Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL) Discussion Thread

I got to experience the new Toy Story Land on my recent version to the Disney Studios in Paris, and honestly I wasn't really a fan. It was essentially three low capacity rides with some Toy Story theming. Sure, it looked nice... but the lines were really long, the attractions themselves were pretty underwhelming, and I don't think it was enough the constitute its own "land".

With that said, Hong Kong still looks like a nice little Disney Park, and I am very excited to see how the rest of their expansions turn out!

I just went to Disneyland today and got to experience Toy Story Land. It wasn't bad. Rode the new RC Racer, which was pretty fun. I'm realllly out of the loop on all things coaster-related lately, but I'm assuming this is Intamin since it broke down temporarily while I was waiting in line

also, toy story land closes 1.5 hrs before the firework show for some odd reason. i'll post some pictures in my thread soon

and re: the shanghai disneyland land - I sincerely hope HKDL survives the competition. I cannot stand the hordes of mainland visitors in Hong Kong. Sure, they're a good source of revenue but they have absolutely no manners and line jump like crazy. Hong Kongers have a saying: the easiest way to tell if someone is from the mainland is the queue up in front of them - if they try to cut in front of you a dozen times then they're from the mainland.

not gonna lie, I'm interested in a Shanghai Disneyland but I'm kind of horrified that it'll be worse than a jungle

^Thanks Larry!

 

Keeping my fingers crossed for some soft opening love of Grizzly next year!

Same here! The concept art for Grizzly Gulch looked pretty intriguing.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=118690&sid=35015944&con_type=1&d_str=20120110&fc=1

Hong Kong Disneyland has made a big wish - it's asked the government for four more hotels. Disneyland's proposal includes building one large hotel and three smaller vacation-style hotels to be connected by a mini-tram system, sources told Sing Tao Daily, a sister newspaper of The Standard.

 

The park, which the sources said saw a record 5.9 million visitors last year - also aims to build an artificial lake.

 

If the new plans seem too massive for the government, which owns 57 percent of the park, Disneyland is willing to compromise, saying all four hotels do not have to be built at the same time, the sources said.

 

Disneyland managing director Andrew Kam Min-ho had earlier said the park wanted to build one large and one small hotel. A government source said Disneyland submitted different proposals including the feasibility of expanding within the existing area.

 

But the source noted that everything is tentative and nothing has been confirmed. It is understood Disneyland wants to expand its rides first before building the hotels.

 

Disneyland will officially reveal its 2011 performance results this afternoon.

 

A record 5.9 million people visited the park last year, up more than 10 percent from the 5.2 million in 2010.

 

Earnings last year before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization has been estimated at HK$400 million to HK$500 million, up from HK$220 million in 2010.

 

The park's net loss narrowed from HK$718 million in 2009 to HK$200 million in 2010.

 

Currently, new attractions are being added to Hong Kong Disneyland. The first - Toy Story Land - opened at the end of last year. Visitors to this attraction feel dwarfed by the oversized characters of Slinky Dog, Toy Soldier Parachute Drop and RC Racer - characters from the movie Toy Story. Grizzly Gulch will be completed this year and Mystic Point next year. The expansion will increase the park's area by 23 percent, taking its total offerings - including rides, entertainment facilities and shows - to more than 100.

 

From last August, Disneyland raised the adult admission fee from HK$350 to HK$399, and admission charges for children from HK$250 to HK$285.

 

In September, the park announced the recruitment of 1,000 staff, the largest intake since opening its doors in 2005.

 

Earlier reports put the figure of the park's entire expansion cost at HK$3.6 billion.

Did I just read that correctly? Four?!?!!?!

Increasing the number of hotels by 200%

Please do, but don't count on it!

<>

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/65105--hk-disney-park-loss-narrowed-in-2011

Hong Kong's Disneyland theme park inched closer to profitability last year as higher visitor numbers and hotel occupancy rates helped narrow losses. 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

 

Some 5.9 million people visited the park last year, 13 percent over the year before, with each guest spending 6 percent more on average. Hotel occupancy rose to 91 percent, 9 percentage points higher than in 2010.

 

Disney executives said that an expansion area that opened in November based on the "Toy Story" series of movies helped boost attendance. The second phase of the $465 million expansion, "Grizzly Gulch," is scheduled to open this year while the final phase, "Mystic Mountain," will open in 2013.

