Expanding Magic...

Coming Soon...





I've been running around do X-Mas shopping and things have been somewhat hectic so I forgot to mention this...

A couple days ago Hong Kong Disneyland broke ground(in ceremony and actual) on the Extreme Expansion of the park/resort. In attendance were representatives of the Walt Disney Company, government officials, ect., including my favorite Suit, Jay Rasulo. But the good news is that our little girl is growing up. Ain't that nice?

Expect some nice surprises about HKDL next year...

Honk Kong Disney Villain...

When it comes to Hong Kong, it's sometimes hard to tell the bad guys from the bad guys...

So who is the real Disney Villain in this story? Everyone seems to be placing all the blame on the Mouse for the decision to build the children's land, Toy Story Land. Many feel this is yet another representation of the Eisner/Pressler era and the company hasn't learned from it's mistakes.

Or has it?

To be fair, Disney has done many things right and many things wrong. Several have to do with the deal it made with Hong Kong. But believe or not, there are times when the Walt Disney Company gets blamed for something and it's not its fault. There are times when other parties are to blame. And while no party has clean hands in this case, the Mouse's hands don't have near as much dirt on them as the governing body in Hong Kong.

Let me unpack that statement for you.

For the past couple of years, the Mouse has been willing to fully pay for the expansion. To fund it entirely as it's doing since this agreement was announced. One of the main problems was for Disney to do that, the HK Legislative Council would have to give up their percentage, or the majority hold they have over the resort. This was a major sticking point during these negotiations.

The three lands that you've seen were still there, at least two. Mystic Point and Grizzly Peak, but there was no TSL. The mysterious Glacier Bay area was within this area. As others have noted, the Hong Kong government didn't like this as it was too close to the expansion of Ocean Park. The Toy Story expansion came late within the game, but if you don't like it, trust me, it's far better than some of the other ideas they had regarding themed areas. Their concept of putting attractions in had nothing to do with detailed theming and would have made the Pixar themed land look much more extravagant than it is compared to what they were willing to build. In this case the Disney company was adamant about not letting that kind of low quality seep into the companies newest park. It was a case of each party locking horns over the disappointment of very high expectations. It would have been interesting to see the addition of the expanded Pirates extension of Adventureland, but culturally the Hong Kong officials have a bias against that attraction. Oh well, I guess we'll have to wait for another "Magic Kingdom" style park to get a look at what could have been in Hong Kong.

But remember that the Hong Kong Disneyland park/resort is bent on expansion and that should include the addition of a retail/entertainment complex within the 2014/2015 time period as well. The budget for this won't be included in the park expansion, just as the hotel and Downtown Disney expansion of the Disneyland Resort are separate from the Extreme Makeover budget of DCA. These parts of the resort are also desperately needed as they keep guest from leaving the parks and hotels and spending their money elsewhere in Hong Kong. It's in the works, trust me. Should the economy not sink lower and make this implode there should be some interesting announcements in the next year.

As more details come out, I have a feeling the artwork and detail will come to win over most critics, but understand that this expansion leaves plenty of room for growth and added detail. The park will be much grander and a fuller, richer experience for the growing number of guest that walk through the turnstiles the middle of next decade. It should finally look the way it was supposed to when it opened. Far bigger, more rides.

Hopefully by then, the villains of this story will be gone or at the least have many of their arguments vanquished...

Artwork In Progress...

The artwork that was presented to the Hong Kong Legistrative Council for this expansion phase of Hong Kong Disneyland has been released...

It's much better than what was out originally, but I'd still like to see more and better artwork...

UPDATE: Below are the one sheets of each land...

It's "Go" Time...

The Hong Kong Legislative Council approved the Walt Disney Company's plan for expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland, yesterday (actually, today, just hours earlier in HK).

Here's the press release:

The Hong Kong SAR Government and The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) today applaud the Legislative Council’s approval of the financial arrangement relating to the Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL) expansion plan. Three new themed areas will be added to HKDL, bringing the total number of attractions, entertainment, and interactive experiences at the resort to over 100 by 2014 and further establishing Hong Kong as one of the world’s premier international family tourist destinations.

Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang commented that, "HKDL, as an important tourism infrastructure, has brought substantial economic benefits to Hong Kong. With the proposed expansion and realignment of the financial arrangements, we believe that HKDL would rise up to the keen competition in the region on the tourism front, attracting more family visitors from round the world. This will generate streams of benefits to our tourism and related sectors, further reinforcing the tourism industry’s contribution as a major pillar of Hong Kong’s economy."

"We are pleased that the financial agreement relating to the HKDL expansion has been approved and we are eager to begin work on this exciting new chapter for Hong Kong Disneyland," said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. "This substantial investment represents our continued commitment to and confidence in Hong Kong Disneyland and solidifies our partnership with the Hong Kong government helping assure the resort’s long-term success."

He continued, "This expansion will further enhance HKDL’s position as a world-class family tourist destination, provide immediate and long-lasting benefits to Hong Kong and add unique and thrilling new experiences for our Guests."

The new offerings, designed to significantly add to the overall Guest experience at HKDL, are expected to open in phases over a five year period. Work is expected to commence later this year, spurring the local Hong Kong economy by creating more than 3,700 jobs in terms of man-years in Hong Kong from 2009 to 2014, including 850 expected within the first year of construction. After the completion of the expansion, the project will continue to serve as a major economic driver with HKDL adding approximately 600 new positions, and bringing the total number of HKDL Cast Members to more than 5,500.

Two of the three new themed areas, "Grizzly Trail" and "Mystic Point," will be exclusive to HKDL for the first five years after their respective openings. The third, "Toy Story Land," will be exclusive within Asia for the first five years after opening.

Under the approved plan and current business projections, TWDC would contribute approximately HK$6.25 billion in new capital and debt conversion and the Hong Kong Government would convert a like amount in debt principal and interest. The Hong Kong Government would retain the majority ownership of 52 percent in the joint venture and TWDC would own the other 48 percent.

Roadblocks...

It appears that the road to expansion in Hong Kong is filled with potholes...

There's a big stink flying up about some in the city's Legislative Council about not approving or putting on hold the greenlighting of the expansion of HKDL. A few people seem to find this great news, while others are predicting doom and gloom. Neither shouldn't be focused on such opposite extremes of a decision on this plan.

First off, wishing that the plan would fail because you're not happy with one part of the plan (Toy Story Land) is like thanking someone for not taking your wallet as they drive off in your car. If the plan doesn't go through then you would be left with a park that languishes in the shadow of it's coming big brother and results in a very bad financial situation for Disney that wouldn't be good for the rest of the company. If you don't like the non-expansion of WDW or other parts of the Mouse's world, you really won't like it should this fail. It would have company wide repercussions. So all those out there that are praying for failure, please pray for something else. One thing about building things you don't like is they can always be "plussed" or remade to look better (DCA anyone?). But the feelings some have for this expansion's failure is more emotional that realistic. And besides, those that are wanting Toy Story Mania to be put in should examine the Land a little closer. There's a lot of room for expansion and TSM would likely go into that large area in a second phase, should the first one see an uptick in attendance.

In regards to those that are thinking of this as the end of the world for Disney's fifth kingdom, please stay calm. This is likely a posturing move by the Legislative Council and although there are a good deal of those that don't feel satisfied with this deal, the truth of the matter is that it'll likely pass. It may be a slim margin, bit it most likely will go through. Why, you wonder? Because the economy. For the same reason that Shanghai agreed to a sweet deal for the Walt Disney Company even though it saw the disappointments of Hong Kong. The economy. With unemployment rising in Hong Kong like every major area of Chine due to the worldwide recession, they're looking to create and expand as many jobs is possible. This does that in a time when it is critically needed. Remember that the large population of this country requires that they (the Chinese Government) create a million new jobs a year just to not fall behind and add to further unemployment. That's what happens when you have 1.3 billion people. Since the collapse of the global market that isn't happening and China's ruling government doesn't want the populace getting antsy about things. That causes disastrous problems for a country that is trying to keep a lid on discontent. Money, like it always is, is the reason this deal will most likely go through. Well find out shortly if all the talk now is political posturing or a serious roadblock. I believe it could be neither. Think of it instead as a speed bump. And speed bumps don't stop you.

You just have to proceed over them with caution...