The HKDL Source

Update for September 24  to September 30 - 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: A Holiday Combo Deal | Be Part of the Magic | Top Things

Let's be frank. Well, if not Frank, someone similar to Frank who is honest is almost everything he or she does. (If a she, Frank may be even less appropriate, but I think there is a valid point in there...somewhere). It doesn't take a genius to figure out that less goes on in Hong Kong Disneyland than any other Disney park. It is the smallest, after all, and has the smallest number of things to do. Does that stop us from coming back to our desktops week after week, laden with the burden of providing you the length and breadth of our knowledge? No, of course it doesn't! Does it stop you from reading it? Possibly. So if you aren't reading this, you don't know what you're missing out on. Of course, if you aren't reading this, you wouldn't have read that last line and you won't even know that you know you are missing out on something. Confused? Then we've got you in the right mood for This Week in Hong Kong Disneyland.

 

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A Holiday Combo Deal

 

Say what you want about Hong Kong Disneyland - unless you are saying that it is a place to hurl paint at donkeys, because then you'd be completely wrong - but they don't do things in half-measures. Well, there is the small matter of the park itself, which was done in quarter measures, but the rest of the events all seem to come at once. We had the one-two-three punch of Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year/Easter all within a pig's breath of each earlier this year, and the pattern is going to be repeated more of less this week with the Halloween/Mid-Autumn Festival coinciding on the same date.

 

Well, it was a stretch of a connection, but we are totally running low on valuable information this week. After talking up Halloween for the last month, we are all hyped-out and just anxiously awaiting the launch of the darned thing. Halloween, the spookiest time of the year, will feature some dedicated attractions for the first time at HKDL. These will be things such as a Haunted Hotel on Main Street; a Glow-in-the-Dark Halloween Parade in the evenings and a refurbished Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy. As we are a loving and caring bunch here at the HKDL Source, we've made planning your visit to HKDL a bit easier by replicating the information from the Official Site:

 

Day	Main Street Haunted Hotel	Glow-in-the-Dark Parade
Tuesday 25 to Thursday 27, Sunday 30	1:00 PM - 8:00PM	7:00 PM
Friday 28 to Saturday 29	2:00 PM - 11:00 PM	7:30 PM

 

Note that these don't in any way replace the existing parades and fireworks. Mickey's WaterWorks officially says joi gin this week, as our beloved Disney on Parade returns to the park daily from 3:30 PM.

 

There will also be the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (or Moon Festival) happening on 25 September officially, but it lasts from now through October 7. The day of 26 September will be a Peak Ticket Day as well. Grab yourself a delicious mooncake while you are there. Man, I tell you - these things are so yummy. Locals won't need to be told that, and they will be all "Dude, I was so over mooncakes when I was like, 12 years old". However, for us loveable tourists, these are a sweet treat to eat.

 

If you are heading down to the park just for the evenings this week, be warned that you will need to buy an Evening Pass. This is for entry after 6:45 PM.

 

The tourism industry is predicting a huge influx of tourists to Hong Kong during 'Golden Week', or the first seven days of October, so we hope this dovetails nicely with the start of this Halloween campaign and sees bodies through the gates - rather than being thrown over them - at HKDL this year.

 

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Be Part of the Magic

 

Character auditions are being held this week for Hong Kong Disneyland. If you 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.

 

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Top Things

 

As part of our ongoing attempts at expanding this column and illuminating some of the highlights of HKDL, I've decided to implement a weekly list of Top Things. It will include things like Top Rides; Top Eats and Top Hats.

 

To kick it off, I've chosen Top Rides That Start with the Letter J. I've listed them in reverse order:

 

1. Jungle River Cruise

 

Look forward to more of these each week!

 

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Remember, as always, if you have any news, photos, trip reports or just a question, feel free to contact us.  We like to think of ourselves as the people's site.

 

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Current and Forthcoming Closures, Refurbishments and Construction

 

• Space Mountain  - Ghost Galaxy (NOW) and its Halloween features replaces the regular Space Mountain until October 31.
• Taihitian Terrace (Adventureland) restaurant CLOSED September 25 to 27 (THIS WEEK). Resumes business on Friday September 28
• 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.

 

Events & Important Dates

 

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

September

• 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. Annual Passholders get to experience the joy a day earlier as part of a 24 September preview!
• 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 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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