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Lauren Chan

Denise Tsang

Main Street and the signature space in front of the castle at Hong Kong Disneyland were deserted on Thursday morning – not due to a lack of visitors, but because of unwelcome downpours.
Compared to the rainy debut of its Shanghai counterpart, which saw hundreds of visitors queuing up five hours ahead of the 10.30am official opening, the city’s park did not fare badly.
When the Post visited the Lantau attraction on Thursday morning, the wait for a ticket was about 15 minutes.
Hundreds queue for hours, braving the rain, ahead of the official opening of Shanghai Disneyland
Demi Zheng, 23, a first-time visitor from the mainland, said: “We won’t go to Shanghai in the future because there are too many people. The size of Hong Kong’s Disneyland isn’t a problem.”
Native Hongkonger and die-hard fan Wan Lee-chi, 77, who has visited Hong Kong Disneyland with his wife “at least 30 times a year since it opened”, said he preferred the city’s park over other such attractions around the world.
“I’ve been to Disneyland in Japan and the United States, but Hong Kong is better because it’s more concentrated. That means my wife and I can get around it in a day,” he said.

Wan has not been to Shanghai Disneyland, but said he believed the local theme park had not lost its competitive edge.
“People from the Guangdong region will visit Hong Kong Disneyland, and the long queues in Shanghai aren’t good for old people,” he said.
Fellow visitor Michelle Young, 39, who was there with her three children, was originally from Florida but currently resides in Japan.
Young said: “We go to [Disney World in Florida] all the time, but the Disneyland in Hong Kong is cleaner, less crowded, and the rides are actually more fun.”
Young said she would definitely be back, even though this was already her third visit.
She also expressed a strong interest in visiting Shanghai’s Disneyland, though the long queue times worried her. Young said she felt the new park would not be a problem for Hong Kong as “people who love Disneyland would go to all Disneys”.
After four-hour queues during trial run, will Shanghai Disneyland’s lengthy lines send tourists to Hong Kong instead?
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung played down head-on competition between the two Disneylands, saying they were different in terms of positioning and features.
He said the theme park in Hong Kong catered more to international travellers whereas the one in Shanghai targeted mainland visitors.

So added that the government and Hong Kong Disneyland were in discussions for further expansion, while new features such as Marvel and Iron Man themed areas would be rolled out later this year.
The luxurious 750-room Disney Explorers Lodge, the theme park’s third hotel, is set to receive guests from early next year.
So said the government would beef up promotion of Hong Kong as a top destination for Southeast Asian travellers and activities.
He added that the Wine and Dine festival scheduled in autumn would be 40 per cent bigger than last year’s, and the city would host sports activities such as the Cyclothon in September and the Formula E race in October to attract tourists.


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The wait for a ticket was about 15 minutes on Thursday morning. Photo: Edward Wong

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