Hong Kong Disneyland () (abbreviated HKDL; also known as HK Disneyland or Disneyland Hong Kong) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It opened to visitors on Monday, September 12, 2005, at 13:00 HKT, the second Disneyland in Asia to open after Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, with Shanghai Disneyland later opening in 2016. Hong Kong Disneyland is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned by Hong Kong International Theme Parks, which is a joint venture between Government of Hong Kong and The Walt Disney Company in which they respectively own 52% and 48% currently. It is the most visited theme park in Hong Kong, followed by Ocean Park Hong Kong. Disney attempted to avoid problems of cultural backlash by incorporating Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when designing and building the resort, including adherence to the rules of feng shui. Notably, a bend was put in a walkway near the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort entrance so good qi energy would not flow into the South China Sea.
The park consists of eight themed lands: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, Toy Story Land, and World of Frozen. The park has a daily capacity of 34,000 visitors — the lowest of all Disneyland parks.
History Early history
Penny's Bay was filled in to provide land for the construction of Hong Kong Disneyland. The bay was previously undeveloped except for the Cheoy Lee Shipyard, which opened in the 1960s.
The city's chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, was instrumental in introducing the Disneyland project to Hong Kong. When the SARS epidemic devastated the city's economy in 2003, it was hoped that the new Disneyland would help boost confidence in Hong Kong's tourism industry.
Hong Kong Disneyland had one of the shortest construction periods of any Disneyland-style theme park. On 12 January 2003, more than 400 guests celebrated the groundbreaking of Hong Kong Disneyland after the finishing of land reclamation in Penny's Bay. The audience included Tung Chee-hwa; Michael D. Eisner, former chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company; Bob Iger, president of The Walt Disney Company; and Jay Rasulo, former president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. On 23 September 2004, a special "castle topping ceremony" was held in the park to commemorate the placing of the tallest turret on Sleeping Beauty Castle.
On 12 September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland was officially opened to the public. The opening ceremony was officiated by Zeng Qinghong, who was then the vice president of China. To help Hong Kong Disneyland grow, the Chinese government had deliberately slowed down the development of Shanghai Disney Resort, which was first conceived in the early 2000s.
Expansion
In January 2012, Hong Kong Disneyland has been in the process of negotiating with the Government of Hong Kong to invest its HK$5 billion profit for new attractions. Further details of the expansion would be announced within a 12-month period from January 2012. A shopping complex and new hotels would be taken into consideration for the new expansion plan.
In Hong Kong financial secretary John Tsang's 2013–14 budget speech, he announced that a new night time parade: "Disney Paint The Night Parade", as well as an area featuring characters from the Marvel Universe, will be built in Hong Kong Disneyland. On 8 October 2013 then Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Thomas O. Staggs confirmed the development of the Iron Man Experience.
On 17 February 2014, Hong Kong Disneyland announced its 2012–13 financial results as well as a plan for the third hotel at the resort. The third hotel would be the largest hotel at the resort, featuring 750 rooms with an adventure and exotic theme, and would cost to build. The third hotel, Disney Explorers Lodge, opened on 30 April 2017.
Hong Kong Disneyland was also built with the space for a second park directly across from the entrance to the current park. Disney has not yet announced that the second park is in development. Land is also available for additional hotels other than the three current, but the common thought is that the second park will be built before a fourth hotel. However, it was announced in September 2020 by the Hong Kong Government that Hong Kong Disneyland's option to purchase the 60-hectare expansion site next to the existing park will not be extended after its expiry on 24 September 2020 as it is unable to commit to using the site in the near future.
On 22 November 2016, the Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong Government announced plans for a multi-year, expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland. The proposed expansion includes a Frozen-themed land (announced for 2021), a Marvel-themed land (opening in phases from 2018 to 2023), a redesigned castle to succeed Sleeping Beauty Castle and hub (announced for 2020), a reimagined attraction (announced for 2021), a new Moana stage show (announced for 2018), and live entertainment.
On 24 May 2018, Hong Kong Disneyland opened the first project part of the multi-year expansion: Moana: a Homecoming Celebration, an atmosphere stage show performed daily at the newly built Jungle Junction venue in Adventureland. The park also gave more information on the coming projects as well as the revised dates for these projects: the shooting dark ride Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle!, replacing Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, opened in 2019 and the new expanded castle will be unveiled in 2020, in time for the park's 15th anniversary. Park officials also confirmed the rumors that the future Frozen-themed land will feature a copy of Epcot's Frozen Ever After and a family roller coaster named Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, replacing the previously announced Dancing Sleighs ride, and that the area was opened in 2023.
