylvia Hui
13 June 2005
Hong Kong Standard

Disney's pledge that it will source its shark fin from "reliable and responsible suppliers" is impossible to achieve, says a green group.

The company is working to salvage its environmentally friendly image that took a beating last month when it was revealed it will serve shark's fin soup when Hong Kong Disneyland opens September 12.

Representatives of WWF, formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund, said the idea of sustainable shark fins is illusory because there is no way to determine how fins are harvested.

The entertainment giant's official line is that Disneyland will only source fins from farm-raised sharks and those caught from well-regulated sources where entire remains of fish are used.

But Hong Kong WWF spokesman Clarus Chu said it is impossible to tell where a shark fin comes from or whether fishermen in areas where "finning" is banned have exploited legal loopholes.

"There is no regulation of the identity of sharks or their locations," said Chu. Disney was not available for comment. Green groups have long called for a ban on finning _ the practice of harvesting only the fins and throwing the rest of the shark back into the ocean.

"That's exactly why finning is being banned. It's a waste of resources," he said.

The only agreement regulating the shark fin trade is the voluntary Food and Agriculture Organization's International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Protection of Sharks, which Hong Kong does not recognize because China is not a signatory, Chu said.

According to conservationists, shark farms do not exist and fishermen skirt the law by harvesting the fins at sea and taking them into ports not governed by regulations. The only precise way to pinpoint their origin is through DNA testing, according the Chu.

"Currently, yes, it's very difficult _ almost impossible. And we are asking [Disney] to go for a certified and well-managed fishery. If you can't find it, stop serving the dish altogether, and wait till you can find it. It's simple," he said.

Environmentalists worldwide have conducted a heated campaign against shark finning.

Disney executives have been deluged with e-mail appeals, with most arguing that the demand for shark's fin soup in Asia has led directly to the global decline in shark populations.

Other than stressing it will only source shark fins from "reliable and responsible suppliers" that adhere to relevant international treaties, Disney last week said the dish will be taken off the banquet menus but will remain available to customers who request it. Conservationists have called this hypocritical and cynical because Disney regularly gives money to Asian organizations that work to protect and preserve ecology.

In the United States, a WWF education program called the Windows on the Wild is sponsored by the company.

Disney has also said it will distribute pamphlets designed by local organization Green Power to educate consumers of the environmental impact of shark finning.

Hong Kong is a hub in the global trade of shark fins. In 2003, more than 10,000 tonnes of dried shark fin were imported to the territory, accounting for about 50 percent of the world's trade. Some of these were re-exported.

Shark's fin soup is also popular in Japan, Singapore and other parts of China.

The US Senate banned shark finning in all US coastal waters in 2000.

The international plan of action prohibits the taking of threatened shark species and targets fishermen who do not use the entire shark, suggesting countries provide the means to regulate "un-utilized" sharks.

Most sharks are migratory, so banning their slaughter in one ocean area does not protect them everywhere or allow them to breed successfully, since most sharks breed in one section of the ocean and travel to others.

Sixty shark species are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources list of those endangered. It is estimated that of the 400 or more species, 185 are near extinction.

However, according to 2001 data compiled by the organization and available on its Web site "Bite Back," some of the most endangered come from areas that shark fin sellers to Hong Kong trade from.

According to the site, Hong Kong imports shark fins from 125 countries and exports them to 75. Conservationists say little of that trade comes directly from Hong Kong waters.

Local and international environmentalists have launched a campaign taking Disney to task for avoiding the conservation issue in Hong Kong, accusing the company of setting double standards by promoting marine protection in the United States but not doing so in Asia.

Disney has received support from legislator Tommy Cheung, chairman of the Hong Kong Catering Industry Association, who doubts whether sharks are a threatened species.

But environmentalists seem to have a more potent force on their side: children. Recently more than 500 students at the English Schools Foundation drew up a petition calling for a boycott of Disneyland until shark fins are taken off the menu completely.

Paul Bayne, a biology teacher at West Island School, told The Standard that students took up the issue on their own accord when they learned that Disney would be serving the dish.

Bayne, a diver with the South China Dive Club who receives regular e-mails from a diverse gathering of environmentalists who are bringing the case against Disney, said he had shown the e-mails to students, but they had been presented without bias.

The students now have plans to take their petition campaign to other schools in Hong Kong.

In fact, in recent weeks, children from the lower forms at West Island School have come up with their own arguments against the trade in fins.

hkskyline

June 15th, 2005, 03:15 AM

Disneyland faces green call
Chester Yung
13 June 2005
Hong Kong Standard

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Choy So-yuk has urged Hong Kong Disneyland to be greener, saying its decision to serve shark's fin soup at wedding banquets cannot be justified on the grounds that is a Chinese custom.

Her comments follow the recent announcement by Disneyland that it plans to serve shark's fin soup at Chinese- style wedding banquets when it opens in September.

Choy, a legislator and member of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said Sunday just because eating shark's fin soup is a custom, that does not necessarily make it a good tradition.

"There are different kinds of traditional culture. We've to encourage and promote the good ones but correct the bad ones," Choy said.

"Unlike other cultural activities such as the bun festival, the custom of eating shark's fin has a global impact."

Choy, who chairs the Legco environmental affairs panel, said the controversial shark's fin trade is endangering shark species and severely damaging the marine ecosystem, which many consumers and suppliers may not be aware of. It is estimated that up to 85 percent of the world's shark fin trade passes through Hong Kong.

The US-based environmental group WildAid said the lucrative Asian market for shark's fin soup has played a significant part in the decline of shark populations worldwide.

Choy said shark's fin is a "non- environmentally friendly food" that Disneyland should not supply to its customers.

"The demand for eating shark's fin creates the incentive to kill more sharks ... I suggest Hong Kong should ban the import of shark fin," Choy said.

"It's not good for health and a waste of money."

Choy said Disneyland, as an internationally recognized corporation, should take the lead in practicing corporate social responsibility.

Backing down under global pressure from environmentalists, Disneyland last week decided to take shark's in soup off its banquet menu _ but will still serve it on request after educating customers on the threat to sharks.

WildAid accused Disneyland of being "hypocritical" by serving shark's fin while saying it cares about the environment.

Choy argued Disneyland should establish "forward-looking" objectives to promote environmental protection rather than simply following the "basic requirements" of existing laws.

As the Hong Kong Tourism Board will spend more than HK$900 million on global marketing campaigns for Hong Kong in the coming two years _ with Disneyland one of the key promotion _ Choy said the government should demand that the multinational entertainment conglomerate fulfill a higher requirement on environmental protection to establish a "sound image" for Hong Kong.

She criticized the government's environmental policies as outdated and lacking teeth to push Disneyland to do more.

Choy is calling on Disneyland to adopt more environmentally friendly measures at its theme park and hotels before the official opening on September 12.

hkskyline

June 15th, 2005, 09:53 PM

LCQ7: EPD closely observes trial fireworks displays at Hong Kong Disneyland
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Government Press Release

Following is a question by the Hon David Li and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (June 15):

Question:

From April 29 to May 7 this year, the Hong Kong Disneyland held in-situ trials of the nightly fireworks display planned for the theme park once it opens. During the trials, it was observed that the fireworks rose to a lower maximum height than that at the initial test held in January this year. As such, the resultant smoke tended to hover at a low level and, due to the prevailing wind conditions, drift inward towards the former Penny's Bay. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of :

(a) the average wind speed and direction measured at the Hong Kong Disneyland site on each night during the trial period;

(b) the locations and types of all instruments used by the contractors of Hong Kong Disneyland and by the authorities to measure the impact of the noise, particles and chemical substances of the fireworks on each night during the trial period;

(c) the specific chemicals substances measured by the above instruments, the rationale for the choice of chemicals to be recorded by the contractors and Government for reporting purposes, and the sensitivities of these instruments in respect of each of these chemicals; and

(d) the maximum instantaneous reading for each of the specified measurements recorded by each of the above instruments on each night during the trial period, broken down by location?

Reply,

Madam President,

The firework display trial is a requirement stipulated in the Environmental Permit issued to Hongkong International Theme Parks Limited (HKITP) under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO), for the construction and operation of the Hong Kong Disneyland at Penny's Bay, Lantau. According to the Environmental Permit issued under the EIAO, the details of which have been made public on the EPD's website since 2000 (http://www.epd.gov.hk/eia/register/permit/latest/fep0292000.htm), the HKITP is required to carry out trial fireworks displays and associated air quality and noise monitoring. The details of the trial and monitoring programme should be submitted to the Director of Environmental Protection for agreement at least one month prior to the trial fireworks displays. The results of the trial fireworks displays should be submitted to the Director for agreement prior to the operation of the Project. Also, the results of the trial tests and associated air quality data should be provided to the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) for consultation, as directed by the Director of Environmental Protection, and made available to the public through the project's web site and the web site of EIA Ordinance.

(a) According to the trial and monitoring programme submitted by HKITP in April 2005, HKITP would record the weather data during the trial tests, including wind speed and direction. We have maintained close liaison with HKITP on their initial test results. We are awaiting the final submission around end of June from HKITP of their trial test results.

(b) According to the Environmental Permit issued under the EIAO, HKITP would carry out the air quality and noise monitoring during the trial. According to the proposal of HKITP, the air quality monitoring would be conducted using high volume and polyurethane foam samplers, tapered element oscillating microbalance ambient particulate monitor, canister and absorbent tube samplers.

The instruments used for noise monitoring are sound level meters specified under the Technical Memorandum of the Noise Control Ordinance.

The air quality monitoring was conducted at the following locations:

(i) rooftop of Peng Lai Court on Peng Chau;

(ii) rooftop of Management Office of Crestmont Villa at Discovery Bay;

(iii) Hollywood Hotel within Theme Park;

(iv) building #304 (Buzz Lightyear) within the Theme Park; and

(v) building #609 (Central Maintenance Facility) within the Theme Park.

Regarding noise monitoring, according to the HKITP's proposal, the noise levels would be recorded at the following locations:

(i) Tai Lei on Peng Chau; and

(ii) Rooftop of Cherish Court at Discovery Bay.

EPD, as the statutory authority under the EIAO, has closely observed the trial test and monitoring process conducted by HKITP, and would carefully vet the final submission of the trial test results. The initial monitoring results from HKITP show that the environmental requirements can be met.

(c) According to HKITP's proposal, the following chemicals/metals would be measured:

(i) Total Volatile Organic Compound;

(ii) Volatile Organic Compound (speciated);

(iii) Repairable Suspended Particulates;

(iv) Metals (Aluminium, Antimony, Arsenic, Barium, Chromium, Copper, Iron, Lead, Magnesium, Manganese, particulate Mercury, Molybdenum, Nickel, Potassium, Strontium, Titanium and Zinc);

(v) Sulphate;

(vi) Dioxins; and

(vii) Hydrogen Sulphide.

