Hong Kong Disneyland adding third hotel, 'Iron Man' theme
Hong Kong Disneyland is spending billions to add more attractions and facilities, including an "Iron Man" theme and its third adventure hotel, aiming to attract more foreign visitors including Thais.
Andrew Kam, managing director of the theme park and resort, said the “Iron Man” attraction was scheduled to open in 2016 but declined to give further details.
He added, however, that the initiative would be under an “Iron Man Experience” theme, which should draw a large number of visitors to the park.
Hong Kong Disneyland will also build its third and biggest hotel, set to open in 2017. The investment cost is HK$4.26 billion (Bt18 billion). The two existing properties are Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, with a total of 1,000 rooms. Their average occupancy rate is over 90 per cent, so the park needed more rooms to meet the demand.
“Tourism in Asia is growing faster than in other regions in the world, so we are looking at that growth,” Kam said.
The new property will be positioned as a luxury hotel under the theme “exotic locations around the world”. It will offer about 750 rooms with a total of 56,000 square metres of floor area plus an outdoor exotic adventure area to explore the theme.
Once the improvements are made, the park should draw a lot more visitors from key markets including mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Asean. Thailand is also targeted as Thais love to visit Hong Kong for shopping, dining, photography and playing.
“Despite political unrest or any happening in Thailand, we still maintain this market as our long-term guests,” Kam said, adding that the resort would for the first time use Thai celebrities to help promote it.
Hong Kong Disneyland’s moves come as another theme park in the city, Ocean Park, also plans to add a lot of new attractions by 2017 as well as a 495-room hotel.
In 2012 and 2013, Disneyland introduced three new activities, namely Toy Story, Grizzly Gulch, and Mystic Point. Last year, it created a “Disney Paint the Night” parade. In 2015, the resort is set to launch a number of special events to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
The park posted its first profit in 2011 after opening in 2005.
The resort is located on reclaimed land in Penny’s Bay, Lantau Island. It is owned and managed by Hong Kong International Theme Parks. It features seven theme areas: Main Street, USA; Fantasyland; Adventureland; Tomorrowland; Grizzly Gulch; Mystic Point; and Toy Story Land.
The theme park’s cast members speak Cantonese, English and Mandarin. Guide maps are printed in traditional and simplified Chinese as well as English and Japanese.
The park attracted 5.2 million visitors in its first year after opening in 2005, below its target of 5.6 million. Visitor numbers fell 20 per cent in the second year to 4 million, inciting criticisms from local legislators. However, attendance increased by 8 per cent in the third year, attracting a total of 4.5 million visitors in 2007.
Since the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, the theme park has hosted more than 25 million guests.
The resort last year welcomed 20,000 visitors per day. The park capacity will increase to handle up to 10 million visitors annually over a 15-year expansion period.
