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Hong Kong Disneyland

I am loving these photos. Thank you @Don Pacho! Mystic Manor and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars are two of the funnest rides anywhere.
 
EMPTY KINGDOM.....Yes, that's the title of today's Robert Niles' Theme Park Insider column. Even though the park,which originally was under built, has added numerous high level attractions and is undergoing a significant refurb, attendance continues to plummet this year. Probably the recent main culprit is the political protests that are wrecking Hong Kong's tourist industry. Attendance has slid to the point where it's just a tad more than the very weak Paris Studios park. Most rides are walk ons or just ten minute lines. Disney & their Hong Kong govt. partner are spending a ton of money to improve the park, but the instability of Hong Kong is making going to the park an afterthought....This is a really sad situation. The park's setting is probably the most beautiful of any theme park, but it's serious problems continue. Even before the protests it struggled to attract visitors.
 
Hong Kong Disneyland feels effects of demonstrations | CNN Travel

For a park in the middle of a multi-million dollar transformation this can’t be good news. It’s a shame with all the unique offerings this park has but if the mainland takes a more direct hand in HK politics going forward and with Shanghai Disneyland being so successful what chances does HK Disneyland have in the future of staging a comeback?
 
Hong Kong Disneyland feels effects of demonstrations | CNN Travel

For a park in the middle of a multi-million dollar transformation this can’t be good news. It’s a shame with all the unique offerings this park has but if the mainland takes a more direct hand in HK politics going forward and with Shanghai Disneyland being so successful what chances does HK Disneyland have in the future of staging a comeback?
This park has an uncertain gloomy future. The political/social situation in Hong Kong will probably get worse. The most probable outcomes will undoubtedly result in continually less tourists going to the Hong Kong area for a long time. This park will never survive as a predominantly locals park.
 
Just saw a report on CNBC concerning travel to Hong Kong. The travel industry said travel to Hong Kong was DOWN 27% in the third quarter. Their political problems have to be hammering Hong Kong Disneyland outside tourist attendance.
 
Just saw a report on CNBC concerning travel to Hong Kong. The travel industry said travel to Hong Kong was DOWN 27% in the third quarter. Their political problems have to be hammering Hong Kong Disneyland outside tourist attendance.

I've been keeping an eye on it. Most hotels are down 40-70%. The HK Disneyland area is actually clear of any political mess, so much so that delegates have been moved to their hotels to make sure they aren't delayed for flights, etc. Japanese and Taiwanese tourism is still fine, it's just Chinese tourism that has been decimated (which was ~70% of their tourism).

Once you get past the airport, you're in the clear as it relates to Disney.

Unfortunately, no discounts have popped up for HK DL, so it's not enough for me to jump in on it yet. Although the crowds have been insanely small. The only saving grace is Hong Kong gov't already allocated, approved and paid the the grants. So unsure if cuts will actually occur or not. I'm not sure if they could come to an understanding: i.e.; "we're cutting $100m, here's your $50m back, here's ours". I don't know enough about that park's nuances to know if what they've announced is still in the clear.
 
Unfortunately, no discounts have popped up for HK DL, so it's not enough for me to jump in on it yet.

HKDL is already one of the least expensive (if not THE least) Disney properties to visit so I can't image they'd discount rooms. But if they do offer some sort of travel package discounts I may end up planning an impromptu China trip lol.
 
From the Disney+ Imagineering story, shame it's not the finished model but it's already looking impressive. Full HK land map in the background.
DesignProcess-13.jpg
Credit: Themeparx
 
China's ruling Communist Party just announced new rules and laws, that for all intents and purposes, takes away any semblance of self rule from Hong Kong. The crackdown, on Hong Kong's limited autonomy & partial democracy, is on the near horizon.
 
China's ruling Communist Party just announced new rules and laws, that for all intents and purposes, takes away any semblance of self rule from Hong Kong. The crackdown, on Hong Kong's limited autonomy & partial democracy, is on the near horizon.
2046 is today...

This might belong in a different thread, but if anyone has any good recommendations, I'd love to hear about some books that deal specifically with Hong Kong's transfer back to China. I understand Britain had a finite lease on Hong Kong, but even so you would think Britain, previously the world's foremost colonial power, would understand A. the economic benefit of owning an Asian economic hub, and B. the fact that colonization, though an exploitative and destructive process, irrevocably changes the culture of a colony in ways that make a return to pre-colonial life impossible (or in this case, a return to a different kind of leadership and politics, from democracy to authoritarian). Unless Britain was strapped for cash or Britain foresaw China's rapid growth and wanted good diplomatic terms on which to participate in that growth, the decision makes no sense to me.

Sorry for the political digression.
 
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