The choice of chemicals monitored was based on the parameters used in the Theme Park EIA report having regard to their potential air quality implications.

According to the trial firework display proposal put forward by HKITP, sampling instruments and procedures would follow the standards of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(d) In accordance with the internationally recognised practice, the firework noise criterion adopted in the Theme Park EIA report, which was presented to the public from March to April 2000 and endorsed by the ACE in April 2000, is based on 15-minute Equivalent Continuous Noise Level (i.e. Leq (15 min)) instead of instantaneous maximum noise level. The initial monitoring results from HKITP show that the noise criterion can be met. The monitoring data recorded by other instruments mentioned in (b) above are generally within the prescribed limits and the details will be available in the final submission. We are maintaining close liaison with HKITP and awaiting their final submission around end of June.

philip

June 16th, 2005, 08:54 AM

Hong Kong Disneyland Guide Map

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philip

June 16th, 2005, 08:58 AM

Hong Kong Disneyland Now Opens for Preview.

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BrizzyChris

June 16th, 2005, 09:36 AM

I think by about 2007, with a few new rides and more mature vegetation HK Disneyland will be looking fantastic.

raymond_tung88

June 17th, 2005, 12:39 AM

Disneyland HK looks awesome. I hope they do put in more rides and possibly add more themed areas like Frontierland and Mickey's Toon-town.

Azn_chi_boi

June 17th, 2005, 11:20 AM

Looking excellent, looking forward to going..........eventually.

hkskyline

June 21st, 2005, 12:28 AM

WWF seeks sustainable solution to shark's fin dispute
Norma Connolly
18 June 2005
South China Morning Post

Conservation body WWF Hong Kong says it plans to meet shark traders and government officials to find a solution to the controversy over Disney's restaurants serving shark's fin soup.

The environmental group said yesterday it also intended to organise 20,000 students to petition Disney to remove shark's fin soup from its menu.

Eric Bohm, chief executive of WWF HK, said: "Our next step will be to approach the Shark Fin Traders Merchant Association to see if we can work together to identify certifiable sustainable means for [shark fins]."

The WWF has already met Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow Yat-ngok to discuss creating no-fishing zones over 20 per cent of Hong Kong's fishing waters to allow stocks to replenish. Mr Bohm says he hopes the government will also become more involved in the shark fin discussion.

Mr Bohm said he hoped to arrange meetings with the traders and government representatives from next week.

Claude Martin, director-general of WWF International, on his final visit to Hong Kong before his retirement at the end of this year, said between 50 and 80 per cent of the global shark fin trade goes to Hong Kong. He said: "We are seeing a very fast decline in shark populations worldwide. This is because of sharks being targeted specifically for products such as shark fin but also because sharks are caught as by-catch by unsustainable fishing methods worldwide."

Dr Martin said that the Hong Kong government, as a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (Cites), "has an obligation to control the shark fin trade".

WWF HK claims Disney originally agreed to take shark fin soup off its menus until a "certifiable sustainable source" could be found. Currently, WWF cannot identify any such sources of shark fin.

Disney has announced it will serve shark's fin soup, but will also provide diners at its Disneyland Hotel with leaflets explaining the potential ecological harm caused by eating the soup.

Mr Bohm said WWF HK will approach the 20,000 students with whom it interacts on nature projects to explain "the threat to sharks and other species and we will ask them to sign a petition to Disney to have the dish removed from the menu".

Disney Hong Kong could not be reached for comment yesterday.

hkskyline

June 21st, 2005, 07:22 AM

Hong Kong activists take Disney sharks' fin fight to politicians

HONG KONG, June 20 (AFP) - Environmentalists have taken their campaign against Disney's plan to serve sharks' fin dishes at its Hong Kong theme park to the city's political leaders, activists said Monday.

A leading local green group urged the government to step in and force the US giant to pull the dish, the popularity of which they say has led to sharp declines in shark populations.

"As a major stakeholder in the Disneyland project, we would ask the government to use its considerable influence to persuade Disney to take sharks' fin off their menus as an example to other major food outlets and to show, particularly to their younger clients, that Disney and Hong Kong are environmentally responsible," the Friends of Hoi Ha group said in a weekend letter to the Chinese territory's environment minister Sarah Liao.

Hong Kong's government is a majority shareholder in the city's Disney resort, which is due to open on September 12.

It has chipped in a large chunk of the 3.2 billion US dollars it has cost to create the park on an old shipbuilding bay near Hong Kong's international airport. It has also stumped up some 700 million dollars to decontaminate the former industrial site.

Disney sparked a worldwide firestorm of protest when it revealed it would serve the dish at wedding banquets. An email and online campaign was directed at Disney boss Michael Eisner in the United States.

Opponents object to the inhumane way in which the fins are removed -- a process called "finning" whereby sharks' fins are hacked off and the body thrown back into the sea to die.

Demand in Hong Kong from traders and consumers is believed to account for as much as 80 percent of the global trade in sharks' fins. Activists say millions of the fish, many from endangered species, are killed each week to supply the trade.

Disney said it was obliged to serve the dish to satisfy cultural demand for what they say is a traditional Chinese dish.

Bowing to complaints it offered to serve sharks' fin -- a tasteless gelatinous substance usually cooked into soups -- only on request and said it would hand out leaflets explaining the environmental impact of eating the food.

The letter from Friends of Hoi Ha, formed ostensibly to protect a nearby marine and nature park, said Disney's charge that shark's fin was traditional was a smoke screen to allow them to profit from the expensive, luxury dish.

"There needs to be a concerted education effort to convince people that eating sharks' fin should go the same way as foot binding or opium smoking," said the letter, signed by group chief Nicola Newbery and emailed to AFP.

"Sharks' fin is a Hong Kong problem and Hong Kong's response to the irrefutable scientific evidence now available will decide nothing less than the future of sharks on our planet," it added.

hkskyline

June 22nd, 2005, 09:46 PM

Wednesday June 22, 2:26 PM
Hong Kong Disneyland expected to draw 30,000 on opening day, a third from mainland China

AP - Hong Kong Disneyland is expected to draw its daily maximum of 30,000 visitors on its opening day, with a third of the guests coming from mainland China, officials said Wednesday.

Hong Kong's Commissioner for Tourism Eva Cheng told reporters at a new conference to outline the details of the opening that the park was expecting to welcome 30,000 visitors when it opens on Sept. 12.

Concerns about crowd control have led officials to consider setting up signs near mainland border checkpoints showing ticket availability for the park.

Some of the immigration lines at the Lo Wu border which handles rail and bus passengers from the mainland will be reserved exclusively for Chinese Disneyland tour groups, said Simon Peh, assistant director at the Immigration Department.

Peh said a third of the park's guests were expected to come from the mainland.

A 3.5-kilometer (2-mile) dedicated rail line that links up with Hong Kong's existing subway and supports roads and bus services, will be opened in phases starting in August, the government said in a statement.

Select guests will be invited to test the park itself from Aug. 16 until opening day, it said.

The theme park, built on reclaimed land on the outlying Lantau island, is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the Hong Kong government.

Hong Kong taxpayers are footing the bulk of the US$3.5 billion construction bill for Hong Kong Disneyland, and critics question whether the government got a good deal. Officials have said the park will boost employment and tourism.

hkskyline

June 23rd, 2005, 08:02 AM

Hong Kong Disneyland Open Day Entry Limited
By HELEN LUK, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jun 22,11:20 AM ET

HONG KONG - Hong Kong Disneyland will only sell 12,000 tickets for its opening day, with the majority sold online through the theme park's Web site, Disney executives said Wednesday.

Earlier, Hong Kong officials said at another media event that the theme park was expected to draw its daily maximum of 30,000 visitors when it opens on Sept. 12. But the park Group Managing Director Don Robinson said it will be closed to the public that morning for private events.

The theme park, built on reclaimed land on the outlying Lantau island, is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the Hong Kong government. Officials have said the park will boost employment and tourism. Hong Kong taxpayers are footing the bulk of the $3.5 billion construction bill.

Guests will be able to access the park via a 3.5 kilometer (2 mile) dedicated rail line that links up with Hong Kong's existing subway, bus and road transport routes. The rail line will be opened in phases starting in August, a government statement said.

Officials are also considering setting up signs near mainland border checkpoints showing ticket availability for the park.

Simon Peh, assistant director at the Immigration Department, said some of the immigration lines at the Lo Wu border which handles rail and bus passengers from the mainland will be reserved exclusively for Chinese Disneyland tour groups. Peh said a third of the park's guests were expected to come from the mainland.

Tickets go on sale from July 1 on the park's Web site, which is expected to account for at least 70 percent of all sales.

Telephone bookings will only be accepted from guests staying at the two Disney hotels in Hong Kong and for groups of 25 people or more, Robinson said. The remaining tickets will be sold through travel agents and at the park's ticketing booths.

hkskyline

June 24th, 2005, 06:53 AM

South China Morning Post
June 23, 2005
Disney maps out 3-phase opening
Rail link will lead the way, followed by public access to promenade and Inspiration Lake
Dennis Eng

Hong Kong Disneyland will open to the public in three phases starting in early August to allow for last-minute fine-tuning and to better gauge public opinion before its full opening on September 12.

The phased opening will begin with the launch of the Disneyland Resort Line rail link, although this will mainly benefit park staff who need to travel to the area.

The link connects the park to Sunny Bay station on the MTR's Tung Chung line.

About two weeks later on August 16, the public will gain free access to the park promenade and the Inspiration Lake.

Authorities stress that the Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre can only safely accommodate 5,000 people and that a one-way visitor flow will be implemented once it reaches capacity. The promenade can host about 27,000 people.

Six franchised bus services as well as taxis will serve the park on the new Penny's Bay Highway and other public roads during this phase.

The 24-hour pier will also be open to vessels free of charge.

The park and its two hotels will remain off-limits to the public during these phases.

To cope with the expected crowds, especially visitors travelling from the mainland, Immigration Department assistant director Simon Peh Yun-lu advised people crossing the border at times other than the 8am-10am rush hour to use the Lowu crossing to avoid long queues at the Lok Ma Chau crossing.

Mr Peh added that signs might be erected at border checkpoints to update visitors on the availability of tickets.

The park has a capacity for about 30,000 people and one-third of visitors are expected to come from the mainland.

"The Guangdong and Hong Kong governments have also agreed to a quota of 60 cross-boundary buses operating directly between the mainland and Disneyland via Lok Ma Chau," said Lo Yat-cheung, a Transport Department principal transport officer.

Assuming each bus has room for 50 passengers, the 60 daily trips to the park will only bring in 3,000 mainland visitors. There is enough parking space for about 300 such buses.

Operators expect the journey to cost between $ 80 and $ 100 each way.

