Hong Kong Disneyland (abbreviated HKDL;[1] also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It was the second Disneyland in Asia to open, after Tokyo Disneyland, with Shanghai Disneyland opening in 2016.[2] Hong Kong Disneyland is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned jointly by Hong Kong International Theme Parks (52%) and the Walt Disney Company (48%). It is the most visited theme park in Hong Kong, followed by Ocean Park Hong Kong.[3] Hong Kong Disneyland opened to visitors on Monday, September 12, 2005, at 13:00 HKT. Disney attempted to avoid problems of cultural backlash by incorporating Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when designing and building the resort, including adherence to the rules of feng shui. Notably, a bend was put in a walkway near the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort entrance so good qi energy would not flow into the South China Sea.[4]
The park consists of eight themed areas: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, Toy Story Land, and World of Frozen. The newest themed area — World of Frozen, opened on 20 November 2023.[5] There are single tickets and annual passes, called Magic Access, that are available for tourists who visit Hong Kong Disneyland.[6] The theme park's cast members speak Cantonese, English, and Mandarin. Printed guide maps were printed in traditional and simplified Chinese as well as English. Guide maps are now available on the Hong Kong Disneyland mobile app as well as the ability to reserve park visits and other related information for park visits.[7]
The park has a daily capacity of 34,000 visitors[8] — the lowest of all Disneyland parks. The park attracted 5.2 million visitors in its first year, below its target of 5.6 million. Visitor numbers fell 20% in the second year to 4 million,[9] inciting criticisms from local legislators.[10] However, the park attendance jumped by 8% in the third year, attracting a total of 4.5 million visitors in 2007. In 2009, the park attendance again increased by 2% to 4.8 million visitors. The attendance continued to surge and received 5.23 million guests in the 2009/2010 fiscal year. Since the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, the theme park has hosted over 100 million guests.[11] Hong Kong Disneyland currently occupies 27.5ha[12] and hosts 6–7 million visitors annually, with 6.4 million guests in 2023 making it the 17th-most visited theme park in the world.[13] The park capacity will increase to handle up to 10 million visitors annually over a 15-year expansion period.[14] The park first turned an annual net profit of million (million) for the year ended 29 September 2012.[15] [16] However, it has operated at an increasing loss in 2015, 2016 and 2017.[17]
Penny's Bay was filled in to provide land for the construction of Hong Kong Disneyland. The bay was previously undeveloped except for the Cheoy Lee Shipyard, which opened in the 1960s.[18]
The city's chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, was instrumental in introducing the Disneyland project to Hong Kong. When the SARS epidemic devastated the city's economy in 2003, it was hoped that the new Disneyland would help boost confidence in Hong Kong's tourism industry.[19]
Hong Kong Disneyland had one of the shortest construction periods of any Disneyland-style theme park. On 12 January 2003, more than 400 guests celebrated the groundbreaking of Hong Kong Disneyland after the finishing of land reclamation in Penny's Bay. The audience included Tung Chee-hwa; Michael D. Eisner, former chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company; Bob Iger, president of The Walt Disney Company; and Jay Rasulo, former president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.[20] On 23 September 2004, a special "castle topping ceremony" was held in the park to commemorate the placing of the tallest turret on Sleeping Beauty Castle.
On 12 September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland was officially opened to the public. The opening ceremony was officiated by Zeng Qinghong, who was then the vice president of China. To help Hong Kong Disneyland grow, the Chinese government had deliberately slowed down the development of Shanghai Disney Resort, which was first conceived in the early 2000s.[21]
In January 2012, Hong Kong Disneyland has been in the process of negotiating with the Government of Hong Kong to invest its HK$5 billion profit for new attractions. Further details of the expansion would be announced within a 12-month period from January 2012. A shopping complex and new hotels would be taken into consideration for the new expansion plan.
In Hong Kong financial secretary John Tsang's 2013–14 budget speech, he announced that a new night time parade: "Disney Paint The Night Parade", as well as a themed area featuring characters from the Marvel Universe, will be built in Hong Kong Disneyland.[22] [23] On 8 October 2013 then Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Thomas O. Staggs confirmed the development of the Iron Man Experience.[24]
On 17 February 2014, Hong Kong Disneyland announced its 2012–13 financial results as well as a plan for the third hotel at the resort. The third hotel would be the largest hotel at the resort, featuring 750 rooms with an adventure and exotic theme, and would cost to build.[25] The third hotel, Disney Explorers Lodge, opened on 30 April 2017.[26]
Hong Kong Disneyland was also built with the space for a second park directly across from the entrance to the current park. Disney has not yet announced that the second park is in development. Land is also available for additional hotels other than the three current, but the common thought is that the second park will be built before a fourth hotel. However, it was announced in September 2020 by the Hong Kong Government that Hong Kong Disneyland's option to purchase the 60-hectare expansion site next to the existing park will not be extended after its expiry on 24 September 2020 as it is unable to commit to using the site in the near future.[27]
On 22 November 2016, the Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong Government announced plans for a multi-year, [28] expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland. The proposed expansion includes a Frozen-themed area (announced for 2021), a Marvel-themed area (opening in phases from 2018 to 2023), a redesigned castle to succeed Sleeping Beauty Castle and hub (announced for 2020), a reimagined attraction (announced for 2021), a new Moana stage show (announced for 2018), and live entertainment.[29] [30] [31] [32] [33]
On 24 May 2018, Hong Kong Disneyland opened the first project part of the multi-year expansion: Moana: a Homecoming Celebration, an atmosphere stage show performed daily at the newly built Jungle Junction venue in Adventureland. The park also gave more information on the coming projects as well as the revised dates for these projects: the shooting dark ride, replacing Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, opened in 2019 and the new expanded castle will be unveiled in 2020, in time for the park's 15th anniversary. Park officials also confirmed the rumors that the future Frozen-themed area will feature a copy of Epcot's Frozen Ever After and a family roller coaster named Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, replacing the previously announced Dancing Sleighs ride, and that the area was opened in 2023.[34] [35]
On 26 January 2020, the park closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic along with Ocean Park Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland Park.[36] [37] It remained closed for nearly five months, reopening on 18 June 2020. It was the second worldwide Disney park to reopen after Shanghai Disneyland.[38] [39] It reopened with similar strict rules as Shanghai Disneyland, which included limited guest attendance, social distancing, temperature checks, and mandatory wearing of face masks. Hong Kong Disneyland closed again from 15 July to 25 September 2020 due to a heavy upsurge in domestic cases.[40] [41] After reopening for approximately two months, it was announced the park would close for a third time on 2 December 2020 due to a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the region.[42] The park reopened on 19 February 2021.[43] The park closed for the fourth time on 7 January 2022 due to the rising number of cases of the Omicron variant, and reopened on 21 April 2022.[44]
In 2023, Hong Kong Disneyland expanded again and created the world's first and largest "Frozen" theme park – "Frozen World", which officially opened to tourists on 20 November of that year. Visitors can experience the adventure journey of Arendelle here.[45]
Hong Kong Disneyland is located on Lantau Island,[46] [47] is divided into "lands" (themed areas) and well-concealed backstage areas. On entering a land, a guest is completely immersed in a themed environment and is unable to see or hear any other realm. The idea behind this was to develop theatrical "stages" with seamless passages from one land to the next. The public areas occupy approximately 27.4ha. When the park initially opened, it consisted of only four themed areas instead of the traditional five lands:
On 30 June 2009, Donald Tsang, the then Chief Executive of Hong Kong, announced that the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland had been approved by the Executive Council. The park received three new themed lands — Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point and Toy Story Land — all located outside the Disneyland Railroad track, south of the current area.
On 2 May 2017, the Executive Council approved another multi-year expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland, adding two new themed lands — World of Frozen and Stark Expo — to the park.
Throughout the park are 'Hidden Mickeys', or representations of Mickey Mouse heads inserted subtly into the design of attractions and environmental decor.
An elevated berm supports the narrow gauge[48] Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad (built by Severn Lamb) that circumnavigates the park.
See main article: List of Hong Kong Disneyland attractions. Hong Kong Disneyland has eight themed areas, each with different attractions, live entertainment, meet and greet, dining and boutiques.
Inspired by the Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland, the buildings of this Main Street are almost identical to those in Anaheim. Like other Disney theme parks, Hong Kong Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. serves as the entrance of the park. Plans originally featured a restaurant under the Railroad station, but were scrapped due to budget reasons. The decor is small-town America from the years 1890–1910.
Though being very similar to Anaheim's main street, the theme is heavily influenced by European immigrants. Plaza Inn — which has the identical exterior design as the one in Disneyland — mimics a classical Chinese eatery that was created by a wealthy American couple who were infatuated with Chinese culture. Another restaurant, the Market House Bakery is reminiscent of a bakery founded by a Viennese pastry chef who brought the world's most famous desserts from the Austrian imperial court.
Unlike Main Streets from other parks, Main Street at Hong Kong Disneyland is built mainly of wood instead of stone. There are no horse-drawn streetcars, though tracks for another of the Main Street Vehicle can be seen in concept art.
