Hong Kong Disneyland breaks attendance records

Disney Parks Blog posted this story about how well Hong Kong Disneyland is doing. The park had a very good 2013 with now over 100 attractions and entertainment venues, according to the post.

And there is even more to come. This week, Hong Kong Disneyland also announced a plan to build a new 750-room Disney-branded hotel dedicated to the spirit of exploration that celebrates exotic locations from around the world. Slated to open in early 2017, the hotel will increase the number of hotel rooms at the resort by 75 percent to 1,750.

Mystic Manor At HK Disneyland

Finally, HK Disneyland have now have an attraction unique to its park that others might want to go to. This might just be the ticket to get us there! :)




Zz.

Hong Kong Disneyland Store at Hong Kong Airport

I had 2 brief stopovers (if you can call 4 and 5-hour stops as "brief") at the Hong Kong airport while on my trip this past December. Of course, I had to make a beeline to the Hong Kong Disneyland stores. The largest one is in Terminal 1 inside the restricted area (you need a ticket and go through immigration). The second one is accessible to everyone in Terminal 2, but it is also smaller.

Since I landed at Terminal 1 the first time around, I didn't have to go through anything to get to the larger HK Disneyland store.

Now, I would have shopped till I dropped, but unfortunately, I had to restrain myself because I will have to bring whatever I bought as a carry-on. My checked luggage is being sent through to my final destination in Singapore. So I couldn't buy everything I wanted, but it was enough that I ended up with a shopping bag. Luckily, since my other carry-on is a backpack, I did not exceed the airline's limit on the stuff I could bring on board.

In any case, I spent my money on pins (of course), t-shirts, and a few souvenir items. I also had, in the back of my mind, the idea that I will be passing through this place again on the way back, and will have a chance to shop some more. That turned out to be true and more. On the way back, I actually went through immigration, got out of Terminal 1, and went to Terminal 2 to look at the other Disney store. It was smaller, with less amount of merchandise. I did see a t-shirt that I didn't notice at the other store, but other than that, I didn't see that much of a difference.

After having dim sum for breakfast, I went through immigration again and got back into Terminal 1. I went back to the first HK Disneyland store and shopped some more before I had to make my way back to the gate to board the plane for home.

So here are some of the stuff I bought. As you can see, they are predominantly pins, since I was also buying for my Disney pin collector friends.

This is a nice pin with vibrant colors. The picture does not do it justice.

I originally intended to break up this pin set and keep only the Donald pin, but now I've changed my mind and will keep the set intact.

This is another neat pin set.

I bought this for someone who collects Nightmare's stuff. If he doesn't want it, I'll keep it.

The one non-pin merchandise that I bought was these "dolls". They are Mickey and Minnie in traditional Chinese outfits.

But they are not really dolls. If you turn them around, there's a zipper running along their backs.

If you open the zipper, you'll find a bag of candy stuffed inside the dolls.

What is even cuter is that each of the candy is shaped like a Mickey head.

I wish I could have bought a few more pairs of these. A lot of people here want them.

HK airport his HUGE. In fact, many of the new Asian airports such as HK, Singapore, Korea, etc. put most American airports to shame. I haven't seen the new Bradley international airport at LAX, but certainly O'Hare's international airport looks like a slum when compared to these slick, modern airports.

Zz.

O'Hare Immigration

I flew in from Hong Kong yesterday into Chicago's O'Hare International Terminal (Terminal 5). I haven't done this in ages, since my usual port of entry into the country is either JFK, LA, or SF. In any case, I had been traveling for more than 24 hours, and haven't slept much during that period.

While standing in line waiting to get through Immigration, my ears perked up. Holy Cow! They were playing the music from "Illuminations" in the background! I know that tune anywhere considering that "Illuminations" is my most favorite fireworks show in all of WDW.

But the funny thing was that the music had been chopped up. It wasn't being played in the order that we are familiar with. The "slow" part kept getting edited into the middle of the fast part.

I would love to hear the story behind this. Did they get Disney permission to use the chopped up tune? Did the Homeland Security people attended a Disney Institute training and, in the process, got Disney's permission to use their tunes? Anyone has any info?

