Hong Kong Disneyland Attendance Falls Short; Anybody Surprised?

According to many sources, Hong Kong Disneyland has fallen short of its attendance goals for its first year (read the story here on Channel News Asia.)

Is anyone honestly surprised? How many people decided against visiting Hong Kong Disneyland after hearing of the Chinese New Year debacle last February, where thousands queued up and were turned away, and angry parents tossed their children over the gates? (Forbes covered that at the time: Thousands queue at Hong Kong Disneyland after chaos. You can also see a reference to it on Asian Travel Tips.)

And how many hardcore Disney fans commented that there weren’t enough attractions in the park on opening day? Hmm, let’s see . . . almost all of them?

My bet is that Hong Kong Disneyland will ultimately adapt to local conditions, rally, and create the sort of success we now see at Disneyland Paris, formerly known as Euro Disney (and which also stumbled significantly in its early years). Sure, it’s not Walt Disney World, but it’s a darn good park and has been doing well financially for some time now. Surely Disney learned enough from that experience to be able to recover more quickly this time.