At the end of Main Street is the Castle of Magical Dreams. Opened in 2020, it is double the height of the previous park centerpiece, Sleeping Beauty Castle, the nodes are integrated with symbols relating to 13 princesses. The castle forecourt features a show stage and viewing area for the new daytime stage show and nighttime spectacular, "Follow Your Dreams" and "Momentous".[49]
The new walk-through attraction "Duffy and Friends Play House" added in 2023.[50]
Fantasyland features the Castle of Magical Dreams (which replaced the Sleeping Beauty Castle) as its icon. The attractions in this area include Mickey's PhilharMagic, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and It's a Small World. There is also Fantasy Gardens where costumed Disney characters can be met, and a Fairy Tale Forest. The Fantasyland is also home to the "Mickey and the Wondrous Book" stage show.
Tomorrowland at Hong Kong Disneyland is themed to a SpacePort which features an emphasis on metallic trim, dominated by blue and purple hues. Since the opening of the park, unique attractions have been added into the Hong Kong's Tomorrowland.
To celebrate the release of the new Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars-themed rides debuted at Hong Kong Disneyland, and Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain subsequently became a permanent major attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland.
The first ever Marvel attraction in a Disney theme park, The Iron Man Experience, opened on 11 January 2017 in an area previously envisioned for a Star Tours-type attraction. The land also featured Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters on opening day, but that was replaced with, which opened on 31 March 2019. Hong Kong Disneyland announced that the attractions will be redesign and become part of Stark Expo.
Hong Kong Disneyland's Adventureland is the biggest among all Disney parks. It features a large island area home to Tarzan's Treehouse, which is circled by the Jungle Cruise (Jungle River Cruise) — much like the Rivers of America in most Frontierland theme areas. The Adventureland is also home to the "Festival of the Lion King" stage show. The new atmosphere stage show "Moana: a Homecoming Celebration" debuted on 25 May 2018 at Jungle Junction. A new outdoor venue. it is the first part of the multi-year expansion being unveiled to the public.
Opened on 18 November 2011, Toy Story Land is the first new themed land since the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005. It is located to the west side of the park, behind Fantasyland. Toy Story Land is themed using bamboo to act as giant blades of grass surrounding the area. The themed land makes use of characters from the Toy Story movies, such as an enlarged Woody, Rex, an oversized paper plane, and Luxo Jr.
Toy Story Land was marketed by the park as "Asia exclusive". For some time its only counterpart, Toy Story Playland, is located at Walt Disney Studios Park in Marne-la-Vallée, France. Since Toy Story Land became popular at this park, it will become more common. One at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando opened in June 2018, and one in Shanghai Disneyland opened on April 26, 2018.
The main attractions include Slinky Dog Spin, Toy Soldier Parachute Drop, and RC Racer.
Opened on 14 July 2012, this land is the Hong Kong equivalent of Frontierland and Critter Country. The themed land reminisces an abandoned mining town called "Grizzly Gulch", set amidst mountains and woods. The centrepiece structure is Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, inspired by Grizzly Peak in Disney California Adventure Park. The town was set to be founded 8 August 1888 — the luckiest day of the luckiest month of the luckiest year — by prospectors looking to discover gold.
See main article: Mystic Point. Opened on 17 May 2013, Mystic Point is a new themed land in Hong Kong Disneyland. It is also the final area opened in Hong Kong Disneyland's current expansion. It is set in 1909 at an adventurer's outpost established in 1896 in a dense, uncharted rain forest surrounded by mysterious forces and supernatural events. The site features Mystic Manor, home of Lord Henry Mystic, a world traveler and adventurer and his mischievous monkey, Albert.
See main article: World of Frozen. A land behind Fantasyland hosts two rides themed to the movie Frozen. World of Frozen is set in the fictional Kingdom of Arendelle. The land features two rides, a dark ride similar to Frozen Ever After at EPCOT, and a sleigh-style family rollercoaster, called Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleighs. "Playhouse in the Woods" is a live interactive show based on the film Frozen II in World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland. It was originally set to open in 2020, but the opening date was delayed to 20 November 2023,[51] due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
See main article: Avengers Campus. On 22 November 2016, it was announced that Tomorrowland would be partly transformed into a Marvel-themed area, as part of a massive six year expansion plan. The first ever Marvel attraction in a Disney theme park, The Iron Man Experience, opened on 11 January 2017 in an area previously envisioned for a Star Tours-type attraction. The replacement of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters by an attraction featuring Ant-Man and The Wasp, named ""[52] for 2019 and the construction, on the former Autopia site, of a major E ticket attraction, "Avengers Quinjet", based on the Avengers franchise, which was originally set to be completed by 2024.[53] However, at D23 2024 on August 10, 2024, it was cancelled to make way for a new unnamed Spider-Man attraction.[54]
Seasonal entertainment, such as "Magical Year After Year", "Duffy and Friends Play Days", "Marvel Season of Super Heroes", "Pixar Water Play Street Party!", "Disney Halloween Time"and "A Disney Christmas", are held in the park to celebrate events.