In any case, considering the groggy state that I was in, I certainly gave myself credit for being alert enough to notice this.

Now wait till I tell you about my shopping spree at the Hong Kong Disneyland stores at the Hong Kong airport!

Zz.

Characters In Flight Balloon Ride Pulled

Following an accident on a similar balloon at Hong Kong Disneyland, the Characters in Flight Balloon ride at Disneyland Paris and Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World has been pulled for inspection.

The Standard, an English-language news Web site in Hong Kong, reports that five people were injured when a balloon sprang a leak and plunged to the ground from a height of more than 60 yards on Thursday. None of the injuries was serious.

There is no word yet on when — or if — the balloon will resume ferrying passengers into the sky above Downtown Disney.

Oh my!

Zz.

Hong Kong Disneyland Narrowed Losses in 2011

At least it is moving in the right direction.

Hong Kong Disneyland reduced its losses last year and hopes to turn a profit some time soon, probably even this year.

The theme park reported a net loss Tuesday of 237 million Hong Kong dollars ($30.5 million), down by two-thirds from a HK$718 million loss in 2010. Revenue rose 20 percent to HK$3.6 billion.

One can only hope that with the opening of more attractions, it will have enough reasons for guests to spend a whole day there.

Zz.

Disney To Break Ground On Shanghai Park

FINALLY!

After years and years of rumors and negotiations, we have a report that seems to indicated that ground breaking for the Shanghai Disneyland theme park will begin with a ceremony on April 8, 2011.

Early Saturday morning, or late Friday in the U.S., invitations were issued by Disney, together with an arm of the Shanghai government and a local business partner of Disney's, inviting recipients to "a special event in Shanghai" on April 8. Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger is expected to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. Shanghai Disneyland will be the Burbank, Calif.-based Disney's sixth major theme park in the world, and its first in mainland China.

To put this in perspective for those who are geographically-challenged, here's map of a portion of China showing Shanghai and Hong Kong. The two cities are roughly 800 miles apart, certainly far enough away from one another. As I've mentioned earlier regarding the possibility that the Shanghai theme park may cannibalize the attendance of Hong Kong Disneyland, this might not be the case.

Still, we will have to wait till this theme park is completed, and if they've learned anything from their early mistakes made at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Zz.

Hong Kong Disneyland Attendance Climbs

Hong Kong Disneyland reported a smaller loss this past year primarily due to an increase in attendance.

The net loss shrank to HK$720 million ($93 million) in the 12 months ended Oct. 2 from a HK$1.3 billion loss a year earlier, according to a statement distributed in Hong Kong today. Park attendance increased 13 percent to 5.2 million visitors, boosting sales 19 percent to HK$3 billion.

The fact that a significant increase in percentage of the attendance were from mainland China should be worrisome for the future of this theme park. One can't help but expect that the about-to-be-built Shanghai Disneyland will inevitably draw away a large percentage of the current guests from Hong Kong Disneyland. I don't know how these two can exist and survive without one devouring the other.

Zz.

An Amazing HK Disneyland Pin Set

{Thanks to Simon for getting me this pin set}

This is an amazing pin set from Hong Kong Disneyland. It is to commemorate the recent Chinese New Year. It is an amazing set. The box itself looks impressive.


But the content is even more impressive. When you open it, it contains 5 amazing pins all mounted on what looks like 5 panels of a Chinese screen.


Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy are all in their Chinese outfits.

In fact, you can stand it up like a screen.


The pin set costs HK$350. If the exchange rate is ~HK$7 to US$1, then it's about US$50 for the set, which is about right if you consider that you got 5 pins, and an amazing mount for the pins.

I love this set!

Zz.

Progress For Shanghai Disneyland

Looks like approval for Shanghai Disneyland is imminent.

Mayor Han Zheng told reporters Sunday that the city plans to make an announcement as early as this week to explain details of the plan -- handy timing ahead of President Barack Obama's planned Nov. 15 visit to Shanghai.

An official in the public information department of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's main planning agency, confirmed Monday that the plan had been approved.

