Hong Kong Disneyland marked its first anniversary yesterday, over-shadowed by poorer-than-expected visitor figures, bad publicity and chaos at the gates.
Braving heavy rain, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy helped piece together a large puzzle that resembled a birthday cake, surrounded by park workers waving large Mickey-style gloves. Pop star Jacky Cheung (
The cake was emblazoned with the words, "Thank you Hong Kong."
The Hong Kong government invested massively in the first Disney theme park on Chinese soil on hopes it would tap the huge China market and transform the territory into a regional family tourism hub.
Hong Kong taxpayers shouldered most of the US$3.5 billion construction cost and own a 57 percent stake in the joint venture with The Walt Disney Co.
Hong Kong Disneyland, however, hasn't been an instant success. It missed its first-year target of 5.6 million visitors.
The park's managing director, Bill Ernest, said a week before the anniversary that attendance had exceeded 5 million but won't hit 5.6 million until later this month or next month.
Adding to worries, that goal was conservative because it was made in 2002, when China only allowed its citizens to visit Hong Kong as part of tour groups.
Beijing authorized individual travel in 2003.
In a ticketing miscalculation that became a major publicity debacle, the park had to turn away thousands of Chinese tourists with tickets during the peak Lunar New Year holidays in February. Angry guests tried to storm the park gates, with some climbing over them.
The park has also been dogged by negative publicity. Environmentalists protested shark's fin on the menu, and it was eventually dropped.
Critics accused park management of abusing its jurisdiction by asking health officers to remove identifying parts of their uniform in the park, and complained about the park's secrecy on attendance figures despite Hong Kong's huge public investment in the project.
Ernest called the initial slip-ups "teething problems."
He acknowledged not doing a good job of educating Chinese tourists who haven't been exposed to Disney characters and themes in the past. The park plans to launch a "pre-show" briefing for visitors. It will also launch new promotions during Halloween, Christmas and Lunar New Year.
"They should understand they can't just bank on the Disney brand and not have to do any publicity or promotion. They shouldn't be so complacent," opposition lawmaker Sin Chung-kai (
"I think they have learned their lesson after this year," he added.
John Ap (
"It's going to take 10, 15 years for us to really say `yeah, was it worth our while?'" Ap said. "No business is necessarily going to be operationally successful and viable in the first year of operation."
He said the park's record was still outstanding by local standards.
"How many attractions in Hong Kong can get 5 million plus visitors in its first year of operation?" Ap said.
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