"This is quite reasonable considering that the cost of travelling by rail and other public transport adds up to about $ 50 or $ 60," said Hong Kong Inbound Travel Association chairman Paul Leung Yiu-lam.

"Paying a little bit more for a faster trip by direct bus is not bad."

About 1,000 cars and 50 motorcycles will be able to park at the site. Overflow traffic will be redirected to an emergency vehicle holding ground for 800 cars next to Sunny Bay station.

Police will post nine officers to man a joint command centre at the Penny's Bay police post and patrol the area.

Sonic from Padova

June 24th, 2005, 11:43 AM

:) looks great!

hkskyline

June 26th, 2005, 05:04 PM

Disney pulls shark's fin from Hong Kong park menu
Fri Jun 24,11:23 PM ET

HONG KONG (AFP) - The Disney company has pulled shark's fin dishes from the menu of its Hong Kong theme park after pressure from environmentalists who had protested loudly against the product.

In a short statement, the company said it had decided to abandon plans to serve the controversial dish after failing to find ecologically sound suppliers.

"After careful consideration and a thorough review process, we were not able to identify an environmentally sustainable fishing source, leaving us no alternative except to remove sharks' fin soup from our wedding banquet menu," the statement read.

Activists struck up a global protest after the company said it would serve the luxury delicacy at wedding banquets at the southern Chinese territory's Disney resort, which is due to open in September.

They said Disney was failing in its corporate responsibility by promising to serve a dish they claim contributed to sharp declines in shark populations.

Environmental groups are opposed to the expensive item as the gelatinous cartilage is harvested by a process called "finning" in which the fins are hacked off and the shark thrown back into the water to die.

Disney had defended its plan saying shark's fin soup was a traditional Chinese dish and would be served in respect to cultural sensitivities.

Don Robinson, Hong Kong Disneyland's group managing director, said the company had a good environmental reputation to keep.

"Striking the right balance between cultural sensitivities and conservation has always been out goal," he said.

Jose Luis

June 26th, 2005, 05:41 PM

looks cool, but not better than Tokyo's.

Manu84

June 26th, 2005, 06:05 PM

the cinderala castle isn´t very beautiful

hkskyline

June 27th, 2005, 07:39 AM

Sunday June 26, 3:57 PM
Disney officials consulted feng shui experts for Hong Kong Disneyland

AP - Disney officials consulted Chinese feng shui experts before building Hong Kong Disneyland, making changes such as tilting the site of the park several degrees and setting up "no fire zones" in kitchens, a company spokeswoman said Sunday.

Feng shui is the Chinese belief that harmonious energy and therefore better fortune can be achieved by the correct positioning of furniture and other objects.

Other feng shui influences include the park's orientation to face water with mountains behind, Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Esther Wong said.

The park's groundbreaking date and opening date of Sept. 12 were picked after conferring with feng shui specialists, she said.

Feng shui experts also designated "no fire zones" in the kitchens, to try to keep the five elements of metal, water, wood, fire and earth in balance.

Wong said U.S.-based Walt Disney Co. decided to observe feng shui because it wanted to defer to local custom.

"It's cultural considerations," Wong said, noting, "all the food and language in the park must follow the habits and tastes of our consumers and future guests."

Hong Kongers tend to be Westernized, but Hong Kong Disneyland is expected to draw droves of guests from neighboring mainland China.

However, Disney's cultural sensitivity drew a backlash recently. The park had planned to serve shark's fin soup, a Chinese delicacy, but dropped the dish after protests from environmentalists who expressed fears about the extinction of sharks.

Hong Kong Disneyland _ built on reclaimed land in the outlying Lantau island _ is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the Hong Kong government, but local taxpayers are footing most of the construction bill.

Critics have questioned whether the government got a good deal. Officials have said the park will boost employment and tourism.

hkskyline

June 27th, 2005, 11:28 PM

Huge rush for special Disney tickets
Discovery Bay residents complain of long queues and poor allocation
Norma Connolly
28 June 2005
South China Morning Post

Disney released 5,000 pre-opening tickets for Discovery Bay residents yesterday, triggering long queues and complaints about allocation.

Tickets for rehearsal days at the amusement park ahead of its opening on September 12 were snapped up by residents who queued for up to six hours. The district council was flooded with complaints from people who said they had not been told of the ticket sales or who were upset about long queues.

Discovery Bay resident Judy Mathews, who queued for at least four hours, said that at one point the queue had stretched from the plaza as far as the beach.

"Some people came at 6am and finally got their tickets after 12 0'clock," she said as she waited to buy tickets to attend one of four rehearsal days, planned for August 24 and 28, and September 2 and 3.

She said she had to pay for the tickets at the Discovery Bay Activity Centre but would receive them at a later date. "I really hope I don't have to queue up all over again," she said.

Islands district councillor Amy Yung Wing-sheung said she had been inundated with complaints from residents who had waited for hours for tickets or who missed out because they had not received leaflets announcing the sale.

"Quite a lot of people did not get the information. I can understand why people are upset about it," said Ms Yung, who also lives in Discovery Bay. "I think the whole arrangement is not very satisfactory and the management should have anticipated it. There should be proper planning."

HKR International sent leaflets with details of the sale to all Discovery Bay's 7,500 households on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the management company said yesterday. She said posters had also been put up throughout Discovery Bay.

The spokeswoman said the arrangements had been put in place to prevent tickets being resold.

Each household was entitled to four tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. All weekday tickets, for $198, and weekend ones, costing $230, were sold out last night.

Esther Wong Wing-han, spokeswoman for Disney Hong Kong, said the tickets had been allocated to Discovery Bay residents because "they are our good neighbours". She denied the tickets had been sold to appease residents unhappy about recent fireworks trials.

During designated rehearsal days, all rides, shows, hotels and films will operate as normal, and fireworks displays will be held.

Previous fireworks trials prompted complaints from residents, which Ms Yung passed to the Environmental Protection Department. She said she had asked Disney to suspend fireworks when air pollution levels were high.

More tickets go on sale today, for a September 4 charity day to raise money for the Community Chest.

A command centre co-ordinated by police will be set up to monitor crowd and traffic conditions at Disneyland, Commissioner for Tourism Eva Cheng Yu-wah told legislators yesterday. She said a contingency system would operate in case of emergencies.

hkskyline

June 28th, 2005, 03:10 AM

Disneyland Fireworks Rehearsal
More photos : http://www.pbase.com/eddie_the_buzz/disneyland_firework

http://www.pbase.com/eddie_the_buzz/image/42847837.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/eddie_the_buzz/image/42847838.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/eddie_the_buzz/image/42847841.jpg

Don Pacho

June 28th, 2005, 03:49 AM

just amazing !! :okay:

hkskyline

June 28th, 2005, 06:56 AM

An aerial from February 2003 showing the Disney site being reclaimed :

http://www.globalphotos.org/malaysia/20030220/RIMG2482.jpg

scorpion

June 28th, 2005, 07:51 AM

just amazing !! :okay:

:cheers:

hkskyline

June 28th, 2005, 07:09 PM

Tuesday June 28, 7:01 PM
Tickets for charity day at Hong Kong Disneyland sell out within hours

AP - Customers snapped up tickets to attend a pre-opening charity day at Hong Kong Disneyland within hours of them appearing for sale on the Internet Tuesday, Disney officials said.

All tickets for the charity day set for Sept. 4 were sold out within the first three hours of going online, Disney said in a statement. Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Esther Wong said 15,000 tickets were sold.

Visitors on the charity day will see the Hong Kong theme park eight days before its official opening on Sept. 12.

"The response from the public to the ticket sales has been overwhelming and demonstrates tremendous support for both the local community and for Hong Kong Disneyland," said Hong Kong Disneyland Group Managing Director Don Robinson.

He said all the ticket proceeds will be donated to local charity group, the Community Chest, which raises money for social welfare agencies.

The theme park, built on reclaimed land on Lantau island, is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the Hong Kong government.

Hong Kong taxpayers are footing the bulk of the US$3.5 billion (euro2.88 billion) construction bill for Hong Kong Disneyland, and critics question whether the government got a good deal. Officials have said the park will boost employment and tourism.

hkskyline

June 29th, 2005, 07:36 AM

Police warn against Disneyland ticket scalping
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Government Press Release

Police today (June 28) warned members of the public not to participate in any ticket-scalping activities, including the Disneyland admission tickets.

The Hong Kong Disneyland will be officially opened on September 12 while on-line admission ticket-booking will take effect from July 1.

The Hong Kong Disneyland is licensed under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance. According to Section 6 of the Ordinance, no person shall sell, or offer or exhibit or have in his possession for sale, or solicit the purchase of, any ticket or voucher authorising or purporting to authorise admission to any place of public entertainment licensed under this Ordinance in any public thoroughfare, or in the entrance hall of, or approaches to, any such place as aforesaid, except at a box-office, booth, turnstile or counter appointed by the proprietor or manager of such place or by the organiser of the entertainment, exhibition, performance, amusement, game or sport held therein.

Neither can a person sell, or offer or exhibit or have in his possession for sale, or solicit the purchase of, any ticket or voucher authorising or purporting to authorise admission to any place of public entertainment licensed under this Ordinance at a price exceeding the amount fixed by such proprietor, manager or organiser to be charged therefor, inclusive of the duty, if any, payable.

Any person who contravenes the provisions shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of $2,000.

The Technology Crime Division (TCD) of the Commercial Crime Bureau will monitor any on-line ticket-scalping activities and will strictly enforce the law.

Police urged members of the public not to act against the law. Enquiries on on-line ticket-scalping activities can be made to the TCD on 2860 5012 or by email at cpu-tcd@police.gov.hk. Members of the public can also report related criminal activities to the TCD.

Sexas

July 1st, 2005, 06:42 PM

Hkshyline: Some rumor here in the US say Six Flags is in talk with Hong Kong to build the first theme park in Asia

Imperfect Ending

July 4th, 2005, 02:08 PM

Wow.. can't believe its done already

hkskyline

July 4th, 2005, 03:32 PM

Hkshyline: Some rumor here in the US say Six Flags is in talk with Hong Kong to build the first theme park in Asia
There were rumours that either Universal Studios or Six Flags want to build a theme park in Hong Kong, but it's highly unlikely it will take place. Universal Studios have talked to Shanghai while having 3 major theme parks in Hong Kong may be too many.

hkskyline

July 4th, 2005, 03:33 PM

Hong Kong Disney Gives Away 20K Free Tix
Sat Jul 2, 7:16 AM ET
AP

HONG KONG - Hong Kong Disneyland has given 20,000 free tickets to poor families and the disabled to visit the new theme park before it opens to the public, officials said Saturday.

Those receiving the free tickets will be able to come to the park — set to open Sept. 12 — on the last two days of August, a government statement said.

It said priority will be given to children from poor and immigrant families, the disabled, and people affected by Hong Kong's 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.

