The Forgotten Cancelled Lands of Hong Kong Disneyland
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 พ.ย. 2018
- From opening Disney knew it was time to start expanding on what was being offered and started to generate hype for the future from the beginning. Autopia was already in the works at the opening of the park, slated for a 2006 opening and would provide a buffer for perhaps the next year, but the park needed more than one extra attraction. It needed lands. Hong Kong Disneyland was master-planned from the beginning, built with expansion in mind, it was only a matter of time before the empty plots of lands surrounding the park would be filled with Disney magic.
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time.com/piracy-southeast-asia... - บันเทิง
The major reason why Glacier Bay didn't work out for HKDL is because its rival Ocean Park Hong Kong also has a themed land based on the polar regions (though ofc a lot less detailed and enjoyable when comparing to a Disney-level themed land). The HK government was worried that the two parks having two similar themed lands would lead to adverse competition among them.
Finally someone that sees movie based lands in Disney parks the same way.
That depends on opinions. I have also hear people not minding it, liking it, or feeling indifferent.
I went there almost every year as a kid
Although it being the smallest Disneyland, it’s my favorite ☺️
+
I feel bad for HKDL because when SHDL opened, visitors started going there :(
Your explanation for why movie themed lands are bad is exactly the same reason I dislike them. It just is a terrible idea in the long run and that’s why movie based attractions in broad themed lands is much better
It's a real shame that pretty much every land under construction in Disney Parks around the world is tied to a movie or IP. We may never see an original themed land again and it's a real loss to creativity in the Theme Park industry. - Luke
ReviewTyme I agree :/ dang it Iger!!!
I agree. It's short-term thinking. Star Wars land in Disneyland doesn't make sense to me. Maybe it kind of makes sense in DCA but, even then, it doesn't make sense long term.
What's also interesting is that I think Hong Kong Disneyland is sort of the "black sheep" of the park family. Think about where that puts them: Somewhere under: Epcot, Disneyland Paris, California Adventure, or Hollywood Studios.
When you think about it further, Disney seems to ignore their parks until it's absolutely necessary. They don't think in terms of, "This will be a great addition for the 2020 season," but instead, "Huh.. people think park x is a 1/2 day park or attendance is down. I suppose we had better build something. It's been 2 decades.." It's such a strange way to operate what are consider the premium parks for the world.
Look at Six Flags: Each year they announce new coasters/changes, etc.
Disney?? "They're going to come, anyway... just let the parks languish."
Disney is currently paving their way to their own destruction. Sounds crazy, but rising park prices, limited company-wide creativity, eventual franchise fatigue, and an inevitable recession all will hit them at some point. It's a balloon.
@@ReviewTyme There's a kid who does a Disney theme parks podcast and a few months back he made a pretty good point: Disney no longer believes in Disney.
What he meant was that original themed ideas or attractions are gone. The future is everything being tied to an outside/acquired IP. There will be no "Haunted Mansions" or "Pirates"-like rides in the future. The idea of "lands" is now solely about the idea of IPs.
Further, while there's a lot of construction going on at the USA Disney parks right now, that is only because they let them languish for 2 decades. Their general model now seems to be: don't fix/update it unless you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO - also see if you can score $50/head out of a new ice cream party and pretend that, too, is an attraction.
Hong Kong people don’t really care much about local pirates; to us they are just distant international news or tales of the olden days. In one summer they even rethemed the whole Adventureland to Pirateland.
Other than that, great vid!
For once a cancelled project not blamed on Paris Haha
Jake Kuhl nor eisener
Lol
yeah, that scrapped pirate land concept, is definitely what they used for the Disneyland here in SH. I mean the concept art looks almost exactly like the final product!
Great video. I agree we should be grateful with what has been realized so far. I visited this park in oct 2018 and I really enjoyed it. For me personally I ranked it as the cutest Disney park. It's original content is a major plus for any Disney World wide traveler. I'm incredibly impressed by Mystic Point. I was there on a quiet day and I rode it 6 times :) I also loved Iron Man, mostly because it takes place in downtown Hong Kong. And last but certainly not least: the jungle cruise is a wonderful and refreshing iteration of this classic ride. And I believe they have an unique halloween overlay for this ride tied into the S.E.A. lore. This was a very smart move that works very well in the metropolis setting of Hong Kong.
