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From Greg Cruey,
Your Guide to Asia for Visitors.
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By almost any measure the opening of Disney’s new Hong Kong theme park was a monumental feat.

• It is China’s first theme park.
• Hong Kong invested huge sums of money in the project on Lantau, the biggest of Hong Kong’s 236 islands, and owns a 57% share of the park.
• Land was reclaimed from the sea and new resort hotels built (check out About's Hotels site.).
• And Feng Shui experts were enlisted to help make the park “The Happiest Place on Earth.

But despite all the effort and money that went into the park’s development, Hong Kong Disneyland opened to a swirl of bad press, possible legal action from Hong Kong health inspectors, protests from environmentalists and human rights organizations, a flooded market of fake Disney goods in the city, anger in Hong Kong over plans to begin work on another China theme park right away (in Shanghai), and (perhaps worst of all) long lines of impatient visitors inside the park.

The new park is a Chinese version of Disneyland in California, complete with a Main St.

USA, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, and Fantasyland. (About’s Travel with Kids site has a good general overview of the park.)

The park opened on September 12 because Feng Shui experts declared that to be an auspicious day. In the days before the opening the park ran “rehearsal days” where visitors were allowed in to try the park. Despite being one of the three or four most densely populated places on earth, Hong Kong residents evidently aren’t used to standing in line for very long; Hong Kong Disneyland had visitors standing in line for as much as ninety minutes to buy food and board rides during the rehearsal days. The Hong Kong government tried to convince park officials to lower the 100 acre park’s maximum capacity of 30,000. Disney refused. Hong Kong Disneyland is Disney’s smallest park.

How many people to let through the gates wasn’t Disney’s only argument with the Hong Kong government. Three cases of food poisoning during the rehearsal resulted in health inspectors showing up at the park. A row started when Disney security staff required the health inspectors to remove their caps and epaulettes. Hong Kong’s health department was still considering legal action over the incident at last report despite a Disney apology.

Exactly how poisoned the atmosphere between Disney and the Hong Kong government is remains to be seen. Many in Hong Kong are miffed that Disney is already discussing opening a second theme park in China, in Shanghai. Hong Kong hoped to have time to recoup its investment in the park. Disney is more interested in open the door to the Chinese market than in making Hong Kong richer.

Among the other problems Disney faced in Hong Kong as it opened:

• Animal rights activists embarrassed Disney into taking Shark Fin Soup (a Chinese favorite) off of menus in the park.
• Accusations became public from a variety of sources that workers at some of the factories producing Disney products in mainland China were overworked and underpaid.
• Allegations that park workers are underpaid were highlighted near the park’s entrance with a protest that included Mickey in a cage.

It was still Disney. Even with the long lines and bad press, thousands enjoyed the park’s opening. An Associated Press story quoted outgoing Disney head, President Robert Iger, as saying that he was “touched” as he watch park visitors on a rehearsal night using their cell phone cameras to send friends and relative pictures of the night’s fireworks show at the park's Main Street, USA. “Seeing 15,000 people lined up on Main Street, with probably 15,000 telephones photographing a fireworks show," he said. "That to me was one of the most amazing things."

Environmentalists have voiced concerns that the park’s nightly fireworks display will worsen the already bad air quality in Hong Kong. Disney's park in Shanghai is slated to open in 2010...

Compiled from a number of news sources.