Hong Kong Disneyland began selling tickets through its Web site on Friday.

Tickets are still available for all dates in its first three months of operation, including opening day, said a Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman, Esther Wong.

However, Wong described sales as "strong," and said the park's operators "are pleased to see the public's support for Disneyland."

The company will only sell 12,000 tickets for its opening day because the park, which can normally cater to a daily maximum of 30,000 visitors, will be closed to the public the first morning for private events.

The theme park, built on reclaimed land on Hong Kong's Lantau island, is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the Hong Kong government.

Hong Kong taxpayers are footing the bulk of the US$3.5 billion construction bill for Hong Kong Disneyland, and critics question whether the government got a good deal. Officials have said the park will boost employment and tourism.

hkskyline

July 4th, 2005, 05:44 PM

July 01, 2005
Hong Kong Disneyland starts on-line tickets selling
People's Daily

Hong Kong Disneyland started its on-line tickets selling Friday and its spokesperson said the process had been smooth so far.

Hong Kong Disneyland announced its on-line ticketing plan on June 22. People who want to visit the theme park need to use their credit card to book tickets through the website of Hong Kong Disneyland. Each credit card can buy at most 10 tickets.

The theme park said that starting from Friday, guests can buy tickets for its grand opening day on Sept. 12 and the first 90 days after its opening.

Hong Kong Disneyland will begin its rehearsal on Aug. 16 and it will last for approximately four weeks.

Rehearsal days have been a long-standing tradition at Disney theme parks and present an opportunity for cast members -- Disneyland's term for employees -- to practice and adjust their performance.

Specially invited guests include business affiliates, travel trade associates, contractors, consultants, alliance partners, government officers who have been involved in the disneyland project, and certain charitable organizations.

Among the first guests to be received during the rehearsal days will be Hong Kong Disneyland cast members and their families.

Invitations to guests will range from several thousand to 30, 000 on a daily basis.

Source: Xinhua

redstone

July 4th, 2005, 05:48 PM

When did construction begun?

The speed is so amazingly surreal....

sfgadv02

July 4th, 2005, 09:21 PM

Its smaller than the usual Disneyland though. :)

Effer

July 5th, 2005, 10:30 PM

Its smaller than the usual Disneyland though. :)
:bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash:

Don Pacho

July 5th, 2005, 11:55 PM

Its smaller than the usual Disneyland though. :)

Smaller for now. There is room for expansion.

Let's see how it develops.

Maybe a second park...

:)

Aboveday

July 6th, 2005, 12:42 AM

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos/2005/07/06/c3321461150550551120603149729.jpg

wow.it is so small!!!

scorpion

July 6th, 2005, 01:38 AM

great pic--

it is a touch tiny, but 2nd phase is already in full-swing and the park hasn't even opened yet...!

sfgadv02

July 6th, 2005, 01:57 AM

Sounds great! Cant wait to see 2nd phrase.

Sexas

July 6th, 2005, 06:25 AM

see how many empty land for expanstion, and they still have that big lot for few more hotels....wow

superchan7

July 6th, 2005, 07:29 AM

I think after the hotels were quickly booked, Disney decided to give the green light to begin phase 2 preparations.

Gunadica

July 6th, 2005, 08:09 AM

The hotel that looks like the Grand Floridian (the white with orange roof) is huge! It seems as if that hotel's land is at least one quarter of the size of the actualy park O_O

hkskyline

July 7th, 2005, 06:49 PM

Ticketing of Hong Kong Disneyland
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Government Press Release

Following is the question by the Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, in the Legislative Council today (July 6):

Question:

According to the ticket types and prices announced by the Hong Kong Disneyland (HKD), elderly people aged 65 or above may purchase senior tickets and children under three years old may be admitted free of charge. Moreover, ticket prices for "peak days" (including weekends, Hong Kong public holidays, summer school holidays (July and August) and the Mainland Golden Weeks (May 1 to 7 and October 1 to 7 every year)) are higher than those for "regular days". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will appeal to HKD for:

(a) offering concessions on ticket prices to the elderly of Hong Kong, including lowering the age restriction for senior tickets to 60 or above, allowing elderly people over 75 years old to purchase senior tickets at half price and granting free admission once for the elderly born in the same year as the Mickey Mouse;

(b) altering the age restriction for free admission to under four years old; and

(c) exempting Hong Kong residents from being charged the higher ticket prices for "peak days", so that they can be admitted all year round by holding tickets at "regular days" prices?

Reply:

Madam President,

Hongkong International Theme Parks Limited (HKITP), the Management Company of Hong Kong Disneyland (HKD), is responsible for the operational management of the theme park. Ticketing strategy is a commercial decision for HKITP. The current pricing strategy of HKD provides senior patrons with preferential admission rates, which are about 43% lower than the adult rate, whereas admission for children is 28% lower. Children under three enjoy free admission. HKD is also the first Disney theme park to offer two-tier pricing for normal calendar days versus holidays and peak days. This provides consumers of all ages the option of enjoying lower admission prices on non-peak days.

We have reflected the Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming's suggestions to HKITP. According to HKITP, it has considered carefully local market conditions and carried out market research before arriving at the current pricing strategy.

hkskyline

July 8th, 2005, 04:10 PM

Hong Kong park Disney's main focus
Second Chinese theme park in Shanghai unlikely to open before 2010, entertainment company says.
July 8, 2005: 8:09 AM EDT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. said Friday its immediate focus is to open the Hong Kong Disneyland -- its first theme park in China -- later this year and that it is unlikely to open a second park in China before 2010.
"If we were to reach an arrangement for a second park in China, in all likelihood it would not open before 2010," the company said in an e-mail response to Reuters.

A local newspaper reported Friday that the U.S. entertainment giant was planning a joint venture to build and open a theme park in Shanghai's Pudong district before 2010.

Disney (Research) said it has a continuing dialogue with China about a variety of Disney initiatives, including television, motion pictures, consumer products and theme parks.

The company said in February that it was considering a theme park in Shanghai but would first expand the Hong Kong park, which is scheduled to open in September.

The Hong Kong theme park, which will be Disney's second in Asia after Japan, aims to attract tourists from across Asia and especially from mainland China.

The park is expected to provide a major boost for Hong Kong's economy, which relies heavily on tourism, trade and financial services, but local officials have long worried that competition from another Disney park in China would make it less profitable.

The planned Shanghai park will cover an area of 6 square kilometers, four times the size of Disney's Hong Kong park, Wen Wei Po reported Friday.

Disney will provide technology and capital for a 51-percent stake in a joint venture with Shanghai's government-backed Lujiazui Group company, which will contribute land near the Pudong International Airport, the newspaper said.

Sonic from Padova

July 8th, 2005, 04:22 PM

but is very small for a park like Disneyland....there is another part of the park under construction?

IGH

July 8th, 2005, 05:32 PM

i found other picts :

Main Street :
http://webcot.free.fr/hkdl/mainstreet_floorplan.jpg
http://www.screamscape.com/assets/images/db_images/db_2005_0627_Castle.jpg
http://pic2.picturetrail.com/VOL1004/3708595/7839596/103449950.jpg
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Main%20Street%20Train%20Station3.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Main%20Street%20Paddy%20Wagon.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/City%20Hall.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Main%20Street%20Bakery.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Main%20Street%20Corner%20Cafe.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Main%20Street%20Mercantile.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Main%20Street%20Opera%20House.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Castle.JPG
http://www.screamscape.com/assets/images/db_images/db_2005_0627_06_Castle.jpg
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Plaza%20Inn.JPG

IGH

July 8th, 2005, 05:37 PM

Fantasyland :

http://webcot.free.fr/hkdl/fantasyland_floorplan.jpg
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Sorcerer%20Mickey%20Fountain.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Philharmagic%20Entrance.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Pooh%20Entrance.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Pooh%20Vehicle.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Pooh%20Store.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Pooh%20Corner.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Pooh%20Photo%20Op.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Cinderella%20Carousel.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Dumbo.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Mad%20Hatter%20Tea%20Cups.JPG

IGH

July 8th, 2005, 05:40 PM

Adventureland :

http://webcot.free.fr/hkdl/adventureland_floorplan.jpg
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Adventureland%20Entrance.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/JC%20Dock.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/JC%20Dock2.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/JC%20Dock3.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/JC%20Elephant%20in%20Falls.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/JC%20Gorilla%20Camp2.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/JC%20Natives%20Camp.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Prof%20Porters%20Store.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Tahitian%20Terrace.JPG
http://www.screamscape.com/assets/images/db_images/db_2005_0627_Treehouse.jpg http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Tarzans%20Treehouse.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Tarzans%20elephant2.JPG http://www.screamscape.com/assets/images/db_images/db_2005_0627_14_Treehouse3.jpg http://www.screamscape.com/assets/images/db_images/db_2005_0627_15_Treehouse4.jpg http://www.screamscape.com/assets/images/db_images/db_2005_0627_16_Treehouse5.jpg http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Tarzans%20elephant3.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Theater%20in%20the%20Wild.JPG
http://www.screamscape.com/assets/images/db_images/db_2005_0627_18_LionKing.jpg

IGH

July 8th, 2005, 05:45 PM

Tomorrowland :

http://webcot.free.fr/hkdl/tomorrowland_floorplan.jpg
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Tomorrowland%20Entrance.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Tomorrowland%20From%20Train.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Tomorrowland%20From%20Train%202.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Comet%20Cafe.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Space%20Mountain%20Entrance.JPG
http://pic2.picturetrail.com/VOL1004/3708595/7839596/103450016.jpg
http://www.screamscape.com/assets/images/db_images/db_2005_0627_04_Buzz.jpg
http://pic2.picturetrail.com/VOL1004/3708595/7839596/103450000.jpg
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Starliner%20Diner%20Entrance.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Starliner%20Diner%20order%20area.JPG
http://www.mouseinfo.com/updates/20050622/small/Starliner%20Diner%20Restaurant.JPG
http://www.screamscape.com/assets/images/db_images/db_2005_0627_03_Orbiter.jpg

Don Pacho

July 8th, 2005, 11:56 PM

Wow !!

Fantastic pics...

What a preview !!

Thanks for sharing

:cheers:

superchan7

July 9th, 2005, 01:27 AM

Looks like a very beautiful and well thought-out park. I love the police wagon

hkskyline

July 10th, 2005, 01:25 AM

Disneyland seeking new outlets for ticket sales
Dennis Eng
5 July 2005
South China Morning Post

Tickets to Hong Kong Disneyland will be offered to the public through other channels besides online sales after the park opens on September 12.

Group managing director Don Robinson said yesterday that contracts were being finalised with various sales outlets, but declined to give details. Mr Robinson said caution must be taken to guard against fake tickets.

"In future, we will look at all sales outlets," he said. Individual tickets are now only for sale online.