Whilst the park could have arguably been better, that doesn't mean it isn't a great park to visit still. Iron Man was a surprise for me as well, it actually made me really excited to get to fly out and over the park during the ride. We will have to go back for Halloween to experience the Jungle Cruise overlay, that sounds really cool! - Luke
The Halloween overlay of Jungle cruise is gone for good. It exists no more
I think the key to IP based lands really comes down to making a high quality product that doesn’t rely solely on the IP itself but uses it as the template for great experiences. It does limit them but can be done well. Think the best example is the Harry Potter lands at Universal. I know plenty of people that aren’t Harry Potter fans or never even seen one of the films that love the lands and say they are some of the best theme park experiences. It just happens to use an IP as the basis and recognition for fans of the series but enjoyment isn’t predicated on being a fan. Where on the reverse side you have stuff like Toy Story lands where if you remove the theming, or don’t care about the theme, the land is kind of meh and doesn’t really provide and engaging experience. So I don’t think IPs themselves are bad but how they are often utilized and treated as a crutch to cut corners knowing the current name recognition will bring the people in. That said I do agree that unique lands in general are a better idea to bring about more creativity and new ideas.
Great video, good story telling! Also, "hear, hear" about IP based attractions!
It seems that Disney's M.O. now is to just keep giving us contemporary IP's that will one day become yesterday's IP's. It's a terrible practice. Sure, there are some that will stand the test of time, like Toy Story (not that Land though...ick), but this company used to build TIMELESS, ORIGINAL attractions that will never grow old! Pirates, Haunted Mansion...and lands like Frontierland are ideas that can evolve with the culture. I really believe that they need to get back to that process to continue on successfully into the next few decades.
I absolutely love how you edited you videos, the ending is done perfectly!
Keep up the good work! These videos are awesome. I love to see what they had planned and sadly wont build...
I want more stuff added to the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort like a second gate theme park, more resort hotels, and a retail, dining and entertainment complex similar to the Downtown Disney District and Disney Springs! I’d like to see all that come to the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in the future!
That way, the Hong Kong Disneyland second gate theme park could include a Toy Story Land, a Marvel Avengers Campus, a STAR WARS Galaxy’s Edge, a Zootopia Land, and other cool stuff while Hong Kong Disneyland should get a Pirates themed land and other stuff!
Rewatching this, I find Glacier Bay would be so much more fitting to be in Disney Sea instead of Hong Kong Disneyland as Glacier Bay's area is so water themed and would be another lovely port for Disney Sea. Maybe the second gate can somehow incorporate Glacier Bay in some way or another. Maybe having the second gate themed like Disney Sea? Or they can just reprise the ride ideas that was supposed to be in Glacier Bay and insert these attractions in the lands that are needing of attractions.
Interestingly it's rumoured that some of the plans for Glacier Bay were reworked into the original Scandinavia port that was announced for DisneySea but those plans eventually got cancelled as well and we are left with the new Fantasy Port opening up in 2022 which has a smaller Frozen section joined by a Tangled and Peter Pan-themed area. - Luke
ReviewTyme tho having a glacier bay or frozen land in a tropical humid region is inappropriate imo considering its a norm for Hong kong to be 30 degrees and rainy
ReviewTyme I think this should be happening in hk for expanding the fantasy land with adding tangled , frozen and Peter Pan flight on it instead of just frozen
Also, a shame we don't have Fantasmic or a log flume ride at all. The log flume ride could be located in Adventure Land or maybe even Grizzly Gulch somehow. But also one day I hope Disney does incorporate more thrill rides in Hong Kong Disneyland like maybe changing the tracks of Hyperspace Mountain and make it more similar to the track layout that is currently in Paris Disneyland or has a more extreme dropper ride than the Toy Soldier Parachute that is currently in Toy Story Land. Not only that they must somehow reprise the "BuzzLight Year Astroblaster's "attraction in Toy Story Land or have the "Toy Story Mania" attraction in Toy Story Land. So maybe Disney should have more distinct attractions to our park as said in the video it is heavily lacking in personality.
