Okay, it isn’t really news that Hong Kong Disneyland is in troubled waters. It is failing it its main purpose, which is to help Disney establish a footprint in mainland Asia. Unofficial reports show attendance dropping as much as 25% from the previous year. Visitors are either uniformed about Disney, unimpressed with the small theme park and its offerings, and/or unable to afford the Disney vacation. So what is Disney going to do about it?
DisneyGossip reports that the park in addition to rushing an ‘It’s A Small World" attraction to opening in the Spring of 2008, Hong Kong Disneyland will be porting over four successful attractions from the United States parks.
I’m hearing rumors that Disney will be quickly adding four to five new ‘attractions’ to the park’s lineup. Traditionally this means stage shows, animation exhibits, and movie based attractions. So for Hong Kong Disneyland that means: Turtle Talk with Crush (popular at the US based parks), Muppets Mobile Lab (the self-contained animatronic roving show – also a hit in the US), a High School Musical show (a hit in the US), and an Animation Artwork exhibit featuring work from various Disney and Pixar films (again popular in the US). Are you sensing a trend there?
Why yes I am. And the trend I see is that Disney continues to mis-understand their audience. Maybe there is other stuff going on that I’m not hearing about, but they’ve already proven that what works in America won’t always play in Hong Kong. Are they in a rut?