A spokesman for the MTR Corp denied that there were plans to sell park tickets at stations.

No dates for the park's first three months of operation have been sold out yet, though Mr Robinson said the 12,000 opening-day tickets were "very close" to being sold. He said wholesalers and travel agents, who are allocated tickets for tour groups, still held many tickets.

Polytechnic University assistant professor of hotel and tourism management Norman Au said the apparent lack of a rush for tickets may be due to people's fears about internet credit card fraud and their overly high expectations of opening-day crowds.

"People may also be waiting for comments and feedback on the park from the initial crowds before venturing in themselves. Also, the park opens after the start of the school year and parents may prefer to take their children later, during the holidays, like Christmas."

He said that expanding the retail ticket distribution network, such as to Disney stores, would be beneficial to the park but doubted whether outlets like 7-Eleven would be willing partners.

The professor said selling tickets in MTR stations would be more likely as the rail operator was launching the Disneyland Resort Line early next month.

hkskyline

July 17th, 2005, 01:55 AM

Lobster replaces shark's fin at Disney
Caroline Li, Hong Kong Standard
July 16, 2005

Newlyweds celebrating at Hong Kong Disneyland will have to make do with lobster now that shark's fin soup is off the menu, Disney representative Irene Chan said Friday.

Shark's fin soup was yanked from the wedding menus after environmentalists threatened to stage protests, so Disney will offer lobster soup and seafood boullion instead.

"We are very confident that this choice can give [customers] the satisfaction and fulfill the same requirement," Chan said.

The new soup and other dishes have been designed to serve the same purpose of significance and custom that shark's fin soup does in Chinese weddings.

"We congratulate Disney as a leader on its decision to take shark's fin soup off its menu," said Clarus Chu, WWF Hong Kong assistant conservation officer. He also suggested that Disney use MSD-certified Western Australian lobster in its new dishes.

"This method makes sure that the harvesting of lobster will not have a negative long-term impact on fisheries," he said, adding that it was a matter of sustainability.

Disney's Chan said that, instead of simply omitting the soup course, the company "wanted to provide an alternative that reflects the same prestige and is acceptable for Chinese wedding celebrations."

Guests who have already made reservations for weddings at the theme park have been notified, and Chan said the general response has been positive.

"They understand our decision and appreciate the replacement. Most are happy with the alternative."

Wedding dinner packages are separated into three options. The Crystal Package Menu offers double-boiled sea whelk soup with mushrooms, the Diamond Menu includes lobster soup with bamboo piths and mushrooms, while the Emerald Menu will have bamboo fungus stuffed with shrimp paste and crab roe in superior bouillon soup.

The overall prices of each wedding dinner package have been lowered by at least HK$1,000 due to the menu change. The Crystal Fairy Tale Wedding Package, originally HK$8,888, is now HK$7,888. The Diamond Fairy Tale Package is now HK$ 9,388, revised from HK$10,888, and the Emerald Fairy Tale Package is HK$10,888, down from HK$12,888.

Chan said the menu is just one part of the overall "unique, magical Disney experience."

Disney anticipates that hosting weddings at the theme park will be popular among Hong Kong locals, so extras - such as personalized Fairytale Wedding certificates, wedding invitations and card designs, on-site personal wedding specialists and a Fairy Tale wedding cake for photographs - are available only at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Environmentalist groups began their campaign against Disney serving shark's fin soup last month, arguing that serving the dish added to the depletion of sharks.

Chu attributes the success of the menu change to all environmentalist organizations who supported the campaign. "It resulted from everyone who had a concern," he said.

Azn_chi_boi

July 18th, 2005, 12:50 AM

they really need the big railroad mountain and splash mountain, without it, disneyland isnt fun.

Disneyland hong kong is great... by the pictures.

hkskyline

July 21st, 2005, 06:10 AM

Wednesday July 20, 11:31 PM
Hong Kong Disneyland Gives Reporters Peek

AP - Hong Kong Disneyland gave journalists a sneak peek Wednesday, two months before the newest park opens to the public, showing off an East-meets-West mix of classic thrill rides like Space Mountain and restaurants serving Asian cuisines.

The park features a trademark Sleeping Beauty Castle and a Main Street that recreates small-town America. The food is distinctly Asian, catering to the masses of tourists Disney hopes to attract from across the border in mainland China.

When the park opens Sept. 12, its eight restaurants _ with 2,900 seats _ will cook up all the major Chinese cuisines, like Cantonese, Shanghainese and northern noodle dishes. Visitors also will be able to dig into Japanese sushi and tempura.

A pastry shop serves Hong Kong-style barbecue puffs and pineapple buns alongside chocolate croissants and cinnamon rolls.

The food is served in Western settings, such as at Royal Banquet Hall, inspired by "Sleeping Beauty." Throughout the park, signs are in Chinese and English.

Along with popular rides like Space Mountain, the park will have a Mickey's PhilharMagic movie theater with a massive 3-D screen. The cinema will show Disney staples such as the "The Little Mermaid," "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast" mixed in with special effects.

A long, palm tree-lined driveway leads to the park. At the front gate, there's a huge water fountain with a bronze statue of a whale spouting a stream of water on which Mickey Mouse is surfing.

The park is a joint venture between the Hong Kong government and The Walt Disney Co. It is built on reclaimed land on an outlying island.

scorpion

July 21st, 2005, 07:14 AM

they really need the big railroad mountain, without it, disneyland isnt fun.

Phase II. Already in effect, and the park hasn't even opened yet :)

IGH

July 22nd, 2005, 10:30 AM

they really need the big railroad mountain and splash mountain, without it, disneyland isnt fun.

Disneyland hong kong is great... by the pictures.

Disneyland Paris still don't have it's spash mountain either.... :cry:

hkskyline

July 25th, 2005, 10:54 PM

Hong Kong Disneyland Launches Fashion Line
Thu Jul 21, 6:24 AM ET

HONG KONG (AP) - Less than two months before Hong Kong Disneyland opens, Mickey Mouse and company are taking their publicity blitz to the shopping masses, launching Disney-themed clothing with the Hong Kong-based clothing chain Giordano.

The line features adult and children's T-shirts and sweatshirts, Giordano International Ltd., which has more than 1,500 outlets in Asia, Australia and the Middle East, said in a statement on its Web site Thursday.

The deal, signed with Walt Disney Co. (Asia Pacific), was the first licensing agreement that Giordano has entered into with another brand, the fashion retailer said.

One outlet in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay shopping district was recently blanketed with the Disney T-shirts featuring characters from Mickey to Nemo.

Giordano, whose style resembles U.S. retail chain Gap, is popular because of its low prices. A standard T-shirt costs 40 Hong Kong dollars ($5).

Hong Kong Disneyland, set to open Sept. 12, is hoping to draw throngs of tourists from mainland China, where wages are much lower than in affluent Hong Kong.

The Disney clothing line is priced above Giordano's typical range but still cheaper than the higher-end apparel available on site at Hong Kong Disneyland.

The Giordano Disney T-shirts cost HK$80 ($10) each. By comparison, a sequined T-shirt featuring Mickey Mouse in a magician's outfit on sale at Hong Kong Disneyland is priced HK$380 ($50).

The Disney collection will launch in China next week, Taiwan and southeast Asia in August, then South Korea and Australia in September.

hkskyline

July 25th, 2005, 11:01 PM

Fireworks displays upset DB residents
Wendy Leung, Hong Kong Standard
July 26, 2005

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Metro/images/fire0726.jpg
Disneyland rehearses for its nightly fireworks display. SING TAO

More than 30 complaints about fireworks displays at Disneyland have been received by the Islands District Council from Discovery Bay residents.

But an attempt by Islands District councillor Amy Yung to get two compromise proposals discussed by the Environmental Protection Department's environment improvement and food hygiene committee meeting Monday got nowhere.

The government instead issued an environmental permit allowing Disney to put on a nightly show after it opens on September 12.

"The public was not consulted when Sunny Bay was selected as the site for Disneyland. Now our two requests concerning the reduction of pollution have been rejected," Yung said.

She said her main aim in bringing up the issue was to urge Disney to use a gunpowder-less, compressed-air technology to launch its fireworks.

This new technology uses compressed air to lift the fireworks, instead of gunpowder. It is quieter and causes less air pollution.

"It can effectively help reduce air and noise pollution. It will also lower the risks during the transportation and storage as well as the fireworks displays," Yung said.

She also proposed that Disney abandons fireworks displays on nights when pollution is high.

But instead of a discussion, Yung was given a written response which did not include a convincing explanation as to why her proposal was declined.

The EPD said that the Environmental Impact Assessment report for Disney had been approved, and an Environmental Permit was issued under the EIA Ordinance for the construction and operation of Disney, including the fireworks displays.

Disneyland spokeswoman Esther Wong said that, as Disney theme parks are configured differently, the use of an air launch was not feasible or effective in places like Hong Kong Disney.

"The trial methodology and the results of the trial tests show that the fireworks shows comply with all the requirements set forth by the EIA," Wong said.

But Yung said the reports of the two fireworks tests were not complete and that some data were missing. "Discovery Bay is a quiet place and the nightly fireworks displays are almost certain to irritate the residents," Yung said. "We thought our suggested compromises were reasonable, but these were rejected."

hkskyline

August 4th, 2005, 01:39 AM

Disney fever brings economic benefits to Hong Kong

HONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters) - As Disney puts the finishing touches to its Hong Kong theme park, the territory has high hopes for the entertainment giant's contribution to the local economy.

Due to open next month, the US$1.8 billion Hong Kong Disneyland on Lantau Island will create thousands of jobs for a city grappling with severe unemployment and will fuel a boom in tourism that is already spurring the economy.

"It's a psychological boost," said Paul Tang, senior economist at Bank of East Asia. "It will attract tourists not just from mainland China but other destinations and stimulate domestic spending because local people will go to Disneyland."

With just six weeks to the opening, Disney fever is rife.

On Monday 18,000 people turned up just to ride a train to the new Disney Resort station. Meanwhile, property sales in neighbouring Tung Chung town have quadrupled in the past month, newspapers reported.

Enthusiasm for the project prompted investment house CLSA to upgrade its 2005 gross domestic product forecast for Hong Kong to 6.7 percent from 6.4 percent early this year, and its 2006 forecast to 6.5 percent from 6.1 percent.

Disneyland would boost consumer spending, offset rising interest rates and lift the local stock market, it said.

Some 5.6 million visitors are expected at the park in its first year, accelerating a tourism boom triggered by Beijing's easing of travel restrictions.

FAMILY MARKET

Spending by Chinese visitors increased to 12 percent of Hong Kong's retail sales in 2004 from 5 percent in 2000, says Goldman Sachs, and that spending power has been enhanced by the recent appreciation of the Chinese yuan.

