Disneyland Opens in Hong Kong
Sept. 12, 2005 -- -- Disney opened the doors Monday on its latest theme park -- Hong Kong Disneyland. But in a country where Disney characters were once banned, introducing the Disney name has been a challenge. The creators of the park have gone to great lengths to incorporate China's culture into the new park.
"You can't take anything for granted," said Bob Iger, president and chief executive officer-elect of the Walt Disney Co. "You can't expect that just because it is called Disneyland that people know exactly what it is and they are going to show up willingly. You have got to stimulate that a little bit."
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The park and two resort hotels are surrounded by the mountains on Lantau Island, just 30 minutes by subway from central Hong Kong. Several landmarks are old Disney classics -- Space Mountain, the Cinderella Carousel and Sleeping Beauty Castle -- but certain elements of the park are uniquely Asian. When the park was built, Disney used feng shui, the Asian tradition of positioning buildings and objects to create harmony and balance.
"We retained a feng shui master who looked over our shoulders and advised us of certain elements that needed to be placed, like a rock in the backyard of a hotel, to provide stability and to balance the chi in the particular spaces," said Wing Chao, executive vice president of master planning, architecture and design.
Out of respect to the Chinese culture, the number four is absent from the hotels and parks, since the word for four sounds like the word for death in Chinese. The grand ballroom is exactly 888 square meters, because eight is a lucky number in China.
The cafes and restaurants look American, but the fare is distinctly Asian. Menus abound with noodles, roast duck and dim sum. Even the hamburger has an Asian twist, made with a pork patty and water chestnuts.
Guests of the newest theme park can take photos with their favorite Disney characters at photo pavilions for each of the characters unique to Disneyland Hong Kong.
"They love taking pictures, they take pictures of everything, and not just of the characters but the popcorn wagons and the fences and the lanterns," said Tom Morris, Walt Disney imagineer. "They're taking pictures of everything."