On 26 January 2020, the park closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic along with Ocean Park Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland Park. It remained closed for nearly five months, reopening on 18 June 2020. It was the second worldwide Disney park to reopen after Shanghai Disneyland. It reopened with similar strict rules as Shanghai Disneyland, which included limited guest attendance, social distancing, temperature checks, and mandatory wearing of face masks. Hong Kong Disneyland closed again from 15 July to 25 September 2020 due to a heavy upsurge in domestic cases. After reopening for approximately two months, it was announced the park would close for a third time on 2 December 2020 due to a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the region. The park reopened on 19 February 2021. The park closed for the fourth time on 7 January 2022 due to the rising number of cases of the Omicron variant, and reopened on 21 April 2022.
In 2023, Hong Kong Disneyland expanded again and created the world's first and largest "Frozen" theme park – "World of Frozen", which officially opened to tourists on 20 November of that year.
Timeline
1998 August – The Walt Disney Company and the government of Hong Kong announce their intention to construct a themed entertainment park in Hong Kong, the second in Asia, the first in China 1999 February – Penny's Bay, Lantau Island is announced as the future site of the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort 10 December – Disney and the Hong Kong Government sign an agreement for building the second Disney Resort in Asia 2003 1 January – Construction on Hong Kong Disneyland Resort begins 2004 22 November – Disney announces that the opening day of the park has been rescheduled from 2006 to 12 September 2005 2005 12 September – Hong Kong Disneyland officially opens to the public. 2006 June – HKDL announces to release Summer Passes to boost its first year attendance 13 July – Autopia, Stitch Encounter and UFO Zone opens in HKDL as first part of its expansion August – Exclusive treats are provided for Summer Pass holders so as to further boost the park's attendance 4 September – More than 60,000 Summer Passes have been sold since 1 July. However, Hong Kong Disneyland has missed its target of 5.6 million in the first year of operation, with only about 5 million guests entered the park since the opening 28 September – HKDL launches its annual pass 30 September – Disney's Halloween celebration held for the first time through 31 October 2006 14 December – HKDL announced three new attractions to be added to the park in 2007–2008 2007 26 June – HKDL revealed its attractions for the park's 2007 summer – "Mickey's Summer Blast" and announcement of Mickey's Water Works Parade and Animation Academy's opening date – 14 July 2007 19 December – HKDL revealed 4 new attractions and entertainment venues to open in 2008 with "It's a Small World": Muppet Mobile Lab, High School Musical Celebration, Turtle Talk with Crush and the Art of Animation 2008 28 April – "It's a Small World" opens in HKDL as first extension of Fantasyland 2009 10 July – The Legislative Council of Hong Kong approved the three land expansion of HKDL 13 December – Groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the three land expansion
2010 12 September – HKDL celebrates its 5th year milestone 2011 21 January – HKDL hosts the year-long 5th anniversary programme "Celebration in the Air" 18 November – Toy Story Land opens 2012 14 July – Grizzly Gulch opens 2013 17 May – Mystic Point opens 7 October – Iron Man Experience is announced 6 November – Disney Paint the Night parade is announced 2014 February – Construction of Iron Man Experience begins 1 October – Nighttime parade Disney Paint the Night starts to run 2015 12 September – HKDL celebrates its 10th year milestone 17 November – HKDL hosts the year-long 10th anniversary programme "Happily Ever After" 17 December – Fairytale Forest, a new attraction in Fantasyland, opens 21 December – Mickey and the Wondrous Storybook replaces The Golden Mickeys as the new flagship live stage show of Fantasyland 2016 11 June – Star Wars: Tomorrowland Takeover, a Star Wars-themed seasonal event, launches 22 November – HKDL announces its new expansion and development plan, which includes the construction of a Frozen-themed area, introduction of Marvel-themed rides, redesigning of the Sleeping Beauty Castle and more 2017 11 January – Iron Man Experience opens 30 April – Disney Explorers Lodge opens 31 August – Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters closed to be replaced by Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! 13 October – Construction begins on Moana, Frozen, and Marvel attractions 14 December – Royal Princess Garden opens temporarily at Main Street, U.S.A. 2018 1 January – The Sleeping Beauty Castle closed for reconstruction, causing the Disney in the Stars fireworks to be discontinued as well. 15 March – We Love Mickey! debuts at Main Street, U.S.A. 25 May – Moana: A Homecoming Celebration opens at Jungle Junction in Adventureland 7 November – We Love Mickey! Birthday Edition debuts at Main Street, U.S.A. as part of Mickey Mouse's 90th Anniversary 2019 16 February – The "Heart" Gazebo at Fantasyland closed to give way for the Frozen Land 31 March – Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! opens 21 June – Royal Princess Garden and Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Main Street, U.S.A. has closed for relocation to Fantasyland 1 July – Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Fantasyland has officially opened to the public
2020 26 January – The park closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 18 June – The park reopened to the public with new and enhanced health and safety measures. 15 July – The park closed for the second time due to a rising number of COVID-19 cases. 12 September – While closed, the park celebrated its 15th anniversary. 24 September – Hong Kong Disneyland's option to purchase the adjacent expansion site expired and was not be renewed