Hong Kong Disneyland (Chinese: 香港迪士尼乐园) is the first theme park inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks.
Hong Kong Disneyland, the fifth Magic Kingdom-style park, is located on a reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. After years of negotiations and construction, the park opened to visitors on September 12, 2005, considered an auspicious date according to Chinese almanacs for the opening of a new business. Disney attempted to avoid problems of cultural backlash by attempting to incorporate Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when designing and building the resort, including adherence to the rules of Feng Shui. For instance, a bend was put in a walkway near the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort entrance so good "chi" energy wouldn't flow into the South China Sea.
The park consists of four themed lands similar to other Disneyland parks: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland. There is as yet no Frontierland, although it may be included in future expansion projects. The theme park's cast members use English and Chinese, including Cantonese and Mandarin dialects, to communicate verbally. Guide Maps are printed in Traditional characters, , English, Simplified characters, French, and in Japanese.
The capacity of the park is 34,000 visitors per day, and is the smallest Disneyland park. It has so far fallen short of meeting its targeted visitorship figures. 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, which was below company targets, inciting criticisms from local legislators. However, the park attendance slightly increased by 8% in the third year, attracting a total of 4.5 million visitors in 2007-2008 fiscal year. Since the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005, the theme park has attracted 15 million guests.
The park's small size is often cited to explain its under-performance.Currently 22.4 hectares (55 acres) in size, it will be expanded to 27.4 hectares (68 acres) when three new themed areas are completed. The announced areas, namely Grizzly Trail, Mystic Point and Toy Story Land, are all located outside the Disneyland Railroad track, south to the current Adventureland. After the opening of the three new lands, the park is expected to handle 7.92 million to 8.92 million visitors in 2014. Eventually, the park capacity will increase to handle up to 10 million visitors annually over a 15 year expansion period.
