Disney hopes to work its magic in Hong Kong

Televisionpoint.com Team
Mickey Mouse was busy on Sunday spiffing up Hong Kong Disneyland on the eve of the park’s official opening, a bold move for the US entertainment company seeking a stronger foothold in China’s massive market, the AP reported.

About 1,000 reporters from around the world flew in to cover the opening of the Walt Disney Co’s 11th theme park, an attraction with two resort hotels on a bay surrounded by mountains on Lantau, Hong Kong’s largest island.

Disneyland planned to hold a rehearsal day on Sunday that would give thousands of guests a sneak peak of the park. The day was to end with a fireworks show and concert featuring some of the biggest Chinese-language pop stars, including Coco Lee, Joey Yung and Jacky Cheung.

"Now we’re poised to begin the next chapter of Disney history when Hong Kong Disneyland will officially open to the world," said Jay Rasulo, president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, on Saturday.

"Hong Kong Disneyland is (our) first theme park in China. It’s also the first Disney theme park that’s modeled so closely to the first Disneyland in California," Rasulo said. Disneyland has received a generally warm welcome in Hong Kong.

The park features a pink Snow White Castle and the popular rides found at the US Disneylands, including Space Mountain, Mad Hatter Tea Cups, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Jungle River Cruise. It also features the Broadway-style show 'Festival of the Lion King' and daily parades with Disney characters on Main Street, USA, the park’s main strip lined with shops and restaurants. Disney President Robert Iger said that the park was a 'giant step' in his company’s push into the huge China market. The park plans to draw about 40% of its guests from across the border in mainland China.

Iger, who takes over as Disney’s chief executive officer next month, said the park should boost interest in Disney’s movies, TV shows and other products in China, where generations have grown up with little familiarity with the American brand.

The US $3.5 billion park is a joint venture between Disney and the Hong Kong government. It employs 5,000 workers or cast members as Disney likes to call them and the park estimates that it will attract 5.6 million visitors in its opening year. The park is a 30-minute subway ride from central Hong Kong, and it’s served by its own public rail line, the only one in the world specially built for a theme park.