Mickey Mouse and Snow White have recently been on promotional trips to China, and the Hong Kong Tourism Board expects a record 23 million visitors in Hong Kong this year, more than half from China.

Hong Kong Disneyland says the park, which includes two hotels, will draw a new class of visitor to the territory.

"We hope to bring more family tourists to Hong Kong," a spokeswoman said.

The Hong Kong government, a joint venture partner in Hong Kong Disneyland with Walt Disney Co. , estimates the park will generate HK$148.5 billion (US$19 billion) in revenue over 40 years, create 18,000 jobs across the economy in its first year and another 36,000 jobs in the next two decades.

The government has invested over US$1.7 billion in infrastructure for the project, mainly on reclaiming land from the sea and on road links.

"Job creation will be a fillip," said Mohan Singh, head of Asian consumer research at BNP Paribas Peregrine, as the city is struggling with near 6 percent unemployment.

Singh recommends investors buy shares in local consumer companies, such as retailer Giordano International Ltd , which is selling Disney T-shirts, and those with franchises at the park.

Jewellery retailer Hang Fung Gold Technology Ltd , expects a 30 percent surge in sales once Disneyland opens.

Not everyone is thrilled by Disney's arrival though.

Residents at Discovery Bay on Lantau have complained about pollution from fireworks at Disneyland and many Hong Kongers have balked at the park's US$38 entry fee.

Still, Internet tickets for the opening day are sold out.

Hong Kong Disneyland predicts visitor numbers will reach 10 million a year within a few years. That would be well below the 25 million a year that Tokyo Disneyland attracts, although a second phase is planned for the Hong Kong park.

For the longer term the outlook is more cloudy: reports say a Disneyland in Shanghai is planned for 2012 that will be four times the size of the Hong Kong park. (US$=HK$7.8)

hkskyline

August 7th, 2005, 03:16 AM

Disney stages new test, but it's all quiet in Discovery Bay
Winnie Yeung
4 August 2005
South China Morning Post

The latest fireworks test run staged at the Disneyland site in Penny's Bay last night passed a noise test in nearby Discovery Bay.

About 40 residents turned out to watch the display, which began half an hour later than scheduled at 9.30pm.

Fireworks rose into the night sky but spectators on the beach said they detected little noise.

The only sounds that could be heard were screams from children thrilled with the display.

"It is beautiful and I am happy," said four-year-old Carine Au Ka-yu. Although there was little noise from the 15-minute firecracker display, Wong Sin-lun, who has lived in Discovery Bay for 15 years, said he had enjoyed the show.

"The effect is really mild, which I think is acceptable," he said.

Islands district councillor Amy Yung Wing-sheung said the noise from the fireworks display was acceptable given that the events would be staged nightly after the theme park opens.

But she criticised the park for not consulting residents directly and urged the government to closely monitor the effect on the environment.

Six more rehearsals will be held up to August 15 before the park's main rehearsal on August 16.

Disney last month won official backing for its fireworks after deeming its own tests met environmental standards, despite gaps in the information it provided to an environmental watchdog.

The Advisory Council on the Environment said in July that a fireworks trial on May 6 and 7 met noise and air quality requirements in general but it wanted Disney to provide more information.

hkskyline

August 7th, 2005, 03:46 AM

By "LE3009" from a Hong Kong transport forum :

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hkskyline

August 8th, 2005, 03:49 AM

Report: Hundreds of stray dogs roaming Hong Kong Disneyland raise concerns
6 August 2005

HONG KONG (AP) - Hundreds of wild dogs are roaming around Hong Kong Disneyland's grounds a month before the park opens, raising concerns that guests and staff could be attacked, a Disney spokeswoman and a news report said Sunday.

Park officials are seeking advice from animal experts -- including the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals -- on how to clear out the dogs, which haven't attacked anyone, said Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Esther Wong.

Packs of dogs surface by the hundreds from neighboring hills after dark and pester staff, The South China Morning Post reported Sunday. Wong said she didn't know how many dogs wander the theme park.

Hong Kong Disneyland, which is scheduled to open Sept. 12., is located on reclaimed land on the outlying Lantau island, which is sparsely populated.

The dog issue came under scrutiny two weeks ago when the Post reported that Disneyland staff were using the animals as guard dogs, which were later rounded up and killed. The accusations drew criticism from animal activists.

The park denied using any as guard dogs, but Hong Kong's conservation department confirmed 45 dogs had been caught around Disneyland since May, and some had been euthanized.

bnmaddict

August 8th, 2005, 11:54 AM

Film crews have been hard at work this past week shooting footage for the new park’s commercial... the only odd thing is that they are shooting in Paris!!!

Here's a link showing some pictures: Disneyland HK commercial shot in Disneyland Paris (http://www.photosmagiques.com/trip/27_28_july_2005/index.php)

scorpion

August 8th, 2005, 08:37 PM

RE: Report: Hundreds of stray dogs roaming Hong Kong Disneyland raise concerns

101 Dalmations???

;)

raymond_tung88

August 8th, 2005, 10:53 PM

I think Disneyland Hong Kong will only start profiting once Phase II is built (whatever they're building)... Anyways, the only cool thing about Disneyland HK is that it is based on Disney's original park plans and collaborates the best things of all the existing Magic Kingdom parks. If it weren't for that, it'd be too small mind you its missing Frontierland and Mickey's Toontown Fair.

hkskyline

August 10th, 2005, 04:29 AM

Rare eagle could be scared away by Disney fireworks
Chester Yung, Hong Kong Standard
August 10, 2005

Disneyland's nightly fireworks and laser shows at Penny's Bay are expected to attract a lot of visitors, but environmentalists warned that they could also scare away a rare bird species that breeds in the area.

A nest belonging to a white-bellied sea eagle - a species so rare that only 10 to 20 breeding pairs are thought to inhabit Hong Kong - has been found virtually on the doorstep of the Disney theme park.

An Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department spokesman said Tuesday the species had been discovered in Pa Tau Kwu in north Lantau.

He said the fireworks might have a "minor impact" on the habitats.

Yu Yat-tung of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society said the government was reaching a premature conclusion by making the claim.

He said the species is sensitive to human disturbance and fears the fireworks might cause the parent sea eagles to abandon their young.

The possibility was mentioned in a 2000 environmental impact assessment report by the Environmental Protection Department, which stated the theme park's fireworks may result in "a disturbance to the white-bellied sea eagles, leading to possible site abandonment or breeding failure as a worst-case result."

Despite the department's confidence, "we worry this threat will prove true," said Yu, adding that the birds are extremely sensitive to disturbances.

Disney has begun a series of firework rehearsals that end Monday.

The displays will become a nightly feature when the park opens September 12.

"It is too early to draw a conclusion. We have to look at the long-term impact, which can be reflected by their breeding rate," said Yu, adding that the society had observed a drop in the species' fertilization rate in recent years. "According to my understanding, there was no breeding of white-bellied sea eagles last year," he said.

The first recorded sighting of the eagles in Pa Tau Kwu was considered "the most significant finding" of the avian survey in 1999 when the department conducted its environmental impact assessment on construction projects planned for the theme park and related infrastructure.

The report said Disneyland's operations had the potential to disturb the birds through noise and light from its fireworks and laser shows, transportation noise and operational plant noise.

World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong senior conservation officer Alan Leung said the impact of the fireworks "cannot be underestimated" and urged the government to monitor the effect on the birds.

"If necessary, Disney should adjust the frequency as well as the location of the fireworks to minimize the disturbance," he said.

A department spokesman said no fireworks would be launched within 800 meters of Pa Tau Kwu to minimize disturbances to the birds, and said the department would monitor the situation.

The white-bellied sea eagle is about 75 centimeters long and can be found in Tolo Harbor, Mirs Bay, Port Shelter, Hong Kong Island and Lantau.

It ranges from India and Sri Lanka, as far east as New Guinea and as far south as Tasmania. In the mainland, it is found only in Guangdong and Fujian.

hkskyline

August 14th, 2005, 05:06 PM

Green groups keep up pressure on Disney
Gavin Bowring and Chester Yung, Hong Kong Standard
August 13, 2005

Environmentalists continued to lambast Hong Kong Disneyland Friday even though the fallout from its fireworks tests fell within permitted limits.

According to the results submitted to the Environmental Protection Department Friday, the noise levels during the fireworks rehearsal on August 8 reached 53 decibels compared with 48.7 decibels the previous day. The maximum level was 55 decibels.

As for air pollution, the highest measurement of respirable suspended particulates (RSP) on August 8 was 26 mg/m3, well below the statutory RSP criteria of 180 mg/m3.

The survey was conducted in response to a request by the EPD after results from a fireworks trial in May were criticized as being flawed.

However, critics insist the tests are inconclusive over the long-term for accumulated air pollution.

"The readings were measured under weak wind, and the analysis spanned just one day," said Mei Ng, director of the Friends of the Earth.

Ng accused Disneyland of seeking to fulfill only the minimal requirements.

Disneyland came under fire from residents of Discovery Bay and Peng Chau over what they regarded as excessive noise and smoke from the May fireworks tests.

The Islands District Council received 31 complaints after the trials.

"I still have worries that air quality in Discovery Bay and Tung Chung will get worse. Will we continue to explode these pollutants if it does?" Ng asked.

Ng described exploding fireworks as something from the 19th century.

"This is the 21st century," she said. "Why can't we look at other alternatives, such as more eco-friendly fireworks technology? Surely, equal entertainment can be achieved with zero pollution," she said.

Ng's call follows The Standard report on August 1 that Hong Kong Disneyland is reluctant to introduce the more environmentally-friendly fireworks used in California under an agreement with the US state's pollution control authorities.

These "air-launch" fireworks use compressed air and cleaner gunpowder that reduce noise and air pollution levels caused by fireworks by up to 60 percent.

Ng said that Disneyland officials are "hiding behind their non-commitment of comparing the technology of California with Hong Kong.

"How can Disney, as a multi-national company, maintain double standards?

"This only demonstrates their minimal regard for social responsiblity," Ng said.

Ng stressed that Hong Kong people should be informed of the different technologies involved, as well as the costs, and that a decision should be left to the citizens themselves.

"Furthermore, the government, as a major investor and shareholder in this venture, should explain to the public whether or not it agrees with Disneyland's minimum standards compliance," Ng said.

"This isn't Paris or Tokyo or California," Ng said. "The park is based alongside highly densely populated communities in an area that is already extremely polluted."

hkskyline

August 16th, 2005, 06:15 AM

By EH4312 from a Hong Kong transport forum :

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OREO

August 16th, 2005, 07:07 PM

WoW...those photos look amazing!

Sonic from Padova

August 16th, 2005, 07:08 PM

^Wow :) beatiful pics!

hkskyline

August 16th, 2005, 11:16 PM

Disneyland put to the test during rehearsals
Wendy Leung, Hong Kong Standard
August 17, 2005

Five thousand "visitors'' - made up of Disneyland staff and their families, business partners and contractors - braved the heat and damp Tuesday to put the Penny's Bay theme park through a dry-run rehearsal ahead of its grand opening September 12.

