When the Walt Disney Company set out to build a theme park in Hong Kong there were a lot of questions. Would the Chinese take to the American style theme park? Would the Disney characters resonate with a population that had previously had little exposure to them? Just who was the audience for the park?

Fortune Magazine looks at some of the lessons Disney can take away from their experience in Hong Kong that might serve them well in future expansion into Asia markets.

[Disney] failed to gauge local tastes, opened with a park that was too small to meet the grandiose expectations of its clientele, made some public relations mistakes early on, and took too long to adapt to local food, culture, and tastes, according to Allan Zeman, the chairman of the rival Ocean Park theme park in Hong Kong.

“Disney, on the other hand, came in very American,” Zeman says. “Disney was a big brand, not really understanding the culture at the beginning. They had everything run out of the U.S. At the beginning there was a sense of arrogance: ‘We’re Disney, and don’t tell us how to run a theme park.’”

Hong Kong Disneyland also earned the wrath of the Hong Kong press corps by taking a long time to respond to queries with answers that had to be approved through U.S. headquarters

In hindsight it’s obvious Disney didn’t know what they were getting into when they built Hong Kong Disneyland. Let’s hope they’ve done their homework for Shanghai?

If you’re heading out to Disneyland or Walt Disney World this fall, make sure you mosey on down to the Rivers of America and catch “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee.” Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Louis, and the evil Dr. Facilier are all featured with their own songs from the movie and it’s sure to get you excited about seeing The Princess and the Frog in the theaters.

I’ve put together a few clips from the show to give you an idea on what to expect.

The show is currently scheduled to run through January 3rd, 2010 as a tie-in to the movie’s launch on December 11th.

Monorail Teal was spotted parked outside the maintenance bay sporting a Teal color strip. Looks almost ready to return to service. Having one more train on the beam will certainly help when the holiday crowds arrive.

Previously: Monorail Teal testing at Walt Disney World.

Princess Tiana appears in a horse drawn carriage fit for an American Princess.

Yesterday marked the official opening of a 15 week run for Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. As I posted earlier, the show envelopes guests into being part of the show, a great experience for the guests involved, but how would it play for the rest of the park attendees? Turns out, pretty amazing.

For the special ceremony New Orleans dancers led Princess Tiana to the castle.

The Princess and The Frog is an American story at its root and it features the first African American Princess. The park is really excited about promoting the first new princess in 12 years, so they rolled out some big guns for the press event. One of those was Bruce Smith, the lead animator on Dr. Facilier, the main villain of the movie.

Characters representing current inhabitants of the Magic Kingdom welcome Princess Tiana to the fold.

There was also a wonderful display of merchandise that Disney spent the last two years creating. Some of it, like the theme park exclusive Princess Tiana dress, has been for sale in the park for two weeks and is already flying off the shelves.

A royal proclamation is read.

But the focus of the day was the introduction of Princess Tiana to the park and the official debut of Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee. TSJ has three distinct parts, and while it’s possible to catch all three, if you can only pick one, make sure to choose the middle part performed on the Liberty Belle when it stops in front of Splash Mountain.

The regular show will take place three times daily on the Liberty Belle with a procession leading to and from the boat before and after each performance.

The show is currently only scheduled to run through January 3rd, 2010 as a tie-in to the movie’s launch on December 11th. It’s my hope they extend this show at least through the summer. The show was already drawing huge crowds without the benefit of the movie even being in theaters, I imagine it will continue to grow once it’s seen by the public.

Lots more photos below the jump, so come on down

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‘Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee!’ is a new concept in entertainment for Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The show will introduce park guests to the characters of Disney’s next animated hit – The Princess And The Frog – and it will give select guests a taste of showbiz as they become part of the show.

For more than 6,000 Walt Disney World guests, a 10-week limited engagement of the entertainment spectacular “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee!” in Magic Kingdom will be an opportunity to get a taste of showbiz – or in Disney parlance, “be part of the magic.”

The swinging musical show being presented in conjunction with the upcoming Disney animated feature, “The Princess and The Frog,” will treat theme park guests to a rousing revue of song and dance from aboard the Liberty Belle riverboat. Three times daily, Oct. 26 through Jan. 3, 2010, the riverboat will pull away from the dock in Liberty Square with a live six-piece jazz band, 22 dancers and 30 theme park guests who have been randomly preselected earlier in the day by Magic Kingdom cast members.

But the park guests will not be “just along for the ride.” As the Liberty Belle glides along and the band plays “Down in New Orleans,” the guests and dancers will be waving hankies along to the music. And when the riverboat, festooned with green, purple and yellow bunting and sparkling beads, stops in Frontierland, the guests continue their role: Dressed in choir robes, they move large musical notes in time with the music, and then shake and rattle tambourines.

When the show concludes and the Liberty Belle resumes its travels on the Rivers of America, the theme park guests are treated to a meet-and-greet with the newest Disney royalty, Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen – the stars of “The Princess and The Frog,” which premieres in late November.

Three performances of “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee!” are planned daily. Viewing locations are in Liberty Square and Frontierland. I’m getting a first hand look at the show on Monday and will report back after that.

Monorail Teal, the new train that was made by combining the undamaged ends of Monorail Purple and Pink after the fatal accident earlier this year, has been spotted testing around the resort. In the video, the pink and purple stripes have been colored by some white tape.

Previously: New monorail to be built from damaged monorails.

Alan Joyce, the author of Secrets of the Mouse, has just released a reference guide for Disneyland’s Hidden Mickeys – The Hidden Mouse. The mouse’s hiding places are revealed in 116 information rich full-color pages featuring hundreds of photographs, helpful tips, and bonus behind-the-scenes information about dozens of rides.

The guidebook includes:

• A comprehensive of list currently known Hidden Mickeys in Disneyland, Disney’s California Adventure, Disneyland Resort Hotels, and more.
• High-quality color photos of many Hidden Mickeys.
• Helpful tips for locating each Hidden Mickey.
• Behind-the-scenes information and fun facts about dozens of attractions across the Resort.

What sets this guide to Hidden Mickeys apart is the marvelous full color presentation. Many of the Hidden Mickeys have photos right in the book, so they’re easy to find when you arrive at the right spot. The other major Hidden Mickey guide makes finding the elusive marks more of a treasure hunt.

One of the strengths of the book is how easy the structure makes it to reference any ride or location across the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. The Hidden Mouse will guide you to the nearest Hidden Mickey at the Disneyland Resort Hotels, California Adventure, and Disneyland itself. Using it will add an extra layer of fun to your theme park experience. I found a few Hidden Mickeys in the guide that I had no idea even existed.

My biggest fault with Joyce’s book is that he uses a very broad definition of what constitutes a Hidden Mickey, particularly when it comes to the three circle variety. In my opinion, if the proportions aren’t correct or the ‘ears’ are not correctly aligned it’s not a Hidden Mickey. But go find them yourself and make up your own mind.

For that extra layer of fun, or just something to do while waiting in queue, bring The Hidden Mouse with you on your next trip to Walt’s original Magic Kingdom – Disneyland.

Since 1979 Martin has been flying across the pond with his family to visit Walt Disney World. He’s been video taping his visits since 1990. The result is a collection of more than 150 videos documenting much of the resorts history. I’ve embedded a sample video documenting EPCOT’s “Tapestry of Nations”. Puts me right back at the curb of this fabulous parade.

Tapestry of Nations from Martins Videos on Vimeo.