With the completion of the Castle of Magical Dreams, which replaced the Sleeping Beauty Castle, new daytime and nighttime shows were introduced.
"Follow Your Dreams", the daytime stage show, debuted on 30 June 2021, and is Hong Kong Disneyland’s first outdoor castle stage show. The show involves Mickey Mouse, his friends, and other Disney characters as they take the audience on a journey to inspire them to never give up on their dreams.
"Momentous", the nighttime spectacular, debuted on 18 June 2022. Billed as “The Most Magical Show on Earth”, "Momentous" tells the story of life and the moments it brings through the lens of Disney and Pixar stories and music. The spectacular, originally known as Cherish the Memories, was designed during the castle transformation.
Both shows were slated to premiere in 2020 for Hong Kong Disneyland’s 15th anniversary celebration (in fact, "Momentous" uses the anniversary anthem "Love the Memory" as its main theme), but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Mickey and the Wondrous Book" is a live stage show that premiered in Storybook Theater at Hong Kong Disneyland on November 17, 2015, as part of its 10th anniversary celebration.
A spectacularly unique “Happily Ever After” show has been created to bring to life new and classic Disney stories and movies in an exhilarating, musical revue stage production like no other! Presented in Disney's Storybook Theater.
"Festival of the Lion King", an original interpretation of the Disney animated film The Lion King, is a Broadway-caliber short-form stage musical performed live. It uses the concept of tribal celebration in combination with ideas from Disney's parades.
Swing into jungle fun with acrobats and fire dancers as Simba, Timon and Pumbaa come to life in a musical extravaganza. Presented in Theater in the Wild.
"Playhouse in the Woods" is a live interactive show based on the film Frozen II in World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland.
Nestled deep in Arendelle Forest, Anna and Elsa have opened the doors to their childhood hideaway, the Playhouse in the Woods. Here, you will be joined by Anna and Elsa in a novel and engaging theatrical experience where you play a part in the story, and discover your connection to the elemental spirits.
"Moana: A Homecoming Celebration" is a live interactive show based on the film Moana in Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland and premiered on May 25, 2018.
Moana will sail to Hong Kong Disneyland and appear in an all-new atmosphere stage show. Jam-packed with inspirational music, dancing, puppetry and storytelling, it recounts Moana’s adventures to restore the heart of Te Fiti. Come and be a part of the story as you live the adventure of Moana! Presented in Jungle Junction.
Hong Kong Disneyland gives out free birthday badges to people celebrating their birthday at Hong Kong Disneyland. Name tags are also available when you ask the cast members. One of the special features of Hong Kong Disneyland is that there are free Disneyland themed stickers given out in the park and hotels. Visitors may ask cast members for these exclusive stickers. Each sticker is themed by an individual Disney character. There are also select cast members who wears stashes offering opportunities for pin-trading.
Hong Kong Disneyland: The Grand Opening Celebration Album was the soundtrack for the grand opening ceremony of Hong Kong Disneyland at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Much of the album are Cantonese or Mandarin cover of theme songs of animated Disney films. The package contains a DVD featuring music videos. The album does not contain any music used in the park.
DVD
New English Theme Song:
The park is accessible on the MTR via the purpose-built Disneyland Resort line, a themed shuttle train service between the Disneyland Resort station adjacent to the park, and Sunny Bay station, where passengers can transfer to the Tung Chung line for access to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, or Tung Chung. The line runs modified Metro Cammell M-Trains on the non-stop route. The trains have been converted to run fully automatically without drivers. The first train to Disneyland Resort from Sunny Bay station departs at 06:15 and the last train at 00:45 (24-hour clock).[55]
See also: List of bus routes in Hong Kong. Long Win Bus operates 3 regular routes to the Disneyland Resort Public Transport Interchange in front of the park.Route R8 is a circular route running between Disneyland and the Lantau Link Toll Plaza Bus Interchange. The latter can be accessed by any of the routes with the A or E prefixes (e.g. A11 or E32), and is always the first stop after crossing the Tsing Ma Bridge. It is the only all-day route serving the park, and is jointly operated with vehicles from Citybus.