Guests arriving in the morning were greeted by Mickey and Minnie, who were immediately swamped for photo sessions.

"I'm so excited to be here for the first-day rehearsal,'' chimed one little girl. "I just want to see Mickey and Minnie.''

The rehearsal period will last almost four weeks to ensure all the rides and other attractions are ship-shape for the opening, Disney managing director of operations Bill Ernest said.

All rides, shops and transport facilities were up and running Tuesday. To make the rehearsals as realistic as possible, the park will operate for the full opening hours of 10am to 9pm. The nightly fireworks start at 8pm.

Monet Maelle from France said the Hong Kong Disneyland is much smaller than the one in Paris, "but the Space Mountain is very exciting. The souvenirs and food are cheaper.''

The Ma family was very satisfied with the service of Disney staff. "The waiting time of the rides is not too long. The staff are very nice and the atmosphere inside the park is very good. We will stay for the fireworks show before leaving,'' Mr Ma said.

The Mok family, though, expressed disappointment, saying the park is too small.

Others complained some of the washrooms around the Inspiration Lake were messy. "There was toilet paper all over the floor,''one woman said.

hkskyline

August 18th, 2005, 04:57 AM

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bs_lover_boy

August 18th, 2005, 12:08 PM

hkskyline, got the zoomed pic of fantasyland???

vvill

August 21st, 2005, 01:53 PM

sorry guys.. i understand the quality of the pictures aren't great cos it's been raining like mad today and i was in a car so couldn't really get out to take some quality photos! hope you guys will still enjoy.. hehe.

Tsing Ma Bridge
http://www.willienet.net/photos/dlhktsingma.jpg

Kap Shui Mun Bridge
http://www.willienet.net/photos/dlhktsingma2.jpg

Access Road from North Lantau Expressway
http://www.willienet.net/photos/dlhksign.jpg

Highway towards Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
http://www.willienet.net/photos/dlhkhighway.jpg

Main Entrance Sign
http://www.willienet.net/photos/dlhkmainentrance.jpg

Space Mountain in Disneyland at a distance
http://www.willienet.net/photos/dlhkspacemountain.jpg

Main Roads within Disneyland Resort
http://www.willienet.net/photos/dlhkstreet.jpg

Disneyland Hotel Hong Kong
http://www.willienet.net/photos/dlhkdisneylandhotel.jpg

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Hollywood Hotel
http://www.willienet.net/photos/dlhkhollywood2.jpg

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:)

Rachmaninov

August 22nd, 2005, 12:32 PM

Good effort!!! Cheers!!!

hkskyline

August 23rd, 2005, 07:07 PM

Disneyland 'not delivering' on its green promises
Wendy Leung, Hong Kong Standard
August 24, 2005

Hong Kong Disneyland will not be quite "cut off from the rest of Hong Kong," environmentalists say.

Mei Ng, former director of Friends of the Earth, said Thursday that Disneyland is promising too much and under-delivering.

She was referring to Disney's promotions saying that visitors will find themselves "cut off from the rest of the world" once inside the theme park.

"Disney used such glorified words in the beginning," Ng said. "In 2002, it promised to camouflage unsightly fixtures such as chimneys, and said it would create a natural green buffer zone around the park."

Chu Hon-keung, of Friends of the Earth, said aircraft are still visible from the park, as are two buildings and even the Penny's Bay CLP Power plant. There is also a construction site next to the park, Chu said.

Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Esther Wong said Disneyland, in principle, is "a fantasy land."

"We promise our guests will enter the world of fantasy. Through our entertainment and facilities, we will provide a magical environment and deliver the promise everyday," she said.

But, on a more prosaic note, Friends of the Earth members said after visiting the park on its final rehearsal day that the theme park should use fewer plastic food containers and provide more recycling bins.

Disney's Wong would not say if the park would heed this advice, but maintained: "We value the issue of environmental protection. We always look for opportunities to minimize waste."

The park's five self-service restaurants use degradable plastic food containers, and recycling bins are easily accessible to guests, Wong said.

But Chu said that Disneyland, as a multinational corporation trying to present a strong corporate social responsibility image, should reduce waste in all ways possible and encourage visitors to be more environmentally friendly.

In a report submitted to the Environmental Protection Department earlier this month, Disney expects its daily waste to be 20 tonnes from catering facilities and 100 kilograms from the fireworks displays. The company will provide the department with a monthly waste audit after the park opens September 12.

supercool

August 24th, 2005, 05:29 PM

beautiful

hkskyline

August 28th, 2005, 07:35 PM

HK companies unveil plans to increase HK Disneyland's attraction
24 August 2005

HONG KONG, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong companies of different industries on Wednesday announced plans which help increase attraction of Hong Kong Disneyland.

Cathay Pacific Airways said that it will fly some 600 journalists to experience Hong Kong's attractions and the opening ceremony of Hong Kong Disneyland.

Those reporters will come from 19 Cathay Pacific destinations including Beijing, Manila, Tokyo, Sydney, New York and some other cities.

To help bring in more tourists and conferences to Hong Kong, the airline has created special Disney tour packages available to overseas visitors to attract them to the city. Deals include return airfares, hotel accommodation and park entrance.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Marketing Charlie-Stewart Cox said that Disneyland will add to Hong Kong stature as a world-class tourist destination.

At the same day, Lee Kim Kee, a worldwide famous brand name for Chinese sauces, announced an alliance with Hong Kong Disneyland.

Lee Kim Kee said that it will provide a variety of savory sauces whilst also featuring new sauces created especially for Hong Kong Disneyland.

hkskyline

August 28th, 2005, 07:38 PM

Minibuses protest at Disneyland route denial
Wendy Leung
25 August 2005
Hong Kong Standard

Minibus drivers Wednesday threatened to cause road chaos on the opening day of Hong Kong Disneyland if they are not allowed to take passengers to the theme park.

They also accused the government of colluding with the big transport companies, thereby forcing Disneyland patrons to pay more than they should to get there.

Accusations came during a protest "slow drive" from Sham Shui Po to Wan Chai by more than 20 minibus drivers Wednesday. Disneyland officially opens September 12 and to date the government has only granted transport franchise licenses to buses, taxis and the Mass Transport Railway Corporation. Nonfranchised buses are allowed into the area if chartered by tour groups.

"I cannot see any other reason except discrimination," said Lai Ming- hung, chairman of an alliance representing a group of minibus operators.

"Even nonfranchised bus are allowed to enter Disneyland. This is grossly unfair," Lai said.

"Obviously, the government is in cahoots with the business sector. The interests of citizens are being sacrificed as the fares proposed by minibus drivers are cheaper than those being charged by bus companies. Patrons to the park are being forced to pay more."

The fare set by City Bus for the run from Yau Tong to the theme park is HK$38. Lai said the alliance had proposed a fare of about HK$25.

A Transport Department spokeswoman said a request from the alliance had been received and was being studied.

"Certainly, we are not discriminating [against minibuses].We will look at the traffic situation and consider actual traffic demands after Disneyland's opening on September 12," the spokeswoman said.

To avoid traffic chaos, she said, the department is concentrating on mass transport systems such as the MTR and franchised bus companies.

"Taxis provide personalized services for tourists who are not familiar with Hong Kong's roads, while nonfranchised buses are hired by travel companies for particular tours," the spokeswoman added. However, the arguments did not please Lai who said the alliance will continue to fight for the right to serve Disneyland.

"We are even prepared to hold another protest on the opening day of Disneyland if the department does not give us a satisfactory response."

Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Esther Wong refused to discuss the threat, saying the Transport Department is responsible for all transport arrangements with regard to the opening of the theme park.

hkskyline

September 4th, 2005, 05:18 PM

By "AP108 Kit" from a Hong Kong transport forum :

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Manu84

September 4th, 2005, 05:29 PM

the atractions are ever the same

hkskyline

September 5th, 2005, 04:24 AM

Mickey is friendly but queues take forever
Rain failed to deter more than 30,000 visitors who flocked to Disneyland's charity day Sunday, eight days ahead of the grand opening September 12.
Wendy Leung, Hong Kong Standard
Monday, September 05, 2005

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Rain failed to deter more than 30,000 visitors who flocked to Disneyland's charity day Sunday, eight days ahead of the grand opening September 12.

Many had bought their tickets several months ago.

Hong Kong Disneyland group managing director Don Robinson said the event will raise about HK$9.7 million for local charities.

Anita Wong said her family wanted to see how Hong Kong Disneyland compared with Paris Disneyland, which they visited a week ago.

"The Mickey Mouse at Hong Kong Disneyland is much friendlier than the one in Paris," said Wong, adding that she was pushed away from a Paris Mickey Mouse when she asked for a photograph.

Wong and her children found the Lion King and Winnie the Pooh attractions were " surprisingly good," even though the family had to wait more than two hours to enjoy them. "It's worth the wait," she said.

Chris Chan, a middle school teacher accompanied by his girlfriend, however complained that "the park is rubbish."

"We had to wait for more than two hours for Buzz Lightyear. There are also no clear instructions on how to queue up. Everyone around is confused and keeps asking `which line should I be in?"' Chan said.

"The food is also terrible and there was a long queue."

"They [the Disneyland management] totally underestimated the number of visitors when they designed the restaurants and rides."

The theme park can cater to 30,000 visitors at a time, Disney said. All public holidays and some weekends are already fully booked for September.

Disneyland public affairs manager Esther Wong said the number of visitors "is within estimation. We hope our guests will be getting more familiar with the facilities."

The restaurants had prepared 10,000 meals an hour, Wong said.

She added that Disneyland carries out onsite surveys of guests to see if the park is operating properly.

After two weeks of dry-runs, the theme park added 100 tables and 600 chairs to its restaurants Sunday.

Robinson said that guest behavior in Hong Kong is different from the United States, which caused the long lines. For example, Hong Kong visitors are more interested in taking photos than Americans, he said.

Bank worker Carol Lo said she is a big fan of Disney and did not buy the tickets with charity in mind.

She described the morning traffic as "horrible," adding "it was really packed in the train and we had to wait a long time."

MTR Corp public relations officer Teresa Pun said the train from Tsing Yi to Tung Chung broke down at 9am, and passengers had to get out and wait for a replacement.

"We dispatched more manpower to manage the crowd during peak hours," she said.

http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/news/20050905/img/sn03090550_big.jpg

http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/news/20050905/img/sn03090503_big.jpg

http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/news/20050905/img/sn18090501_big.jpg

http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/news/20050905/img/sn18090502_big.jpg

http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/news/20050905/img/sn18090508_big.jpg

bnmaddict

September 5th, 2005, 11:38 AM

Anita Wong said her family wanted to see how Hong Kong Disneyland compared with Paris Disneyland, which they visited a week ago.

