A Bumpy Ride For Disneyland In Hong Kong

HONG KONG -- Before Hong Kong Disneyland opened last year, planners were careful to design the park according to the principles of feng shui, placing objects in harmony with their environment. They made sure to offer Chinese food. And they built a garden of costumed characters to satisfy the Chinese obsession with taking photos.

Then the best-laid plans went awry.

A charity event before the official opening was chaotic and overcrowded. Local celebrities were offended by rude treatment during opening celebrations. Health officials were barred from entering the park in uniform. Environmentalists protested against shark-fin soup on the menus.

It was only the beginning of a very rocky start for Disney, during which it was accused of arrogance and insensitivity by its visitors. Although the company has subsequently received favorable reviews, the early experience has raised questions about its ability to operate effectively in this culture, as well as concerns about what will happen when the company opens its first park on the mainland, in Shanghai, in a few years.

"If they got into trouble in Hong Kong, for certain they will get into trouble on the mainland. If they're arrogant there, it will be magnified 100 times," said Chan Kin Man, a sociology professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "Disneyland is an icon of the West. When relations between the U.S. and China turn sour, it might turn into a target."

Nearly half of the park's 5 million visitors in the past year were from the mainland. And it was during a peak season for those visitors, the Chinese New Year, that Disney made its biggest gaffe.

Despite several sold-out days over Christmas, Disney was unprepared for the early reaction to a discount promotion during the start of the Chinese New Year in February. Hundreds of already ticketed customers were locked out because the park was full, generating TV coverage of crying children, angry parents and mainland tourists climbing fences to get into the park.

The changes Hong Kong Disneyland has made since then -- more flexible ticketing and more profit sharing with travel agencies -- are now being watched closely as the company stands by plans to open its park in Shanghai, which will be even bigger than the one here.

"It will be even more interesting in China," said Chan, who took his family to the park in September 2005. "We have a group of people who are fond of anything Western, but we also have a strong group of nationalists. Things will be more intense."

Disney, which has previously called the problems "growing pains," declined to comment.

Hong Kong is not the first place overseas where the company has confronted challenges. Euro Disney, which later changed the name of its park to Disneyland Paris, was criticized for exporting American imperialism when it opened in 1992. The park had to offer wine to placate French visitors and was financially bailed out by a Saudi prince. Today it is a top tourist destination.

Disney also has a park in Tokyo, where it has had a relatively smoother go of it.