Bob Welbaum: My Hong Kong Non-Adventure - May 21, 2008

Bob Welbaum: My Hong Kong Non-Adventure
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The theme park opened with what could charitably be called a modest number of attractions, and growth has been slow. For this visit I purchased a Hong Kong Encounter guide book published by Lonely Planet (copyright May 2007) and its description in the Highlights section was typical: �After a quick look around (that�s all you�ll need � it�s one of the world�s smallest Disney theme parks�� and then proceeds to offer other suggestions in that area to round out your day. So our expectations were appropriately minimal.


There aren't many windows on MainStreet, USA, but this is the most important: honoring the Disney Brothers

After an admittedly short visit, what was our verdict? This is where that big word I started with comes in. We were both pleasantly surprised and impressed, with an experience worthy of being called serendipity. The site is beautiful, as are the hotels. The theme park, while small, has a lot of potential. We had no trouble filling our day in the park and we enjoyed every minute of it. And even despite the weak U.S. dollar, we thought the prices were quite reasonable. In fact, I�d call our visit one of our better recent decisions.

What we found in the theme park were 27 attractions as listed in the Guidemap, divided into four lands: Main Street, USA; Adventureland; Fantasyland; and Tomorrowland. The major attractions are the Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad, �Festival of the Lion King� stage show, Jungle River Cruise, Mickey�s Philharmagic, �The Golden Mickeys� stage show (adapted from the Disney Cruise Line), It�s a Small World (opening soon with 38 Disney characters!), Space Mountain, Stitch Encounter (similar to Turtle Talk with Crush), Autopia, and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. This line-up is a bit thin compared to more-established parks.

But that�s not the complete story. Overall, there were three elements at Hong Kong Disneyland that especially impressed us:


Call Board in the Fire House honoring Disney pioneers


 A Tribute to Walt inside one of the MTR rail cars

Homage to Disney tradition. Look around, and you can find a number of remembrances to the Disney pioneers. Here are some examples:

  • Two steam locomotives are named �Walter E. Disney� and �Roy O. Disney�, and their railroad cars have place names from Disney history, like Chicago, Kansas City, Marceline, California, Burbank, Orlando�
  • There is a �sign-out board� in the Main Street fire station with names like K. Anderson, R. Broggie, and H. Ryman.
  • Black-and-white photos of Walt and his trains decorate the MTR train cars� connecting passages.

It was all very gratifying to view.

Beautiful Landscaping. I realize this isn�t the largest Disney resort in the world, but it certainly is one of the most beautiful. Of course the theme park is well landscaped, but we were impressed with the greenery � including topiaries � that decorated the main walkway connecting the park with the hotels and transportation sites. Plus I have never seen so many flower beds along the roadways.


Landscaping inside the theme park

A Superb Cast. I�ve saved the best for last. I was very impressed with the uniformly high quality of the cast throughout the resort. They went out of their way to make our visit more enjoyable. For example, I was in the theme park, ready to eat a lunch of sweet and sour pork when I was confronted with a stubborn plastic bag containing my chopsticks. (Do other people have this much trouble opening plastic bags, or am I simply getting old?) I was on my third try when suddenly a smiling cast member materialized over my left shoulder to rip it open with embarrassing ease. They certainly were well-staffed, something I hope the domestic bean counters never get a chance to figure out.