THE Year of the Mouse may not exist in the Chinese lunar calendar, but the era of Mickey and Minnie has arrived in the East nonetheless. I watched the pair skip through the gates of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle last Monday to welcome China’s Vice-President, Zeng Qinghong, before he cut the ribbon to inaugurate the new Disneyland Hong Kong.
Minutes later, the turnstiles opened and the first wave of what Disney estimates will be some 5.6 million guests over the coming year gushed through. Among them were Hong Kong residents Victor and Amy Wan with their four-year-old daughter Yi-Ping, who hopped up and down squealing “Mai Kei Lao Shu!” (Mickey’s name in Cantonese).
As I am a veteran of Disneylands in Paris, Florida and California, this theme park feels at first very familiar to me. But then I begin to notice some distinct differences, the most immediate one being that the trademark magic castle’s pink turrets are cradled between a pair of soaring dark green mountains. These are the spectacular peaks of Lantau Island, where the park has been built on reclaimed land ten minutes by train from Hong Kong airport.
There are also flashes of technological brilliance not found in the other parks, such as the wall of thundering water that suddenly bursts into flames around you on the Jungle River Cruise.
The attraction called Fantasy Gardens, a series of pavilions where people pose with Mickey, Minnie and other Disney characters and take pictures of one another, is clearly created uniquely for the photo-obsessed Asian market. And it was certainly proving itself by attracting some of the longest queues.
But after a couple of days of discovering Disneyland Hong Kong — which is much smaller, with fewer attractions than any of its sister parks — I can’t help coming to the conclusion that this is Disney-Lite. Many of the familiar rides are missing, including Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World and the Splash Mountain water flume. And there are no Indiana Jones or Big Thunder Mountain rollercoasters. In fact, there is only one proper thrill ride in the park — a relatively tame version of Space Mountain.
“I am a little disappointed,” says Tung Choi, one of a group of friends who have travelled from Shenzhen in mainland China to sample the rides. “We waited a long time to come in, but there are not enough rides.”
Given this, it seems fair that entry tickets are quite a lot cheaper. The resort has only two hotels: Disneyland Hollywood, themed on 1930s movies, and the flagship Disneyland Hotel, styled as “Mictorian”. Disneyland Resort Paris, by contrast, has seven hotels.
Disney claims that its Hong Kong park and resort can be expanded in the future, just as others have been. An Autopia racing car attraction is planned for 2006. On the subject of the thrill rides, Todd Heiden, a Disney spokesman suggests that: “Chinese honour youth and childhood, so we need to be careful about imposing too many mandatory height restrictions. Also we believe that many people are here for an immersive Disney experience, rather than the thrill rides beloved of Western guests.”
All the same, during my stay last weekend, when only restricted numbers of people were allowed in preceding the official opening, I observed queues of more than an hour building up for the Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters rides. Within a short while of the official opening on Monday, it was a similar story. On a trial run with a capacity 30,000 guests the weekend before, there were reports of queues of up to three hours. So it is hard to escape the conclusion that the park does need a few more big-time rides.
One of the obvious absentees among the attractions is the Haunted Mansion, one of the most popular rides in the sister parks. This was deliberately left out with a nod to Chinese customs. Todd Heiden says: “The Chinese honour and venerate their dead. Our research showed that making light of death and ghosts would be something best avoided.”
There has been a lot of consideration of local customs in the creation of the park. The location was important because harmonious life energy — or chi — is said to flow from the Lantau Island mountains and down towards the South China Sea, making the site singularly auspicious according to the principles of feng shui — the ancient Chinese art of manipulating the environment to ensure good fortune.
Subtleties of Disney-with-a-twist-of-China include use around the park of the colour red, which signifies luck and wealth, and an absence of the unlucky number four. Even the opening date, September 12, was chosen because Chinese astrologers said it was auspicious. Disney is clearly eager to avoid cultural mishaps of the kind that happened at the launch of Disneyland Resort Paris in 1992. Among the sins for which they were made to do penance then was not allowing guests a glass of wine with their lunch.
Food has been a bit of a minefield in Hong Kong: Disney was criticised by Western environmental groups for including shark’s fin soup on its special wedding banquet menu. Then, when the offending item was removed, it was criticised for ignoring local demand and bowing to pressure from foreigners.
With guests at the resort expected to be split roughly three ways between Hong Kong, mainland China and other (predominantly Asian) countries, there are numerous different styles of food on offer — but almost all of it is Asian. Even the burgers are made with spicy pork and served with a bowl of rice (and to my taste puts McDonald’s to shame).
There have been other stories critical of Disneyland in the Hong Kong press. The company has been accused of using sweatshop labour to manufacture its products; of polluting the air with nightly fireworks; and of insensitivity in culling scores of stray dogs in the area around the park. A student protest group, Disney Hunter, staged a demonstration outside the park on opening day, parading a caged Mickey Mouse.
Its underlying message seems to be that adopting as iconic a symbol of Americanism as the round-eared mouse represents cultural dilution for Chinese people.
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Need to know
Getting there: Martin Symington travelled with British Airways Holidays (0870 2433406, www.ba.com), which has return flights to Hong Kong from £419, and room-only accommodation at the five-star Sheraton Hotel and Towers from £84 per person per night. Prices are based on departures before the end of October, booked by September 27.
For tickets to the park and rooms at the on-site Disney hotels, contact Hong Kong Disneyland (00 852 1 830830, www.hongkongdisneyland.com). The Disneyland Hotel costs from £112 (HK$ 1,600) a night, and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel from £70. A day’s admission to the park costs £21 per adult (Mon to Fri) and £24 at weekends. Children under 12 pay £15.
Further information: Hong Kong Tourism Board (020-7533 7100, www.discoverhongkong.com).
