Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL) Discussion Thread

It's a lot different over there as I learned real quick last year. They didn't even put up the operating hours till about 2 weeks before my visit!

It's a lot different over there as I learned real quick last year. They didn't even put up the operating hours till about 2 weeks before my visit!

Yep, agreed they were getting ready for halloween media previews that happened the week before I left so the hours and rides that were down didn't go up until just over a week before I went, ocean park too.

Are the bears on the grizzly mine train supposed to be the bears from brother bear? The setting of the mine train is obviously very different from the movie but I ask because there were Kenai and Kona meet and greets in Grizzly Gulch and they were the characters who had meet and greet in the area apart from the few times when Mickey,Minnie and chip/dale were there the days we visited.

^ From our visit there with the TPR Tour in Sept.2012, the bears that were

seen on Grizzly Gulch were to me, 'non-descipt' bears. That is, they didn't

look anything like the bears in Brother Bear, nor did they look like any of

those from the Country Bear Jamboree in WDW and TDL. So I don't think

either of those attractions were "in mind" when they were building this

one. Of course, they may have purposely done it, knowing there'd be a

comparison of some kind.

^ From our visit there with the TPR Tour in Sept.2012, the bears that were

seen on Grizzly Gulch were to me, 'non-descipt' bears. That is, they didn't

look anything like the bears in Brother Bear, nor did they look like any of

those from the Country Bear Jamboree in WDW and TDL. So I don't think

either of those attractions were "in mind" when they were building this

one. Of course, they may have purposely done it, knowing there'd be a

comparison of some kind.

Yea, I felt the same that they were generic bears when we rode it but we saw Kenai & Kona meet and greets a few times so my girlfriend was curious if they were tied into the ride, I think it was more that there's an older bear and bear cub on the ride and Disney had some costumes from a not so popular movie lying around

^ I think those characters are more tied to the Land (Grizzly Gulch) itself, rather than just the attraction.

With all the animated bears in Disney's movie vault, I am sure they have scoured them all to

see what 'bears' could fit in GG. And Kenai and Kona were it. (I am supposing.)

^ I think those characters are more tied to the Land (Grizzly Gulch) itself, rather than just the attraction.

With all the animated bears in Disney's movie vault, I am sure they have scoured them all to

see what 'bears' could fit in GG. And Kenai and Kona were it. (I am supposing.)

True, could have been worse and been the bears from Brave

Just think of them as "generic" Disney bears.

Just think of them as "generic" Disney bears.

I honestly would have just assumed that if we hadn't been on the Hong Kong website beforehand to see what was around the park, I blame it on Jin, she had no interest in the bears at all but it was where Chip N Dale were supposed to be, but with the temperature 33C while the princesses were around for much longer and in the gardens the main characters were switched often but the random meet and greets would only do photos for 20 minutes which meant after about 3 minutes the line would be closed because there was enough people to take up 20 minutes. We were told Chip and Dale would also be on main street at 11:20 so we hung around the shops and got there at 11:23 to be turned away, we were told the next one was in an hour so we went off to get rides but never seemed to make it on the exact window of time needed. Jin was definitely on the dot the next day but since it was opening the line was stopped almost as soon as it opened, thankfully a cast member recognized her and gave her the correct time and took pity and let her join the back of the line when we had just missed it again.

Lesson learned though, she never tried to play it to the exact time by doing more shopping and preferred arriving a little early for the other meet and greets, a relief for both me and my wallet.

I just realized....

Hong Kong Disneyland is the perfect "Starter Disney Park" for familes.

And it is also the more "Relaxing Disney Park", for our elders in the community.

Which is very cool in my humble opinion.

And WOO HOO Iron Man Experience!

And this would be located between Autopia and Buzz Lightyear. Where Star Tours 2 was originally Blue Skied for.

The awesome concept art set up of the upcoming attraction(s).

I just realized....

 

Hong Kong Disneyland is the perfect "Starter Disney Park" for familes.

Hahaha I mentioned the same thing in my TR, my girlfriend felt exactly the same way, annoyingly since she finds it the perfect disney for her which is kind of annoying because now she'd rather return to this one than Tokyo, I won't type it all out again since I already mentioned it in the TR and brought it up in the official TPR update thread but she thinks no matter how perfect Tokyo is, she just finds Hong Kong a more relaxing place where she can stroll around and enjoy the day and characters as it comes instead of tokyo where we had to get there an hour early, do a mad fast pass rush with crowds and plan everything we did to optimize our time.

I'll always happily choose the mad dashes of Tokyo though.

^ Well it is true, I believe.

And while people squawked at the opening of the park,

i.e. the small number of attractions available at HKDL...

Honestly, if you check with Disneyland's 1955 opening,

they had about the same number of attractions open for it's

first year. And nobody complained then.

^Disneyland was a fairly radical concept back in 1955. People expect a bit more now. But Hong Kong Disneyland is a very good park that's just getting better.

Looking forward to visiting it again someday.