I still wonder how much the new park will cannibalize the already struggling attendance at Hong Kong Disneyland. Maybe Disney is hoping that HK Disneyland is more "regional", serving the Asia-Pacific market, while Shanghai is more geared towards mainland Chinese? Still, there seems to be a lot of overlap here.

Zz.

A Snag In HK Disneyland Expansion

Looks like the Hong Kong legislatures are going to play hard ball with the Hong Kong Disneyland expansion. They want the park to release attendance figures since it opened before they will go along with the expansion plans.

Scrutinizing the deal Saturday, lawmakers said the Hong Kong executive has not disclosed the park's attendance figures or told them how well it has performed in the more than three years since it opened. They said they needed to see more details of the expansion before they could vote Friday to approve or reject the plan.

"We have to decide whether to approve the commitment of this large sum as equity for the expansion of the park, but we have been given very little information. This is really depressing," said pro-government lawmaker Starry Lee.

This could be interesting, and that is what you get when you are in partnership with local governments rather than a private enterprise. While the situation may not be identical, Disney may want to consider to expect something similar when it partners with the local government for Shanghai Disneyland.

Zz.

HK Close To Deal With Disney

This is certainly good news for Hong Kong Disneyland if it is true.

WSJ is reporting unconfirmed news that Disney and the Hong Kong government is close to a deal on the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland. If you recall from earlier reports, Disney has halted all expansion plans and had started laying off workers related to the expansion due to the lack of agreement between the two parties. It appears that high level talks in LA between the two of them may have benefited both sides.

Zz.

Hong Kong Disneyland Halts Expansion

This is certainly a turn of events for Hong Kong Disneyland that might jeopardize its future.

Disney has halted all expansion plan at Hong Kong Disneyland and cut more than 30 jobs. This is due to the lack of any agreement with the Hong Kong government on timetable for expansion.

So here's the worst-case scenario. Disney pulls out of Hong Kong, and builds the theme park in Shanghai.

Zz.

Disney Is ‘Optimistic’ Over Shanghai Theme Park Negotiations

The negotiations over the planned Disney theme park in Shanghai continues, but Disney seems to be optimistic over it.

An application to build the park was submitted to the relevant government bodies after the Burbank, California-based company had completed a feasibility study, Disney Managing Director for Asia Bill Ernest said today in an interview.

“We are optimistic both parties will have an ongoing dialogue,” said Ernest after the launch of Hong Kong Disneyland’s Lunar New Year celebrations. “Yet today even with the application project report, we don’t have a deal yet, and we don’t have anything agreed to yet. We are still waiting.”

But what is more fascinating in that news report is the indication that Hong Kong Disneyland is recovering and is starting to attract more visitors.

Opened in September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland had attracted 14.5 million visitors in its first three years, and showed an 8 percent year-on-year gain in the 12 months ended September 2008, said the resort’s managing director, Andrew Kam. Now more than 15 million have visited the park, he said, adding that he expected the growth trend to continue even as the global crisis deepened.

That's good news and hopefully, the learning curve is now less steep than when it first opened. Let's hope that Disney has learned quite a bit from this when they open Shanghai Disneyland.

Zz.

Hong Kong Disneyland To Expand

This is considered as a no-brainer, since the most common complaint against Hong Kong Disneyland is that it is too small with not enough attraction. So the Hong Kong Government has been in talks with Disney officials to expand the theme park.

Disney and the Hong Kong government have previously indicated that they plan to expand the Hong Kong park, which opened in 2005, but the parties have not until now disclosed many details.

Disney said Monday that no deal has been struck, but confirmed that the park's size would expand by about a third. A spokesman said that some of the park's new attractions would be unique to Hong Kong Disneyland.

Zz.

Oriental Land Aims to Attract Chinese Disney Fans

An interesting article on how the Oriental Land Holding Company, the operator of Tokyo Disneyland Resort, is trying to attract more Chinese visitors to the theme parks. This is in response to the aging Japanese population, and the economic recession that Japan is in the middle of.

With Japan's aging population and its economy in recession, Oriental Land is increasing overseas marketing and working with travel operators arranging package tours to its resorts. Visitors from abroad currently account for 4.2 percent of customers.

The number of Chinese tourists to Japan is ``expected to increase explosively'' and many of them will be visiting ``leisure locations such as Tokyo Disneyland,'' Masayuki Ohtani, a strategist at Securities Japan Inc. in Tokyo, said in a phone interview today.

Of course, there's the obvious issue on whether they are then competing with Hong Kong Disneyland for the same pool of people. Oriential Land dispute this, but the response appears to me to be a rather backhanded smack to Hong Kong Disneyland.

Increased marketing in China and other Asian countries doesn't mean competition is intensifying with the operator of Hong Kong Disneyland, the region's only other Disney theme park, Nagaoka said.

``Hong Kong Disneyland isn't our rival,'' he said. ``The Chinese tourists coming to our resort tend to be much wealthier than those that visit Hong Kong. We're targeting different demographics.''

What, only trailer park trash goes to Hong Kong Disneyland? :)

Zz.

Hong Kong Disneyland 'Sees Jump in Visitor Numbers'

Could this signal a turn-around in both the image and operation of Hong Kong Disneyland? We can only hope so. At least the attendance number is going up, rather than going the wrong way.

Visitor numbers were expected to hit 5.6 million when the park reaches the end of its third year of operation next month, up from 4.2 million the previous year, the South China Morning Post said, citing unnamed sources.

I think any Disney theme parks that open outside of North America should expect several years of growing-pains problem, no matter how much they think they have covered themselves. So Shanghai, be forewarned!

Zz.

Disney Theme Park for Shanghai Likely to Move Ahead Soon?

Say it isn't so!

While this is still a rumor, and being denied by the Walt Disney Company, reports coming out of China seem to indicate that this is for real.

A long-anticipated plan to build a Disney theme park in Shanghai is likely to move ahead soon, a state-run newspaper said Friday, though the company denied the report.

The Shanghai Securities Journal, citing an unnamed official, said the park is due to be built in the southern outskirts of Shanghai's Pudong district and has already received needed government approvals.

"In the past it was all speculation, this time it's for real!" the paper said.

Did they already learned from the mistakes they made in Hong Kong? If another Disney park opens near Shanghai, what will happen to Hong Kong Disneyland since they could be competing for the same pool of guests from China? Is Hong Kong going to be relegated simply as a "smallish" theme park serving mainly the rest of South East Asia?

I certainly hope that this is a false rumor. I don't see this as being a wise move at all if it is true.

Zz.

Main Street, Hong Kong.

This Wall Street Journal article highlights Disney's effort to make the connection with the locals at Hong Kong Disneyland, especially the Chinese from the Mainland.

Disney's efforts to give its Hong Kong park a more Chinese character reflect a broader effort by the company to understand the China market. Last summer, executives conducted research in the homes of Chinese consumers, who were asked about their knowledge of the Disney brand and their lifestyle habits as busy families.

"In other parts of the world like the U.S. and Europe, there is a longer heritage for the brand," says Lance Diaresco, Disney vice president of marketing for China. "There ... parents introduce their favorite stories to the kids. But in China ... the kids and families are discovering Disney stories together."

But how did they managed to avoid similar problems with Tokyo Disneyland? I don't recall that theme park having this kind of problems, at least, not of the same magnitude. Are the Japanese more familiar with the Disney brand when Tokyo Disneyland opened?

Zz.

Chinese New Year Outfits For Mickey And Minnie

Hong Kong Disneyland unveiled new outfits for Mickey and Minnie to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year. They were created by designer Vivienne Tam.

While they look nice, I find it a bit ironic that Mickey is wearing a "Mao Suit", inspired by the uniform worn by the late Mao Zedong, who during his lifetime, upheld strongly the communist principle. Considering that you can't get any closer to capitalism than the Walt Disney Company, this makes for a rather strange combination.

On a related note, it appears that The Walt Disney Company might increase its stake in Hong Kong Disneyland. The only significance that I can get out of this is that they will put in more of their own money into the park, rather than ask for more money from the Hong Kong Government-owned entity that is their partner in this endeavor. Whatever it is, it certainly appears from all report that Hong Kong Disneyland needs a fast infusion of attractions. So they'd better not think about opening any more theme parks in China (or anywhere else) before they solve this.

Zz.