Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
| Hong Kong Disneyland Resort | |
|---|---|
| Location | Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong |
| Opened | September 12, 2005 |
| Area | 1.3 square kilometres (320 acres) |
| Owner | Hong Kong International Theme Parks Limited |
| Operator | Hong Kong Disneyland Management Limited |
| Status | Operating |
The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is a resort on reclaimed land at Penny's Bay, at the northeastern tip of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. It opened on September 12, 2005, and it contains a single theme park, Hong Kong Disneyland, three resort hotels and the Inspiration Lake recreation area, spread over about 1.3 square kilometres (320 acres) — making it the most compact of the Disney resorts. The resort is owned by Hong Kong International Theme Parks Limited, a joint venture between the Government of Hong Kong and The Walt Disney Company, and it was the first Disney destination built in China, predating the Shanghai resort by more than a decade.[1][2]
History
Hong Kong's government sought a major tourism project in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, and the Disney resort was announced in 1999. The site at Penny's Bay was created by reclaiming land from the sea on Lantau's northeastern coast, near the new Hong Kong International Airport, which had opened in 1998. Construction of the theme park began in January 2003, and the resort officially opened on September 12, 2005, with the theme park, two hotels and about 5,000 cast members.
The park that opened in 2005 was small by Disney standards, with four lands and a limited attraction count, and early attendance fell short of the partners' hopes — a shortfall the resort spent years addressing through expansion. Three new lands were added in stages: Toy Story Land in 2011, Grizzly Gulch in 2012 and Mystic Point, home to Mystic Manor, in 2013. Later additions included the Iron Man Experience in 2017, the first Marvel attraction at a Disney park, and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! in 2019.
The park's castle was also transformed. The original Sleeping Beauty Castle, a near-copy of the 1955 California original, was rebuilt and enlarged as the Castle of Magical Dreams, which opened on November 21, 2020, as part of the resort's 15th anniversary. A further expansion, World of Frozen — the first Frozen-themed land at a Disney park — opened on November 20, 2023.
Hong Kong Disneyland
The park now has eight themed areas: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, Toy Story Land and World of Frozen. Its version of Adventureland is among the largest at any castle park, and the Jungle River Cruise is offered in English, Cantonese and Mandarin with separate queues. Because the resort was designed with feng shui principles in mind, details such as the orientation of the park entrance and the placement of water features were adjusted in consultation with local specialists — one of several ways the project adapted Disney conventions to Hong Kong.
Hotels and Inspiration Lake
The resort opened with two hotels, and a third was added on reserved land between them. The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is the flagship, a Victorian-style property in the manner of Disney's Grand Floridian in Florida. Disney's Hollywood Hotel, the larger of the original pair, is themed in Art Deco style to the golden age of Hollywood. Disney Explorers Lodge, themed to exploration across four garden areas representing Oceania, Asia, a South American rainforest and an African savanna, opened on April 30, 2017, and is the resort's largest hotel. Together the three hotels provide about 1,750 rooms.
Beyond the hotels lies Inspiration Lake, a public recreation area with an arboretum and boating lake, open to visitors who are not entering the park. The resort is reached by the MTR's Disneyland Resort line, a dedicated branch from Sunny Bay station whose trains and station are Disney-themed.