Your videos are always well done and filled with so much intriguing information! 😊
Thank you so much! - Luke
I love your jazzy background music!
You hit the nail on the head with why I'm against movie based lands. Things like Pandora may look amazing, but they're extremely limited (only two attractions), and apparently most kids don't even know it's a movie, let alone seen it, and love it enough to deserve a land. Something like Star Wars has at least passed the test of time, and Toy Story is all about imagination and that theme could create a lot of different opportunities. Bugs Land in DCA was well executed, but it was never meant to be a major land, it was the little kids area for California, and it worked alright for what it was. Cars land works because it's theming was so beautifully incorporated, how it really does take you to a very distinct location, and while they have the great E ticket, and two other pretty great rides, they are pretty limited with what they can do there. One ride already failed and had to be replaced. Marvel land, I'm more scared about. It's more broad with so many movies you can pull from, and so many more to come, and the MCU has been going strong and the comics have lasted well over time, but even as a giant Marvel nerd it does make me worried about a cohesive land will work, not just a bunch of rides thrown together. Frozen land? Way too specific, way too limiting. Look at What they did with Maelstrom, the tech may be cool, but as a ride there isn't much there. They want to fill a whole land with it? Multiple rides, an E ticket and at least two others, and other things to fill it? I just don't see it working.
Pirates land would be great elsewhere. And I absolutely agree with you about Frozen
HongKong Disneyland does have one unique aspect: it's Haunted Houses! Every Halloween, they set up a legitimately creepy maze, which is sometimes Disney related and sometimes it's own original story. Of course, a seasonal attraction isn't enough to bring in a constant stream of guests, so it's a good thing that they are expanding the lands.
Hong Kong's temporary attractions really are something to admire. I had the chance to experience the Marvel Summer of Heroes one and Dom has experienced one of the Halloween ones and they're honestly too good to just be limited time things! - Luke
When someone says it can be done in a day...
I think I better go for 10 days...
I like to relax into my Disney land trips
In my opinion, having a movie base land isn't as bad as first of all it'll be a unique staple to Hong Kong Disneyland hence meaning that we get more IP based attraction attracting more tourist to come to visit our parks. Second, I feel like our Toy Story Land is great even though the IP isn't, but it can still be expanded on by adding maybe new attractions like maybe remaking our Buzzlight Year Astroblasters or have another thrill ride (demolishing Slinky Dog Spin and adding the Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios) as I feel like this is heavily lacking in Hong Kong Disneyland. But I do agree on that it's harder to expand on the park itself by having a movie based land and I hope they do bring this idea back and expand it to Hong Kong Disneylands future developments.
I agree with you about the lands based on movies and their limitations.
This is a greatly underrated channel
Using Ocean Park as an example, a log flume ride would be very expensive and hard to maintain. They even had to close it down for good. Large bodies of water is also a problem for Hong Kong Disneyland, there isn't enough space for such a large project. There are always rides breaking down there as well.
If anyone could do it right I think it would be Disney, but those probably are some of the major reasons we still haven't seen a water-based thrill ride at Hong Kong Disneyland! - Luke
Some rumors said that HKDL did not have a flume ride because of the humid weather. Unlike US, when you get wet in HK, it is harder to dry out, and people start to get stink in hot summer days. What do you guys think?
It's an interesting thought and may have added to the reasons that Hong Kong still doesn't have a water ride. Though OceanPark does have a flume ride as does a lot of Orlando based parks where the humidity can get equally as high (Though not for as long). I think it may have definitely added to the argument to not having one but I don't think it was the only reason! - Luke
FALSE. Do you now how humid Florida is?
although i know it probably wont happen, hong kong disneyland definitely needs a water-based land
Nice research
New Epic Mickey Locations..
makes no sense to play "auld lang syne" under this video
The opening clip appears to be a New Year's Celebration, which would make the song appropriate.
