Hong Kong Disneyland Launches the "Star Guest" Program !

Hong Kong Disneyland is launching what they call the "Star Guest" program! From March 15 to May 20 as soon as a HKDL guest will collect a "Star Recognition Pack" and pin the "Star Guest Badge" on their VIP to signify their status the magic of celebration will begin and magical moments will happen to the guests when they least expect it! Note that a limited quantity of these "Star Recognition Pack" wil be available each day on a first come--first served basis while stock lasts.

HKDL guests will also be able to elevate the magic with the exclusive "Star Experiences"....which will require additional purchases. There will be five different "Star Experiences" and you can see below a screen capture of each of them coming from the new web site showing the contents of this Star Guest program.











This HKDL Star Guest program looks like a good idea to me, don't you think?

Screen captures: copyright Disney

Don't miss the great HKDL Wallpapers Application for iPhone - iPad, you'll find it on the iTunes Appstore! See article here
Direct iTunes link HERE!

Hong Kong Disneyland Celebrates the Year of the Dragon !

The Year of the Dragon is beginning today and as each year the chinese new year is the biggest event of the year in whole Asia! From January 13 till February 5th Hong Kong Disneyland is celebrating the Year of the Dragon and of course they do it with Mushu the little dragon from the Mulan animated movie. Lot of decors have been added in Main Street U.S.A and Central Plaza, and twice a day HKDL guests can watch the Dragon Procession in Main Street U.S.A as well as new "year of the dragon" merchandise products in Main Street shops.



If you can't come to HKDL for the Year of the Dragon celebration at hKDL, here is a video of the Dragon Procession!




Let's begin this Year of the Dragon with new infos about HKDL future: in my last HKDL update i told you that the park would like to open new hotels at HKDL and asked Hong Kong government its agreement. This was announced by The Standard, a generally reliable media, but i've learned from my own source that they did a mistake as what Andrew Kam told in fact in the press interview is that HKDL had planned to have 4 hotels in phase 1, including the two existing hotels, the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and the Hollywood Hotel. Which means that they are planning to build two more hotels and not four. As you can see on the picture below there is a land between the HKDL Hotel and the Hollywood Hotel which apparently is big enough to build two more hotels, while Hollywood Hotel can also be expanded. The Hong Kong Government seems to support HKDL for these new hotels, also probably because of the lack of hotels in the HK city. Talking about hotels, HKDL is now refurbishing the rooms of the Hollywood hotel and Hong Kong Disneyland hotel, and 20 new princess-themed rooms will open soon. And the "Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique" which has been renamed "My Little Princess" will be expanded too.



You might remember that in the HKDL project was also planned to build a kind of "Downtown Disney", and the last news that i had is that this Downtown Disney will be determined later, probably around 2015 as HKDL is in fact waiting to know how many visitors will be brought by the new bridge linking Lantau Island to Macau. This is a huge bridge project that would link two of the major destinations in Asia. It involves both a 29km bridge and submerged tunnel section and artificial islands. There is no doubt that this monumental bridge will bring new guests to HKDL when it will be build, if it is for real.





AND, talking about HKDL future here is the latest video update from michael20183 which will show you that Grizzly Gulch is well on its way for an opening later this year as well as the works on Mystic Point Manor, opening in 2013. Also, i told you in my previous update that Star Tours 2 should come to Tomorrowland, and here is a bit more about an opening date: 2015 will be HKDL 10th anniversary celebration but they will leave 2015 to the entertainment division. So if Star Tours 2 cannot open in 2014, then it should be in 2016... or eventually for the finale of the 10th anniversary.




See you soon for a new HKDL update and in the meantime, don't miss my HKDL Wallpapers Application, you'll find it on the iTunes Appstore! See article here
Direct iTunes link HERE!

Hong Kong Disneyland Planning to Build Four More Hotels !

Hong Kong Disneyland said Tuesday its net loss narrowed in its sixth year of operations due in part to a 13% increase in visitors to the theme park and i will tell you more about this below but there is much more interesting news from HKDL today as HKDL has asked the Hong Kong government for four more hotels.

Hong Kong Disneyland proposal will include building one large hotel and three smaller vacation-style hotels which will be connected by a tram and the park, which saw a record 5.9 million visitors last year - also aims to build an artificial lake. If the new plans looks too big for the HK government which owns 57 percent of the park, HKDL is apparently willing to compromise, saying that all four hotels do not have to be built at the same time.

Disneyland managing director Andrew Kam Min-ho had earlier said the park wanted to build one large and one small hotel. A government source said Disneyland submitted different proposals including the feasibility of expanding within the existing area and we know they have room for this as you can see on the aerial shot below. But a HK source noted that HKDL wants to expand its rides first before building the hotels which means that the new hotels won't open before 2014 probably, if everything goes fine.



Hong Kong Disneyland also officially revealed its 2011 performance results this afternoon and as i've said the attendance during the period was up 13% to 5.9 million from 5.2 million. Separately, the theme park said it welcomed more than 31 million visitors from its opening in September 2005 to the end of December 2011. HKDL said it had a net loss of HK$237 million (US$30.5 million) for the 12 months ended Oct. 1 last year, improving from a net loss of HK$718 million in the previous fiscal year.

As we know new attractions are being added to Hong Kong Disneyland, Grizzly Gulch will open next summer and Mystic Point next year and there is no doubt that the new lands will attract many more guests.

Finally, another news that may interest you, always about Disney in China: Disney English, the teaching arm at Orlando is in search of foreign trainers to teach English to children ages two through 12. Disney has been advertising the jobs in the New York Times and online. Of course, Disney’s push coincides with its plan to open Shanghai Disneyland. Foreign trainers hired for the China program will be given a contract of between 12 and 15 months. Trainers are given a monthly salary and a monthly housing allowance. Disney provides trainers with three weeks temporary housing until they can find apartments.


