Mickey gets ready for Hong Kong Disneyland

Mickey Mouse was preparing for the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland tomorrow.

About 1,000 reporters from around the world flew in to cover the opening of Walt Disney’s 11th theme park – an attraction with two resort hotels on a bay surrounded by mountains on Lantau, Hong Kong’s largest island.

Disneyland held a “rehearsal day” today that gave thousands of guests a sneak peak of the park.

The day’s festivities included a fireworks show and a party featuring a concert with some of the biggest Chinese-language pop stars, including Coco Lee, Joey Yung and Jacky Cheung.

“Now we’re poised to begin the next chapter of Disney history when Hong Kong Disneyland will officially open to the world,” said Jay Rasulo, president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

“Hong Kong Disneyland is (our) first theme park in China. It’s also the first Disney theme park that’s modelled so closely to the first Disneyland in California,” Rasulo said.

The park features a pink Snow White Castle and the popular rides found at the US Disneylands, including Space Mountain, Mad Hatter Tea Cups, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Jungle River Cruise.

It also features the Broadway-style show “Festival of the Lion King” and daily parades with Disney characters on Main Street, USA – the park’s main strip lined with shops and restaurants.

Disneyland – with a capacity of 30,000 people – has received a generally warm welcome in Hong Kong. Large crowds strolled around a long red-brick public promenade outside the park over the weekend.

But many of the visitors have complained that the park is too small. It’s Disney’s most petite park, with only about 100 acres devoted to rides and other attractions.

The entire attraction – including the two hotels – is 298 acres – and it can be expanded to 494 acres.

Disney President Robert Iger said the park was a “giant step” in his company’s push into the huge China market. The park plans to draw about 40% of its guests from across the border in mainland China.

Iger, who takes over as Disney’s chief executive officer next month, said the park should boost interest in Disney’s movies, TV shows and other products in China – where generations have grown up with little familiarity with the American brand.

The park is a joint venture between Disney and the Hong Kong government. It employs 5,000 workers – or ”cast members” as Disney likes to call them – and the park estimates that it will attract 5.6 million visitors in its opening year.

The park is a 30-minute subway ride from central Hong Kong, and it’s served by its own public rail line – the only one in the world specially built for a theme park. The train has windows shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head and the cars sport velvet theatre seats and statues of Disney characters.