Agreed! I get that the video opens on a new year's scene, but the whole intro wasn't about that and the song was really distracting. It was so melancholy that I almost turned the video off. The exact opposite of the tone I watch theme park videos for.
I agree with everything you said about ip based lands
Toy Story lands are a downgrade everywhere they exist. Despite the huge popularity of the franchise, I always felt they are cheap solutions for a Disney park.
Why was their Christmas music in the first part of this video?
i'd murder for a disneyland of any kind close to where i live
wished they had pirate land bc i only go to hk disneyland so often now and i luv potc 😭
Frosty the snowman is not Disney, so he would not be part of the arctic land, right?
where did i hear the intro song before??????????
3:12 why Ocean Park?
The FIRST ever toy story land
The "new" castle is a disappointing mess. I wish they'd built Rapunzel's castle, as was considered. The architectural sketches of it are beautiful.
What could have been in Hong Kong, Disneyland but never happened 😖
It’s called Grizzly Gulch, not trail. And somehow Shanghai Disneyland got a huge Pirate themed land. Under construction now is Arrendelle, the Frozen Land, and hopefully the Marvel land where the log closed Autopia is.
^Q
I was going to tell him that
Thanks for pointing that out, Grizzly Trail was actually the name of the land in all of the construction and concept art right up until opening when they changed it to Grizzly Gulch for unknown reasons. We are super excited for the upcoming Marvel attraction in the Autopia area, we just wish we didn’t have to wait so long for it! - Luke
ReviewTyme thanks for the reply, I didn’t know about it’s name change, I guess it didn’t turn out much of a trail, it’s definitely a township built around the gulching geyser and mine. Yeah, the wait will be hard, but I hope that lessons learnt from the Star Wars attractions and Marvel interactive temporary attraction they had last year make it the best it can be, and then worth the wait! It’s a GREAT park, we spent 5 nights there last Halloween, and can’t wait to return!
^Q
Yeah we think Grizzly Gulch sounds better as the final name too. Every expansion at Hong Kong has been amazing so let’s hope these ones continue that trend! - Luke
I extremely like beauty and the beast n Alice in the wonderland land n sleeping beauty
I’d hardly call the 3 2009 areas lands. They’re just stand alone attractions. There isn’t room for expansion to any of them.
not really true. Mystic Point is in the middle so it couldnt expand. But Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story land can expand as the lands beside them are empty now.
Whilst they may be more akin to "mini-lands" compared to what we are used to, I would call them all separate lands still. Each of them has their attraction (Or 3 for Toy Story) as well as dining and shopping opportunities. Also Grizzly and Toy Story do both have space to expand though I can't imagine it happening. - Luke
Sadly the right for a priority purchase of the original phase 2 plot (the big plot on the East for the second park and new hotels) is not renewed by the Hk government. So the chance of us seeing a second gate to HKDL is slim to none unless Disney is going to invest heavily on Hong Kong (which is not likely given the current COVID situation and the already money losing park), which made me extra sad...
I agree about the IP based lands. Both universal and Disney are doing this now. I’m not sure why but I think it limits things they can do with that area and it requires less creativity.
I went there 2007 it's very small.
Yeah sadly the park was still tiny in 2017, since then they have added a bunch of new attractions and are still adding more. When all these new additions are finished it would almost feel like a completely different park if you went back! - Luke
A Pirateland in Disneyland Paris, pardon? Admittedly a significant part of Adventureland is theme to Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan, but I’d hardly call it a Pirateland.
We need classic desney
They really need a water ride
I have to say that Frozen Land is smarter than Glacier Bay cause this IP always draws so many children , and considering the Frozen series is making its way to expand the world concept, Frozen land may be easy to expand when needed.Btw I really like the way you mention about Toy Story Land, it's just so boring and safe, Mystic Manor should be the right model for Disneyland expansion
As a business decision it definitely makes sense to have Frozen Land, it's just unfortunate that we may never see Disney build original non-IP based lands again. Glacier Bay would have been the perfect compliment to Mystic Point and Grizzly Gulch, it's a shame we got the safer choice of Toy Story Land.