 

Set on 311 acres (126 hectares) of reclaimed land on Lantau Island, Hong Kong Disneyland is the smallest of Burbank, California-based Disney's five theme parks worldwide. The Hong Kong government owns a 53 percent stake in the park, which has been criticized for being too small and lacking enough high-profile rides. It did not release attendance figures or financial results until 2009.

 

Disney executives were hopeful that the park would soon become profitable.

 

"Our management team is very anxious to turn Hong Kong Disneyland into profitability and I think with such a strong performance as a base and with forthcoming expansions in the pipeline, we're very confident we can achieve that goal," said Andrew Kam, the park's managing director.

 

Hong Kong Disneyland faces competition from a number of theme parks scheduled to open around Asia in the next few years, including another Disney park in Shanghai.

 

But Kam said he's not worried about rivalry. "It's not really a competition," he said, adding that for visitors coming from outside Hong Kong, it would be just one stop among the city's other tourist attractions.

 

Mainland Chinese visitors made up the bulk of Hong Kong Disneyland's visitors and they accounted for 45 percent of total attendance in 2011, up from 42 percent the year before. Attendance by Hong Kong residents and visitors from other countries both dipped slightly.

Just curious - anybody have new photos and/or videos (or links to)

of current construction going on at Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor?

Thanks in advance.

You are in luck! I was going to point you to a Disney and More blog update highlighting the park and a video from last month...

I checked his youtube channel just in case since he generally updates a video once and month and low and behold here's one from today!

I'm going to visit mid May and will post a TR then as well.

^ Thanks! I know this particular guy has been

updating to various Disney sites, with his ongoing

video coverage of the construction.

Great! And enjoy your mid-May visit!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/06/grizzly-gulch-grows-at-hong-kong-disneyland/

You all know that one of my dreams is to visit Hong Kong Disneyland, and today I’m happy to present a fun look at Grizzly Gulch, a new area that’s currently under construction at the park.

 

A spirited Gold Rush town built around the towering Big Grizzly Mountain, Grizzly Gulch will bring a touch of Wild West adventure to the park. In designing this new area, Walt Disney Imagineers looked to the historic Gold Rush towns California and dramatic landscapes of U.S. National Parks for inspiration. More than 30 sculptors and 20 painters have already been brought in from (mainland) China, Hong Kong, Japan, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand and the United Kingdom, to contribute to the project.

 

To learn more, check out this video clip, provided by Hong Kong Disneyland, in which Ali Rubinstein, Creative Director, Walt Disney Imagineering Hong Kong, offers a sneak peek inside the area, which is set to open in July.

 

Seriously excited for this ride to open. I'm curious to see how it'll compare to Everest!

Yay for Grizzly Gulch being open in time for the TPR China Trip!

Am i'm the only one who gets the feeling that this is a combination between Big Thunder Mountain and Everest?

^That's pretty much exactly it!

So excited for my TPR China Peeps to get this and the HKDL special Halloween event!!!

^ & ^^That's definitely a good thing.

And with the exta bonus of Halloween stuff!

Really looking forward to riding this in September. Looks a nice mix between two previous attractions to make something new and unique.

^That's pretty much exactly it!

 

So excited for my TPR China Peeps to get this and the HKDL special Halloween event!!!

I hate you all!

They've got a mini site up now for Grizzly Gulch.

Can't wait for this to open. I really haven't heard too much about the ride experience...I'm hoping the reviews are awesome.

^I'll be quite happy if it's a good hybrid of Big Thunder and Everest.

^That's exactly what it looks like to me. No complaints here!

I'm excited to see the ride test, I'm curious as to how Vekoma designed the lift so that it could "break" at the top, but still keep the trains from rolling back too early in the event of an emergency.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vas1MKT3K6c

Grizzly Gulch looks about ready to go!

Also it appears that they are going to open up a path through Mystic Manor to get from Toy Story Playland to Grizzly Gulch. A Hall of Walls if you will similar to what we've seen in DCA at numerous times.

Grizzly Gulch looks so good. It's going to be so cool being in the little town and seeing the people launch by on what looks like train tracks. Brilliant.