Two additional regular routes, running on weekends and public holidays only, provide direct service between other places in the New Territories and Disneyland. They are route R33 to Tuen Mun station, connecting to the MTR, and route R42 to Tai Wai station via Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin. For both routes, one trip departs towards Disneyland in the mornings and the return trip departs approximately 20 minutes after the evening fireworks display.
In addition to the above regular trips, seven special routes (including one cross-harbour route) operate to and from Disneyland before and after special events at the park, of which two are operated by Citybus and the other five by Long Win Bus.
Certain midday and late evening trips of Citybus route B5 between the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge Hong Kong Port and Sunny Bay station are routed via Disneyland.
Just before the grand opening, the park was criticised for overestimating the daily capacity.[56] The problem became apparent on the charity preview day on 4 September 2005, when 30,000 locals visited the park. The event turned out to be a disappointment, as there were too many guests. Wait times at fast food outlets were at least 45 minutes, and wait times at rides went up to 2 hours.
Although the park's shareholders and the Hong Kong Government set pressure upon the park to lower the capacity, the park insisted on keeping the limit, only agreeing to relieve the capacity problem by extending the opening time by one hour and introducing more discounts during weekdays. However, the park stated that local visitors tend to stay in the park for more than nine hours per visit, implying that the mentioned practices would do little to solve the problem.
During the Lunar New Year 2006, many visitors arrived at the park in the morning bearing valid tickets, but were refused entry, because the park was already at full capacity. Some disgruntled visitors, mainly tourists, attempted to force their way into the park by climbing over the barrier gates.[57] Disneyland management was forced to revise their ticketing policy and designated future periods close to public holidays as 'special days' during which admission would only be allowed through a date-specific ticket. Ticket prices during the week were changed to reflect cheaper prices. Meanwhile, weekend prices were raised. The prices were changed in an attempt to crowd-control so the crowds would be more even throughout the week and therefore the lines would not be as bad on weekends.
Disney initially refused to release the attendance figures after media reports surfaced saying the park's attendance numbers might be lower than expected. Disney finally declared[58] on 24 November 2005, that Disney had over 1 million guests during its first two months of operation.
In response to negative publicity locally and to boost visitor numbers, Hong Kong Disneyland offered $50 discounts for admission tickets to holders of Hong Kong I.D. cards in the period before 2005 Christmas. Also, from March to June 2006, the park offered Hong Kong I.D. card holders the opportunity to purchase a two-day admission ticket for the price of a single day ticket.[59]
| WorldwideRank | Year | Attendance | Net change | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 2006 | 5,200,000[60] | |||
| 21 | 2007 | 4,150,000[61] | −1,050,000 | –20.1 | |
| 18 | 2008 | 4,500,000[62] | +350,000 | +8.4 | |
| 17 | 2009 | 4,600,000[63] | +100,000 | +2.2 | |
| 16 | 2010 | 5,200,000[64] | +600,000 | +13 | |
| 15 | 2011 | 5,900,000 | +700,000 | +13.5 | |
| 14 | 2012 | 6,700,000[65] | +800,000 | +13.6 | |
| 14 | 2013 | 7,400,000 | +700,000 | +10.4 | |
| 15 | 2014 | 7,600,000[66] | +200,000 | +2.7 | |
| 19 | 2015 | 6,800,000[67] | –800,000 | –9.3 | |
| 17 | 2016 | 6,100,000[68] | –700,000 | –10.3 | |
| 18 | 2017 | 6,200,000[69] | +100,000 | +1.6 | |
| 16 | 2018 | 6,700,000[70] | +500,000 | +8.1 | |
| 21 | 2019 | 5,695,000[71] | –1,005,000 | –15.7 | |
| 22 | 2020 | 1,700,000[72] | –3,995,000 | –70.1 | |
| 33 | 2021 | 2,800,000[73] | +1,100,000 | +64.7 | |
| 34 | 2022 | 3,400,000[74] | +600,000 | +21.4 | |
| 17 | 2023 | 6,400,000[75] | +3,000,000 | +88.2 | |
The significant decline in attendance between 2020 and 2023 is due to the COVID-19 regulations imposed in Hong Kong, which included, during several periods, temporary closure of the Resort, reduction in Park capacity, quarantine measures and vaccinations required for visitors entering Hong Kong.
In the 2012 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic comedy film Podaa Podi, a song depicting the relationship between a father and son, written by Vaali and sung by Silambarasan himself, was shot with him and his 1 year old nephew Samarth at Hong Kong Disneyland, making it the first Tamil film to be shot there.
The hit Indian sitcom Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah filmed episodes 1470 to 1478 at Hong Kong Disneyland, where various show characters experienced the attractions.
The music video for the song "Boss" by MIRROR was filmed at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2021.[76]