^ Yes, that's true.

Still, I love it that this MK is putting attractions outside the iconic "berm" of the park.

Truly a unique and already really different Magic Kingdom from the others. And it looks like

Shanghai DL will go one further, practically eliminating the berm altogether.

There's rumors also, that the Peter Pan attraction going to SDL will be bigger and have more

to it, than the previous incarnations. This one, I am hoping also comes to HKDL later,

with all that extra space beyond Fantasy Land.

(See overhead park photo, above this post.)

That would be really cool if they did a revamped Peter Pan!

^Especially if it had a few extra show scenes to flesh out the story a little more. As much as I like the version at Disneyland, it always feels like it ends fairly abruptly.

That would be really cool if they did a revamped Peter Pan!

Revamped Peter Pan ride system for the modern audiences? Wouldn't that just end up being a journey over Hawaii and through space on Stitches red spaceship

^ Yes, that's true.

 

Still, I love it that this MK is putting attractions outside the iconic "berm" of the park.

Truly a unique and already really different Magic Kingdom from the others. And it looks like

Shanghai DL will go one further, practically eliminating the berm altogether.

 

Agreed--HDK does have a unique feel to it.

Just came across this listing, at the Hong Kong Disneyland site.

It's part of updating the menu at the Main Street Corner Cafe,

which is really on par price-wise with The Blue Bayou at most

MKs and Walt's in DLP. Pricy, but oh so good. And a great parade

view, some times.

Here it is.... a new dessert!

Coca Cola Creme Brulee. Seriously! I am so hoping

that logo is NOT actually on the brulee. Still... (o;

Just came across this listing, at the Hong Kong Disneyland site.

It's part of updating the menu at the Main Street Corner Cafe,

which is really on par price-wise with The Blue Bayou at most

MKs and Walt's in DLP. Pricy, but oh so good. And a great parade

view, some times.

 

Here it is.... a new dessert!

I was so sad we missed out on it by a few weeks there are so many coca-cola dishes and they all looked delicious, coca cola scallops sounds interesting I remember seeing them all on dejikis blog: http://dejiki.com/2013/11/hkdl-main-street-usa-christmas-town/

^ Wow. I didn't know they made a whole meal using Coke!

And the price for the main set meal seems to be about the

same as I paid for my Halloween meal there, in 2012.

Wonder how all of this would go over, in the US?

The park is getting a new Hotel and Nighttime Spectacular!

Hong Kong Disneyland enjoys fourth record-breaking year

 

 

Press Release

 

Hong Kong Disneyland enjoys fourth record-breaking year

 

Net profit more than doubled to HK$242 million

with 15% growth in revenue in 2013 fiscal year

 

A new 750-room resort-style hotel planned as part of on-going expansion

 

HONG KONG, February 17, 2014 – Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL) today reported for the fourth consecutive year record revenue, attendance, hotel occupancy and guest spending for the 2013 fiscal year1. In total, the HKDL Resort generated HK$4,896 million in revenue, up 15% from the previous year, while net profit more than doubled to HK$242 million.

 

It also announced a plan to build a new hotel at the resort, which will add another 750 hotel rooms to its existing inventory. The new hotel will offer guests an immersive and uniquely Disney resort-style experience that is dedicated to the spirit of exploration and celebrates exotic locations from around the world. The hotel is slated to open by early 2017, pending all necessary project approvals.

 

Combined with the success of the recent expansion, the new hotel plan and other upcoming guest offerings will continue to strengthen HKDL’s positioning as the premier family destination of the region and underpin the growth momentum as seen in the fiscal 2013 results. New initiatives in the pipeline include a brand new nighttime spectacular called “Disney Paint the Night” in 2014, 10th anniversary celebration offerings in 2015 and a new themed area based on Marvel’s Iron Man franchise in late 2016.

 

Andrew Kam, Managing Director of HKDL, said, “The HKDL Resort enjoyed a successful fiscal year in 2013. We are pleased to be able to contribute to the Hong Kong tourism sector, and look forward to another year of growth and improvement that continues to meet our high standards.”

 

The resort broke previous attendance records, reaching an all-time high of 7.4 million guests. The results are attributed to expansion efforts, strong marketing, effective management strategies and positive tourism growth during the fiscal year.

 

Steady growth was registered across the three main sources of guests from the local community, mainland China and international markets, with the latter two accounting for about two-thirds of total guests. Overall hotel occupancy was at a new high of 94% for fiscal 2013, while guest spending broke records with a 6% year-over-year increase.

 

The successful opening of Mystic Point in May of 2013 marked the completion of the 2009 expansion, which has increased the Park’s total size by about one-fourth and brought the total number of attractions and entertainment offerings to over 100.

 

Like Toy Story Land and Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point has proven to be a huge hit among guests. Mystic Manor, a new immersive indoor attraction using an innovative trackless vehicle ride system, was honored in fiscal 2013 by the Themed Entertainment Association with the coveted Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement – Attraction, thanks to its technological and storytelling achievements.