Finally, the great HDR picture at the top of this article is coming from my HKDL Wallpapers application and if you don't have it yet, don't miss it, you'll find it on the iTunes Appstore! See article here
Direct iTunes link HERE!

HKDL Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor Update !

Here it is, my long promised HKDL Mystic Manor update! It took a little time and i'm sorry about that but you will have below fresh news on this awaited HKDL attraction.

But first, let's start by some news about Grizzly Gulch, the next land to be open at HKDL. As you'll see on these screen captures from Michael30183 latest video that i have embedded below Grizzly Gulch is appearing little by little and some of the tunnels as well as the mountain with its grizzly head are almost finished. Grizzly gulch little town is also on its way to be ready for painting.









Now, you might have read on forums that "Grizzly Mountain Coaster has been changed to "Woody's Western Railroad". Guests will join Woody, Jessy, Bullseye, and other characters on an exciting western adventure...". Well, according to my sources this is all wrong and definitely nothing has been changed to the story line of Grizzly Gulch coaster. Considering that Toy Story Land is just a few yards from Grizzly Gulch i have to say that these changes introducing Toy Story characters would have been extremely surprising, but no, nothing is changed and the Audio-Animatronic bears will still be part of the ride. And before we talk about Mystic Manor here is the full HKDL video update of Michael30183.




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Talking about rumors, one about Mystic Manor appeared recently: the look of the two main Mystic Manor characters - Henry and Albert the monkey - would be "toonified". Well, this one is true, and not only it is but concept arts of how they will look - and even a sculpture of the monkey - are now displayed in HKDL Art of Animation gallery on Main Street, right behind Mystic Manor model as you can see on the pictures above and below. So, basically, the look of Albert the monkey has changed from a realistic one as seen on the renderings displayed at D23 Expo two years ago...



...to this new "toonified" look below.









Except the toonified style of Henry and Albert, some of the figures will have changes in their appearance, such as the Lava God in the tribal room, and apparently this is done to avoid a look too "human"...



Sometime ago I've also been told that cuts have been done on the original Mystic Manor concept, which would mean that there might be changes on the ride itself. I thought that may be they won't use anymore the always expensive trackless vehicle system - see above Mystic Manor vehicle model - or that the cuts were done on something else...

Well, i've been confirmed that WDI had planned to cut the Solarium scene of the ride due to the inflation in China which affected the cost of the project. But luckily the contract was signed before the inflation got too serious so all the scenes should eventually stay together, including the trackless ride system. In the renderings of Mystic Manor displayed at D23 Expo the Solarium scene was missing, and the totally different appearance of Albert in the solarium later-released rendering show that this scene was not drawn together with the rest of the renderings shown at D23.



In fact, except the toonified Albert and Henry, everything remain the same as announced. Mystic Manor is not a ghost story like the Haunted Mansion and you can expect more an eerie atmosphere than a creepy one. So, it does not have to be too realistic and HKDL guests could have fun with the supernatural power from the magic music box, Henry and Albert are assisting to smoothen the story and the ride system and show special effects should be the main focus of the ride.

And when Mystic Manor will open you ask? Well, Grizzly Gulch is planned to open next summer in 2012 and so far Mystic Manor opening date would be spring 2013. Actually, the ride system not only has been kept but it's installation is almost done. Some figures would be placed into the ride before the end of the year and all the works could be finished before next fall. And, talking about Mystic Manor works, let's have a look at a selection of recent pictures which will show you that HKDL Imagineers are working hard to have Mystic Manor facade painted as soon as possible. There is a reason for that as i will tell you in a few seconds.









Now, as i've told you Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point will open in summer 2012 and spring 2013. Because Mystic Manor is located right between Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land before Mystic Manor open there will be two dead ends in Toy Story Land and Grizzly Gulch. And HKDL operations is aware that it might be a problem for the guests which wouldn't be able to move directly from TSL to Grizzly Gulch.

As HKDL does not want this to happen, that's why the facade of Mystic Manor is painted now to be finished when Grizzly Gulch will open next summer. A path between TSL and Grizzly Gulch going though Mystic Point will be created so HKDL guests will be able to use this path to go from these two lands to each other. And i think this is an excellent idea specially when you see how many people are daily in TSL as the recent picture below will show you.



Although Mystic Manor will be the E-Ticket ride there will be much more to see at Mystic Point. HKDL guests will enter the Garden of Wonders, a garden full of relics and statues that hide a hidden world of illusions. Recently new artwork was released, showing more of this mysterious "Garden of Wonders".





One more picture about Mystic Manor with this photo of the Mystic Manor wallpaper. Yes, it has some reminiscences of Haunted Mansion famous wallpaper, and if you download the pic it also will make a nice screen wallpaper on your iPhone - or any other smart phone!



Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor should be a big hit when they will open, and they better be as the Hong Kong Government has said that they will no longer inject capital for HKDL after Mystic Manor, meaning that HKDL will have to find the money by itself to build anything new. That said, it doesn't mean that there won't be new attractions at HKDL in the near future, and in fact there even might be a new one before Shanghaî Disneyland open, as there is still some land available in Adventureland or other areas of the park... But it's too soon to talk about this one so, sorry, i keep it secret for now until it will be confirmed!


Don't miss my Christmas sale on the two iPhone - iPad applications now at $0.99 or 0.79€ only until January 1st !



Pictures: copyright Disney, Keith Lee, Michael30183

Video: copyright Michael30183