Hong Kong Disneyland is located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is the first theme park located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks. The theme park's cast members speak in Cantonese, English, and Mandarin. Guide maps are printed in traditional and simplified Chinese as well as English, French, and Japanese.
Park Layout:
The park is divided into "lands" (themed areas) and well-concealed backstage areas. On entering a land, a guest is completely immersed in a themed environment and is unable to see or hear any other realm. The idea behind this was to develop theatrical "stages" with seamless passages from one land to the next. The public areas occupy approximately 22.4 hectares (55 acres). When the park initially opened, it consisted of four classic themed areas:
- Main Street, U.S.A., designed to resemble an early 20th-century Midwest town;
- Adventureland, featuring jungle-themed adventures;
- Fantasyland, bringing to life characters and places from Disney's movies
- Tomorrowland, an optimistic vision of the future.
In 2011, a new themed area opened:
- Toy Story Land, based on the Disney·Pixar film series Toy Story.
In 2012, the park was expanded to 27.4 hectares (68 acres) and another new themed area opened:
- Grizzly Gulch, reminiscing an abandoned mining town set amidst mountains and woods. Opened July 14, 2012.
Throughout the park are 'Hidden Mickeys', or representations of Mickey Mouse heads inserted subtly into the design of attractions and environmental decor. An elevated berm supports a narrow gauge railroad that circumnavigates the park.
Entertainment and Celebrations:
The park features a daytime parade "Flights of Fantasy" as well as a nighttime firework show "Disney in the Stars", and "Tinker Bell Castle Illumination", a new nighttime show that debuted along with "Celebration In The Air". Seasonal entertainment, such as "Disney's Haunted Halloween", "A Sparkling Christmas", and "Disney's Chinese New Year", are held in the park to celebrate major holidays.