 

“HKDL is an integral component in supporting Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s top cities for leisure tourists and business visitors. Expansion plans are in place to sustain the momentum of growth and capture increasing demand especially in the light of growing tourism taking place in the region,” said Kam.

 

He added that plans for the new 750-room hotel have been submitted to the Legislative Council for approval. The new hotel will increase the total number of hotel rooms in the Resort by 75% to 1,750.

 

The new hotel’s total investment of $4.263 billion will be funded by a combination of operating cash of HKDL, cash equity injection from The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) along with a partial conversion of the existing Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) term loan to equity on a dollar-for-dollar basis, and new term loans from TWDC and the HKSARG.

 

The new hotel development reaffirms TWDC’s confidence in the future of HKDL and Hong Kong.

 

“We are excited about the new hotel project, as we are always looking to expand upon the guest experience. This new hotel will add to the various immersive experiences we offer for guests, while also adding to the diversity of Hong Kong’s offerings for tourists from around the world,” said Kam.

 

HKDL will also continue adding to the economic benefits HKDL brings to Hong Kong through resort-based employment positions, construction and other jobs related to its business.

 

In fiscal 2013, additional spending in Hong Kong by HKDL visitors generated HK$11.6 billion of value added to Hong Kong, which is equivalent to around 0.58% of Hong Kong’s GDP. A total of 33,200 jobs (in terms of man-years) were created, primarily benefiting frontline workers as well as the travel and hospitality industry. Construction of the new hotel will create additional job opportunities and another 600-700 full-time equivalent jobs in HKDL after the new hotel commences operation.

 

HKDL has also redoubled community outreach efforts and its commitment to the Disney brand values of happiness, creativity and service. Over 100,000 underprivileged community members were welcomed to the park during the fiscal year, while close to 8,500 hours of skills and services were contributed through the Disney VoluntEARS program, among other outreach programs that directly benefited society.

 

On average, HKDL employed more than 4,800 full-time and 2,600 part-time staff during the 2013 fiscal year, making the Resort one of Hong Kong’s largest employers in the entertainment industry. HKDL is committed to developing a highly skilled and quality workforce, providing over 380,000 hours of professional and technical training during the year as well.

 

Since opening, HKDL has received 271 awards in recognition of its design, technical achievements, distinctive guest services, commitment to the community and environment and high family appeal. HKDL received a total of 61 awards during the fiscal year, including Best Theme Attraction at the 24th Annual TTG Travel Awards, the Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Award 2013 in the Marketing Industry category, the Best Theme Park of the Year from China Travel and Meetings Industry Awards, the 4th Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award presented by the Employer Branding Institute, and the 2013 Randstad Award for Best Workplace Culture in Hong Kong.

 

Photos download link:

https://www.RelayIt.net/?c=djQfw7HRPkqpwJnLcxfKmB9c86DjMhrxbmGN

 

LegCo paper from the Panel on Economic Development:

http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/english/panels/edev/agenda/edev20140224.htm

 

 

Note to Editors:

 

Hong Kong Disneyland is owned by Hongkong International Theme Parks Limited, which is a joint venture 52% owned by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and 48% owned by a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Hong Kong Disneyland’s executives will attend the Legislative Council’s Panel on Economic Development to answer questions from lawmakers on its Annual Business Review and new hotel development plan on February 24, 2014.

**************************

 

About Hong Kong Disneyland

 

Hong Kong Disneyland offers immersive, unique Disney experiences for all families, generations and ages to enjoy. Hong Kong is one of only five locations in the world that is home to a Disney themed park and the many Disney characters that are beloved the world over, such as Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Stitch and Buzz Lightyear. Since the Grand Opening in September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland has welcomed more than 46 million guests from around the globe. Through the unique product offerings and the world-class service provided by the 7,000-plus Cast at the theme park and the two hotels, Hong Kong Disneyland has received outstanding guest satisfaction ratings and a range of awards from the hospitality and entertainment sectors.

 

Hong Kong Disneyland is dedicated to serving Hong Kong people through a wide spectrum of community services programs from helping those in need to encouraging the protection of the environment in the region.

 

If you want to know more about us and want to enjoy a unique magical experience, visit us or click on to http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com for more information.

 

For media inquiries, please contact: Hong Kong Disneyland +852 9020-6046

 

Note 1: The fiscal year is from October to September and ends on the Saturday closest to 30th of September each year.

Hong Kong Disney Press Site

This sounds great! I can not wait to experience these new offerings! Or the old ones for that natter, I haven't been yet, haha!

Cool! This hotel looks much better than the other two.

^The Hollywood Hotel is quite nice, but I'm a sucker for that "art deco" look. The new hotel reminds me a bit of Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is a good thing.

That new hotel looks awesome. I know right now HKDL is pretty small compared to the other parks, but I am excited to see it grow. It definitely looks like a fun park with unique rides such as Mystic Manor, Grizzly Gulch, and the new Iron Man ride.