The HKDL Source

Update for September 3 to September 9 - News and Commentary

 

Skip To: Current Closures, Refurbishment and Construction |  Events & Important Dates | Current Discounts/Promotions | Park Hours/Schedule/Annual Pass Blockout Days | Comments

 

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News This Week: Park Wars | Green War and Peace | So Long, Summer

 

Just like that, September is upon us. Traditionally, this has been my time of overseas travel, so I'm really pining for a Disney park or two this week. September, of course, means that Hong Kong Disneyland celebrates a birthday, and it is hard to believe that the park is turning two already. Of course, this will mean that the final attendance figures will be coming in for the 2006/2007 period, and it is unlikely that Hong Kong Disneyland see the projected 5 million annual attendances by the middle of this month. Will the first major seasonal event of 2007/2007, the Dark World Haunted Halloween, start to turn these figures around? Well, that leads us directly into our first story for the week...

 

Disneyland v. Ocean Park: A Spooky Epic

 

While we try not to talk about what the competition is doing, Hong Kong's Ocean Park has always loomed large on the Hong Kong Disneyland radar. It is, after all, the biggest competitor for theme park crowds in Hong Kong, and as an established entity, is quite pleased with being able to annually trounce Hong Kong Disneyland's numbers. So with Hong Kong Disneyland announcing their forthcoming All New "Dark World" For Halloween 2007, it is only natural that Ocean Park should announce theirs as well. This will see the two parks with unique Halloween attractions going head-to-head for audience attention. The five-million dollar question is: which one has their fingers on the pulse of the Chinese market more? 

 

Ocean Park Halloween Bash does look to be quite interesting. Indeed, the website alone is quite a slick and gothic experience, positively oozing with the kind of macabre trappings that has become the norm for Halloween around the world. Boasting something like seven new attractions for the Halloween season - including a Haunted Ghost Town; Ghost Cruise; Prison Riot and a Mad Doctor's Bizarre Lab - Ocean Park seem to be squarely targeted that youth and teen market that Hong Kong Disneyland has been pulling all of its attention towards. Perhaps the most interesting of all of the Ocean Park Halloween attractions will be Chung Kwai's Ghost Gourd. The famous Chinese 'ghostbuster' is part of Chinese mythology, with his image being used to bring you scholastic luck, protection from harmful people, wealth luck and protection from evil spirits/ghosts. The man himself will be appearing in Ocean Park, in an attempt to protect guests from at least some of the goblins and ghouls that will not doubt be attempting to rob you of your innocence throughout the month of October. It all looks like a bit of hokey fun to me, but it does one very important thing: it taps directly into Chinese folklore and mythology, a route that Hong Kong Disneyland has chosen not to follow.

 

Hong Kong Disneyland - with its Haunted Hotel; modified Space Mountain and glow-in-the-dark parade - has taken a decidedly Western approach. This is understandable, given that Disneyland is a wholeheartedly American institution. However, this gets us back to the core of what has always been the Hong Kong Disneyland Problem. While the 'Dark World' has got most of us outside of Hong Kong excited, and has been enough to give Disney fans around the world an excuse to investigate Hong Kong Disneyland, we wonder what this will mean for the local audience. After all, while it may have been a Disney excuse to avoid the questions surrounding the lack of attractions in the park at opening, we were always told that a Haunted Mansion could never be built because of Chinese customs involving the afterlife. Disney's current campaign shows that is either not the case, or it is secondary to the commercial interests of the park. Of course, even though Disney gets the jump on Ocean Park's campaign by three days (with Disney's kicking off September 25 and Ocean Park's on the 28th), time will tell whether or not gourds or galaxies will win the Halloween showdown.

 

Green War and Peace

 

We've seen quite a few comments since we published the story about Greenpeace 'invading' the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. While a number of people have come out in support of the Greenpeace actions, which were effectively changing a few energy inefficient lightbulbs in the hotel's lobby before being escorted off the premises, there has been a worrying number of people who see this as a 'cheap stunt' on the part of the vocal environmental group that draws more attention to them than it does the environment. That this somehow alienates more people than it does to draw them to a cause.

 

To some extent, I agree. But in order to get the environmental message across to big business, they have to go after the obvious targets in a dramatic way. I've read in on Hong Kong Disneyland forums, and in others like it, that Disney is just the victim of being a big name and there are worse offenders. True. However, someone has to lead the way. If Disney, and indeed Disneylands around the world, are to stand for a better way of life and a better community, surely they should be leading the way with environmental issues as well? Is it not the responsibility of all large corporate entities, who are in many cases more powerful than the governments of the countries they set up shop in, to set the standard for the behaviour of its market? It's trite but true - with great power, comes great responsibility.

 

Now, I'm not saying Disney should answer for all the environmental ills of the region. Yes, they are a convenient scape goat (sometimes). However, when any multinational corporation is in a position to influence local laws under the guise of "free trade", my personal belief is that this should be used as a power for good. It is not enough to run a couple of campaigns on 'natural education' or put in safety knobs in the bathrooms and say you are doing the right thing, when the other hand is going through the equivalent of 14,000 bus trips in one hotel lobby. To me, that is just not responsible use of economic influence.

