Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Friday, November 14 Disneyland Fireworks!!

We spent another great day at Disneyland. One of our friends from Orlando, Florida who is an "Imagineer" (engineers with imaginations as Disney calls them), was here in Hong Kong this week. He was discussing that there are 10 rides here and more to come as with any business when the money allows. I asked him about The Haunted Mansion ride and if there were any cultural issues to why it was not at this park. The answer reflected that there will probably be one to come in the future and yes there is a cultural aspect, which would translate into a darker, more sinister Haunted Mansion than in the United States.

As I always note to my business students, when a business goes to another country or region, the cultural aspects of that area must be taken into consideration. The Disneyland and Disney World in the United States has special night tickets just for Halloween, Christmas and Princess/Pirates nights in February/March. These parks have held these events for several years.

This was the first year that Hong Kong Disneyland had added special ticketed events specifically for Halloween. This trick or treat night is not native to China, but the two nights the park offered this event it was a huge success! What a surprise for a culture that does not traditionally celebrate Halloween, but for there to be a crowd at the park for the two nights it was offered is amazing! I thought this was very interesting from a cultural and marketing perspective. However, I have been told that at Disney, patrons are expecting a slice of America so that Halloween would be expected to be celebrated there.

The park was also decorated in Christmas and some special Christmas ticketed nights are being considered, especially since the Halloween nights did so very well!

We loved all of the rides. But I think the overall favorite was Space Mountain. Here, the ride holds 6 passengers with 3 rows of two, which is different from the parks in the states that look like a rocket and only 3 people can sit one behind the other on the ride. Once the ride begins, both the ones in the US and in Hong Kong are very similar.

Here is a interactive map of Disneyland Hong Kong.

At 3:30 p.m., each day there is a spectacular parade.

We often hear and see little fireworks a couple of times each week. The Chinese culture has fireworks before the wedding ceremony, unlike American weddings where the "fireworks" begin after we say "I do"! (Ok... a little joke, I couldn't help myself!)

Fireworks are also seen for very special occasions. So the day ended with an awesome fireworks show over Sleeping Beauty's castle, but I was expecting nothing less from a fireworks display in China!

No comments: