el_tigre
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2001
- Messages
- 215
I was in Hong Kong last week and was able to attend Hong Kong Disneyland's opening on Monday.
First of all the city is overjoyed to have the park. Mickey Mouse is everywhere - on lampposts, buses, you name it. On numerous occassions, the natives kept telling me I should visit Disneyland before going back to the States. Already had my tickets baby!
Because of opening ceremonies, the park did not open to the public until 1 p.m. We arrived a bit after noon and queued up. It was hot and humid, but I have been in Hong Kong when it was much worse. It was extremely hazy though; apparently it was the smoggiest day of the year. Still, the crowd of about 2,000 people waited very patiently. The park opened at 1 p.m. on the nose.
As reported, this is definitely the smallest of all the Magic Kingdoms and does not have as many attractions as its international cousins. While it has quite a few shows, we had no problem hitting almost everything by the time we left at 7:30 p.m., doing the major attractions twice.
Aesthetically, it very much has the same feel as the original Disneyland. The castle is almost a carbon copy (the only difference being the mountains of Lantau Island towering behind it). It has recreated much the same charm that I frankly feel is lost in other Magic Kingdoms. I really enjoyed walking around the place.
Crowds were manageable. Supposedly, normal capacity is 30,000. Because the park was only opened a half day, they only allowed 16,000 people in on Monday. There seemed to be very few people until 3 p.m. Then the walkways were packed. Still, I did not see wait times longer than 25 minutes for any major attraction like Space Mountain and Philharmagic. Surprisingly, the park seemed to really clear out again by 6 p.m.
If late afternoon Monday was any indication, a 30,000 person capacity is way too high. I can't imagine what nearly doubling the amount of people in the park at 4 p.m. would have done. Apparently, during a sneak preview the week before, the park was packed to capacity. I heard that just for the restaurants, the wait was 2 hours for food. Hopefully they'll cut down capacity or figure our a way to handle so many people efficiently.
The lack of even two more of Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Indy, Splash, Thunder, Matterhorn or Star Tours is really noticeable. This is the definition of a half-day park. Any veteran of Disney parks could do everything this park has to offer in just a few hours.
I have now visited all five of the Magic Kingdoms, and I would probably rank Hong Kong Disneyland last on the list. That said, I have been to Disney theme parks hundreds of times, and this was one of my top five experiences of all time. Most of the time, you'll run into crying and screaming children, grumpy parents and rude people from time to time. There was none of that on Monday. Literally everyone was happy and laughing without a care in the world. There was such an energy, it seemed infectious among everyone there, as if people were feeding off each other. On Monday, Hong Kong Disneyland was truly the happiest place on Earth.
For the short term, I would expect Hong Kong Disneyland to do very well. Over a third of the people visiting the park on opening day were from mainland China, and there should be a steady stream from there for quite some time. But heavy expansion will be a must, especially if Disney builds a park in Shanghai. Unfortunately, the park is so small, there really is not that much room.
This is not a park I would travel halfway around the world just to see, but if you happen to be in the area, it is certainly worth a look. I really enjoyed myself, and despite its shortcomings, will likely return should I bring my kids to Asia in future visits. Just don't expect Disneyworld. If Disneyland in Anaheim is your favorite Magic Kingdom, you will likely enjoy this park. If your preference is for one of the others, I think you will likely be disappointed.
First of all the city is overjoyed to have the park. Mickey Mouse is everywhere - on lampposts, buses, you name it. On numerous occassions, the natives kept telling me I should visit Disneyland before going back to the States. Already had my tickets baby!
Because of opening ceremonies, the park did not open to the public until 1 p.m. We arrived a bit after noon and queued up. It was hot and humid, but I have been in Hong Kong when it was much worse. It was extremely hazy though; apparently it was the smoggiest day of the year. Still, the crowd of about 2,000 people waited very patiently. The park opened at 1 p.m. on the nose.
As reported, this is definitely the smallest of all the Magic Kingdoms and does not have as many attractions as its international cousins. While it has quite a few shows, we had no problem hitting almost everything by the time we left at 7:30 p.m., doing the major attractions twice.
Aesthetically, it very much has the same feel as the original Disneyland. The castle is almost a carbon copy (the only difference being the mountains of Lantau Island towering behind it). It has recreated much the same charm that I frankly feel is lost in other Magic Kingdoms. I really enjoyed walking around the place.
Crowds were manageable. Supposedly, normal capacity is 30,000. Because the park was only opened a half day, they only allowed 16,000 people in on Monday. There seemed to be very few people until 3 p.m. Then the walkways were packed. Still, I did not see wait times longer than 25 minutes for any major attraction like Space Mountain and Philharmagic. Surprisingly, the park seemed to really clear out again by 6 p.m.
If late afternoon Monday was any indication, a 30,000 person capacity is way too high. I can't imagine what nearly doubling the amount of people in the park at 4 p.m. would have done. Apparently, during a sneak preview the week before, the park was packed to capacity. I heard that just for the restaurants, the wait was 2 hours for food. Hopefully they'll cut down capacity or figure our a way to handle so many people efficiently.
The lack of even two more of Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Indy, Splash, Thunder, Matterhorn or Star Tours is really noticeable. This is the definition of a half-day park. Any veteran of Disney parks could do everything this park has to offer in just a few hours.
I have now visited all five of the Magic Kingdoms, and I would probably rank Hong Kong Disneyland last on the list. That said, I have been to Disney theme parks hundreds of times, and this was one of my top five experiences of all time. Most of the time, you'll run into crying and screaming children, grumpy parents and rude people from time to time. There was none of that on Monday. Literally everyone was happy and laughing without a care in the world. There was such an energy, it seemed infectious among everyone there, as if people were feeding off each other. On Monday, Hong Kong Disneyland was truly the happiest place on Earth.
For the short term, I would expect Hong Kong Disneyland to do very well. Over a third of the people visiting the park on opening day were from mainland China, and there should be a steady stream from there for quite some time. But heavy expansion will be a must, especially if Disney builds a park in Shanghai. Unfortunately, the park is so small, there really is not that much room.
This is not a park I would travel halfway around the world just to see, but if you happen to be in the area, it is certainly worth a look. I really enjoyed myself, and despite its shortcomings, will likely return should I bring my kids to Asia in future visits. Just don't expect Disneyworld. If Disneyland in Anaheim is your favorite Magic Kingdom, you will likely enjoy this park. If your preference is for one of the others, I think you will likely be disappointed.