@@ReviewTyme But from the case of HKDL, it is losing money for many years and the public lose confidence in it. (Since it is funded partially by govt) And undeniably, the Toy Story Land came out in the right timing enjoying the popularity of the IP. Local residents visit the park because of Toy Story Land. In contrast, the other two theme parks did not arouse too many noises in society because people are not attracted to it as there is no linkage with characters. I would say TSL have brought people to the park more effectively than the other two.
Yeah bringing in characters families know seems to be the way forward for Disney, it’s so much easier to market and make money from especially with Merchandise. As a Theme Park fan though it’s a shame everything moving forward will be IP based though, some of the best Theme Park attractions don’t need Disney characters like Journey to the Center of the Earth and Mystic Manor. - Luke
ReviewTyme Super true... As a theme park fan I wish to see the innovations of imagineers, but as a fan of HKDL, I wish to see its revenue grow and expansion happening as priorities... Otherwise the park will only keep losing money... That's the dilemma... Anyways we still have two unique lands and it is already gifts to HKDL.
Clement Li nah they shall imitate what’s happening in Tokyo
At least frozen land is coming
Grizzly Gulch, not Grizzly Trail
Why is there no it's a small world at Shanghai but no Peter Pan's flight at Hong Kong Disneyland?
Because China owns the world 😂
We'll most likely never see an "original" land out of a Disney theme park ever again. Everything in the future will always have an IP linked to it. With the immense costs of expansions and attractions, Disney will only fall back on successful IPs like Frozen and Marvel. These IPs have a built in audience before a penny is spent. While it is sad, it is true.
The distinction between an IP-themed land and a generic land could be as simple as what to call them. After all, Disneyland's Frontierland basically started out as Davy Crockett Land--most of the attractions were adaptations of things from the Davy Crockett TV show. But it wasn't called that, it was called Frontierland, so the emphasis could shift over time.
For arcane contractual reasons, Disney isn't allowed to use the word Marvel when promoting their California Marvel land, so I think they're calling it Superhero Universe. That might be a step in the right direction even if they took it for the wrong reason. In a Superhero Universe they could in principle have non-Marvel superhero stuff, if they decide they want that decades from now.
I think DisneySea does themed-lands the best in the World, they've managed to fit rides like Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror in a land themed to an American Waterfront. Even Mysterious Island, which is, in theory, an IP land based around Jules Verne, feels amazingly original. I feel the characters need to be built around the land not vice-versa. - Luke
Great concepts, but the effect? Not quite.
Just thinking about current world events... so a Disney park costs around $5~10 billion? Currently the UK government are spending £80 billion to pay people’s wages during the pandemic. Imagine how cool the park would be if they spent just half that and sent people back to work early 🤔
Why don’t they build a fantasmic where the pavilion is at Hong Kong Disneyland, they waste money putting temporary things there every few months.
I feel like the pavilion is a bit too small for a Fantasmic show to be located there but I feel like the events that happen in the pavilion is fantastic, But, they were originally going to have another gate opposite of Hong Kong Disneyland. Maybe they can somehow find ways to incorporate a Fantasmic show there?
Jeremy Lai that’s a good point but they could use expand the area of the pavilion back further and then fantasmic might work.
@@andyatkins5892, but isn't that going to interfere with the railroad? I love these conversations we're having haha maybe you can hit me up on my email and talk about more Hong Kong Disneyland related topics. Email : Greet541@gmail.com
Jeremy Lai yeah maybe your right; hopefully Hong Kong Disneyland will find a way to have fantasmic in the future
It will be interesting to see what happens with the pavilion after all these expansions are done, there is a rather large plot of mostly empty land next to the pavilion that they could use if they deem the temporary experiences no longer required or worthwhile. - Luke
In Hong kong
They should have gone to Sydney or Melbourne :(
I agree that IP-based lands suck!
Grizzly GULCH not “trail”.
You mean to tell me there could've been a Disneyland in the Middle East?
Lol the Dutch national anthem? >.
Daaaaaaaaamn we need FANTASMIC!
0:00 - 0:10 headphone warning
Pirates were criminals, not funny or nice guys !
Toy Story is stale already