 

While I do not always agree with the tactics of Greenpeace, you often have to hit someone over the head before they change their tune. This goes for both the major corporations and the general public. The fact that we are talking about it here means that, in part, their so-called "childish tactics" have worked: they've highlighted their cause, and hopefully this will lead to Disney rethinking what kind of message it is sending out as well. Indeed, here we are a week later and I'm still talking about it. That alone doesn't necessarily lead to a positive outcome, but it is a good start.

 

So long, Summer

 

We hardly knew ye. Summer in Hong Kong Disneyland was probably the most interesting it has been since the park opened. Mickey's Summer Blast saw the opening of the Animation Academy, Mickey's WaterWorks Parade and the ongoing extension of the re-themed Avdentureland as Pirate Land. From all reports, it was a fun and exciting time to visit the park, and numbers did go up slightly. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. With the end of Summer on Friday, so too did the summer celebrations cease.

 

 

The official website has already taken down the Pirate Land references. Interestingly enough, the daily schedule still makes mention of Mickey's WaterWorks Parade on a daily basis, and the Animation Academy as well. While this could be nothing more than a simple typographical error, we will be investigating whether these attractions have been extended a little longer over the next few days.

 

For now, we imagine that the focus will be on pulling toegther the Halloween decorations by the end of the month, followed by the Christmas decorations in November. It is going to be a busy fourth quarter here on the Source, and we hope you stick by us every inch of the way.

 

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Current and Forthcoming Closures, Refurbishments and Construction

 

• Fantasyland: No closures in Fantasyland, but there is constant construction going on ‘beyond the berm’ for the forthcoming it’s a small world attraction (Coming April 2008).
• Land appears to be cleared and built upon behind Adventureland and the Promenade for as-yet-undisclosed project. While some contend that this land has always been in this state, we have reports that some construction was seen to be going on in this area. Others still say that this is prep-work for a Downtown Disney style area and the Pirates extension to Adventureland. The HK Building Department reports this as a 'Dangerous Goods Storage Area'. We now have an indication that a hotel will be going up in the area. Time will tell.
• Construction work is being carried out near the main gates, allegedly for some new toilets and Cast Member break room.
• Some work is being done next to the Plaza Inn on Main Street, for the Haunted House walkthrough to begin assembly here at some stage in the near future. It's due to open September 25.
• Mickey's WaterWorks & Pirate Land (Closes 31 August 2007)
• Space Mountain closes September 18 to 22 for installation of Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy Halloween features

 

Events & Important Dates

 

If you know of any events that should be listed here, please let us know. 

September

• Hong Kong Disneyland’s Birthday (September 12): Hong Kong Disneyland turns two. No official word on any celebrations, but given that the First Anniversary was relatively low-key, we can’t imagine any huge events on the horizon. Don’t quote us though. Merchandise, including pins, T-shirts and biscuits, is already out in the shops.
• Character Auditions (September 30): Want to be a part of the Hong Kong Disneyland magic? You can audition for one of the character roles this month on Sunday 30 September 2007. Full details can be found of Disney's Careers Website.

 

October

• Halloween: (September 25 to October 31) Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialise all through September and October, as Hong Kong Disneyland celebrates its second official Halloween. Look for the decorations to go up late September, and then segue into the Christmas/New Year celebrations in November. This year will see the debut of a Haunted Hotel on Main Street; Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy; a glow-in-the-dark parade and a host of other spooky surprises. You can read about the full line-up here.

 

November/December

• Christmas: From mid-November until New Year's Eve (December 31), Hong Kong Disneyland's Main Street will become a Winter Wonderland, with a tree lighting ceremony; musical events; special meals and the big man himself, Santa.
• Magical New Year and Countdown: Concluding the Christmas festivities, this big event will be a dance party for some; some old-school shindigging for others and an excuse to have fun for all. Count down to midnight in the park, and then go back and drain the hotels of all alcohol.

 

April 2008

• it’s a small world (April 2008): RTHK News reports that the attraction is set to open in April 2008, which is consistent with Disney’s official line of ‘early 2008’. You can follow the progress in our Construction Photo Gallery .

 

May 2008

• Richard  visits Hong Kong Disneyland late in the month. Prepare the fortifications!

 

Current Discounts/Promotions

• Annual Passholders: From July 1 to August 31, Passholders will receive an exclusive deals. Full details can be found here. September to December Passholder deals can be found here. Discounts for early renewals are also available.
• Bring a Friend Free: Annual Passholders can bring a friend to the park for free between September 1 and September 23! Details can be found here.
• Interest Free Installment when Purchasing Annual Passes: Purchase Annual Pass now with a Standard Chartered VISA Card or MANHATTAN VISA Card to enjoy a 12-month interest free installment. Offer Period: 1 December, 2006 – 31 December, 2007. See here for details. 
• Stay and Play for 2 Days: Book a hotel stay and enjoy an extra day at Hong Kong Disneyland when you purchase a one-day ticket! The offer has been extended until September 2008!
• Dining Deal: Book breakfast in advance and receive 30% off. Conditions apply.

 

Park Hours/Schedule/Annual Pass Block-out Days

 

Park hours will return to 10:00 to 8:00pm all throughout September, except for the weekend of Friday 28th/Saturday 29th, where the park will remain open until 11:00 PM for the Halloween festivities. September 26 will be a Peak Ticket day, and the ticket prices will be reflected accordingly.

 

Value Annual Passholders will have all weekends blocked to them during August and September, as well as September 26. Deluxe and Premium Annual Passholders get to go crazy, as no dates are blocked to them.

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