"The Mickey Mouse at Hong Kong Disneyland is much friendlier than the one in Paris," said Wong, adding that she was pushed away from a Paris Mickey Mouse when she asked for a photograph.

That's a strange article, I never heard something like that about Disneyland Paris, and I'm convinced that a Disney staff member doing that would get fired...

I also find quite strange the Wong family don't say a word about the fact there's MANY more rides in one of the two Disneyland Paris' parks than there are in the HK's park (Big thunder mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Indiana Jones, Phantom manor, Star tour, etc...)

Anyway, the park looks very nice on all those pics. The train station and trains look awesome too. :)

Is the ride "Buzz lightyear" good? I know it will open in DL Paris next year but never heard about it before.

hkskyline

September 6th, 2005, 01:06 AM

By 3ASV196 from a Hong Kong transport forum :

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153677421125887630410.jpg?1125887871443

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153674371125887633829.jpg?1125887899918

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153679081125887636334.jpg?1125887913172

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153671271125887640162.jpg?1125887932283

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153679291125887643759.jpg?1125887945100

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153674801125887694541.jpg?1125887959743

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153673421125887698659.jpg?1125887973483

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http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153677821125887710541.jpg?1125888012915

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153673831125887802603.jpg?1125888026967

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http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153673601125887840026.jpg?1125888092873

Don Pacho

September 6th, 2005, 02:41 AM

Beautiful pic !!!

http://netalbum.netvigator.com/photos800/2005/09/05/c3331150153673601125887840026.jpg?

:cheers:

hkskyline

September 6th, 2005, 07:19 AM

Two politicians say they will demand that the government reveal full details of its joint-venture agreement with Hong Kong Disneyland
Doug Crets, Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Two politicians say they will demand that the government reveal full details of its joint-venture agreement with Hong Kong Disneyland.

Frontier Party legislator Emily Lau and Central and Western district councillor Cyd Ho said they will demand that the government allow public scrutiny of the agreement when Legco reconvenes after its summer break on October 12.

"The [government's] economic services panel should ... give a much fuller picture about the financial side [of the agreement] with Disney," Lau said.

The secrecy has left the public in doubt about the territory's relationship with Disney, she claimed.

In response, Disney's Esther Wong said: "Disney is a commercial entity, so I think those are commercial terms. As with any business entity, [privacy] is something that should be respected."

Disney received a HK$6.1 billion government loan, payable in 25 years, to build the project.

Estimates put the cost of construction at HK$14.1 billion and initial first- year revenue from tourism at HK$$25.2 billion.

The government has estimated that income from the park could reach more than HK$148 billion in 40 years.

Ho said the lead-up to the Hong Kong opening on September 12 has increased critical attention on the agreement.

Several public gatherings by the Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior and Disney Hunter have charged that Disney merchandise is created in harsh labor conditions in China. Activists have argued that the media should expose the agreement because of ambiguity over its positive or negative economic effect.

Ho said the primary worry is extra- territorial rights granted to Disney in theme parks in Tokyo and Europe, where the company was allowed to operate outside the jurisdiction of the country in which it operates.

In France, for example, Disney and the government concluded that allegations raised over practices in the theme park would be settled outside the court system.

Ho and others are asking if the same is true for Hong Kong. They have also questioned whether emergency personnel will be allowed full access to the park, though Disney and the Fire Services Division have both denied reports that access will be limited.

Ho said the public is concerned that the government is acting more like a corporation than a government, which must act transparently.

"We welcome investment of companies like Disney, but not a joint venture, because the administration's major job is to run the territory," she said.

But the joint venture has proven to be a thorn in the side of civil society leaders, who charge that government has a conflict of interest.

"Once [the SAR] enters into a business contract, it's a basic conflict of its duty and function," Ho said.

Questions about the Disneyland joint venture began in 1999 and early 2000 when legislators were invited to a Government House briefing held by then-Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan. "We were never given any substantial information," Ho said. She recalled that Chan said the agreement was a marriage between two world-class brand names, Disney and Hong Kong, and that the contract would help to correct the economic slump.

"The finance committee voted 'yes'... for this joint venture, and now that it is in operation the finance committee has the duty to follow up on this matter," Ho said.

Lau, who chairs the finance committee, said it is up to the Economic Services Panel to disclose details of the agreement.

Notes from a November 15, 1999 panel meeting say only that Disney and Hong Kong have a "predetermined mechanism," which would ensure that Disney's government loan would "bring equity support to the government" if Disney profits fell.

In that case, the loan would be repaid by its maturity.

stexxno

September 6th, 2005, 07:26 PM

Looks great anyway I preffer the original :D

Hello Mimi! ;)

raymond_tung88

September 7th, 2005, 02:40 AM

Looks great anyway I preffer the original :D

Hello Mimi! ;)

Me too! Although Disneyland HK was modeled after the one in Anaheim, it doesn't have nearly as many attractions/ "themed" lands. Speaking of which, why is that?

spicytimothy

September 7th, 2005, 09:35 AM

Recent 30,000-people-fiasco to speed up expansion

Inside blue loop is the current park, the blue loop is Phase 1 expansion, the red loop is phase 2.
http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20050906/Article_news/newx111.gif

Still behind all the other disneylands in the world unfortunately...

vincent

September 7th, 2005, 09:35 AM

that's phase 1.

vincent

September 7th, 2005, 09:37 AM

i didn't know there are such thing as phase 1 expansion, i thought that meant phase 2. Looks like there are more expansion than i thought.

bs_lover_boy

September 7th, 2005, 09:53 AM

Also they are going to think about Phase 3 (look at the remark)

hkskyline

September 7th, 2005, 04:45 PM

New Disneyland Holds Promise For Hong Kong
By Geoffrey A. Fowler
7 September 2005
The Wall Street Journal Europe

Hong Kong -- THE DISNEYLAND theme park opening here Monday could give an extra jolt of energy to Hong Kong's already-humming economy. But it isn't certain which consumer stocks will gain from the opening.

Hong Kong Disneyland is a joint venture that Walt Disney and the Hong Kong government created in 1999, in the wake of Asia's financial crisis. It's a play on the growing purchasing power of mainland China's emerging middle class, which Disney predicts will make up more than one-third of the 10 million annual park visits the operator expects eventually.

About a week before it opens, Hong Kong Disneyland looks set to lure a lot of new tourists, at least for a while. An independent telephone survey last month by market researcher AC Nielsen found one-third of the 1,500 Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou residents polled are already considering a visit; 14% of them said they wouldn't go to Hong Kong were it not for the park.

One likely winner is Disney itself, which contributed US$314 million, or about 250 million euros, for a 43% stake in a park that cost US$3.2 billion to build. Most important, Hong Kong Disneyland will help the Burbank, California, entertainment company spread the lore of Mickey Mouse & Co. in the potentially huge Chinese media market, where Disney has limited access.

But the Hong Kong government, Disney and -- increasingly -- securities analysts tout much wider benefits from the park.

The government says the park will add US$19 billion to the city's economy over 40 years. A surge in visitors from mainland China, combined with a domestic-spending pickup from increasing local employment rates, will push the city's annual gross-domestic-product growth to almost 7% by the end of the year, up from 6.8% in the second quarter, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets analyst Amar Gill predicts. He believes unemployment will fall to 4.9% by the end of the year from 5.7%, thanks to jobs created by the park and momentum spurred in the rest of the economy.

To be sure, many of the anticipated mainland tourists have already made a trip to Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, since the Chinese government began lifting restrictions on their travel in 2003. Today, some 190 million are eligible to enter Hong Kong on their own, and more than 12 million did just that last year -- even without Disneyland.

"We see huge growth in these high-volume, low-margin tourists," says Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, an economic adviser for MasterCard International.

The risk lies in assuming the retail sector will benefit uniformly. Playing the Disneyland opening requires a sharp eye on where these tourists will spend their money and which retailers can turn it into profit.

While the average mainland resident still is relatively poor, even the first-time Chinese tourists coming to Hong Kong last year spent an average of US$125 a day, according to Mr. Hedrick-Wong. European and American tourists spend an average of US$190 a day.

Mainland tourists generally do only one-third of their spending on hotels, usually low-end ones, with the rest used on eating and shopping. They regularly buy brand-name gifts and souvenirs on the assumption that purchases made in Hong Kong are less likely to be knockoffs than those made on the mainland.

It might be difficult for investors to capitalize on that retail potential now, as many stocks in the sector have already risen strongly after being snapped up earlier this year as Hong Kong's economy was strengthening. Shares of clothing retailer Esprit Holdings have handily beaten Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index in the past year, rising 66%, compared with 16% for the index.

"When the park opens, a lot of retail stocks will retreat. . . . Many people will [take profits] on the good news," predicts Paul Pong, managing director Pegasus Fund Managers, based in Hong Kong.

In addition, high expectations for Hong Kong retailers have helped push rents on shopping-space as much as 30% higher in recent months, sharply cutting into retailers' bottom lines. Last week, Hong Kong-listed jewelry retailer Chow Sang Sang Holdings International blamed rental increases for slashing its first-half net profit by one-third compared with last year, despite higher sales at its shops.

Similarly, casual-wear retailer Giordano International, which has an exclusive deal with Disney to sell Mickey Mouse T-shirts in certain markets, last month reported a lower-than-expected first-half profit, citing higher rents. Merrill Lynch, noting a squeeze on the company's margins, reiterated its "sell" rating on Giordano and target price of HK$5, or about 51 European cents,a share. Giordano's stock, trading at about HK$5.80 in late July, yesterday closed up 10 Hong Kong cents at HK$5.15.

As the battle between Hong Kong landlords and tenants rages, "property companies will be the final beneficiary," Mr. Pong of Pegasus says.

Take MTR. As the mass-transport operator that opened a special train line for the park, MTR may realize some gains, but it must bear the costs of amortizing the new line. As a major Hong Kong property owner, though, MTR last month reported a sharp increase in first-half net profit thanks to higher real-estate prices and growth in property sales. The price of its Hong Kong-listed shares has risen about 28% so far this year, to HK$16.

Of course, even if Hong Kong Disneyland does as well as expected, there's no guarantee the magic will last forever. Oriental Land's Tokyo Disneyland has drawn throngs for more than 20 years largely because of its success with a very big niche: young working women who return to the park again and again. Hong Kong can't rely on that kind of return demographic because its core low-margin Chinese audience probably can't afford multiple trips. Instead it will rely on a steady stream of new visitors.

"For the next 15 years, there will be people entering the middle class in the pipeline," says MasterCard's Mr. Hedrick-Wong.

An additional Disneyland park in Shanghai could eventually divert some of that flow, drawing travelers from northern China. Disney has said a Shanghai park isn't likely to be built until at least 2010.