Rocky Start For HK Disneyland

The world’s newest Disneyland wasn’t even open a full day before it was hit with a lawsuit.

On September 12th, the day that Hong Kong Disneyland officially opened to the public, Hung Wah-fung filed a case in small claims court for 1,400 HK dollars (US$179) claiming the park exercised poor crowd management.

The week before, Hung had bought four tickets for a special pre-opening charity day. About 30,000 other people also bought tickets and they were all jammed into the park’s 126 hectares, causing long lines at rides and restaurants. Some people waited up to three hours.

Even worse, it was raining that day.

Hung told the South China Morning Post that the park “only wants to squeeze as many people in as possible in order to make money. The government has invested $20 billion in the park and every cent of it is earned by taxpayers through hard work.”

Hung, who says he has visited Disneylands in America and Europe, is suing for breach of service. If he wins his case, he will donate his award to charity.

Hung’s suit was not the only bad publicity the new Disneyland received. Hong Kong’s Apple Daily reported that tourists from mainland China offended Hong Kong visitors by smoking in nonsmoking areas, walking around barefoot, and allowing children to urinate in public.

— Phil Brasor