Asia News: Hong Kong Disneyland; Prague Philharmonic; Guitar Wolf

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File – Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland Gets Pricey

The South China Morning Post reports that on April 24 Hong Kong Disneyland Resort raised its one-day admission fee by 3.2 percent to HK$639 ($82), which is now the most expensive entrance fee for a theme park in Asia.

It is the fifth time the admission fee has been raised since the park opened in 2005. The one-day price for children is now HK$475. Two-day tickets will rise by a similar rate to HK$825 for adults and HK$609 for children. Though the price increases have already gone into effect, residents of Hong Kong have a two-month grace period to buy annual passes and one-day tickets at their former prices.

Eventually, annual passes will go up by 3 percent to HK$3,599 for platinum members, HK$2,059 for gold members and HK$1,278 for silver members. The park has also offered current annual pass holders the chance to renew their passes at a discount. In comparison, Tokyo Disneyland charges $66 for a day pass and Shanghai Disney Resort $59.

Last year, Hong Kong Disneyland recorded its fourth straight year of deficits, though the loss was less than it was in 2017.

One letter-writer to the SCMP pointed out that the new prices would make the park too expensive for many local families. The writer said the new admission fee is almost double what it was when the park first opened.

In essence, access to Disneyland may represent a kind of class divide in Hong Kong, and the writer pleaded with park management to allow the grace period to be extended indefinitely for local families.

In contrast, Tokyo Disneyland operator Oriental Land recorded another record year of earnings on April 25, crediting its 35th anniversary celebration for profits that amounted to 129.4 billion yen ($1.2 billion), a rise of 16 percent over fiscal 2017, with revenue rising almost 10 percent to 525.6 billion yen.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, combined attendance at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea reached another record: 32.6 million admissions, up 2.5 million from 2017. Total attendance at the park is now past 750 million since it opened. In addition, revenues were up for all sectors of the parks, including accommodations, merchandise and refreshments.

Consequently, Oriental Land is projecting a slump in revenue for the coming year of about 9 percent, as well as a 28 percent drop in earnings since there won’t be any special attractions like those offered for the 35th nniversary.

Prague Philharmonic Tour Axed

According to the Tibetan news site Phayul.com, a tour of China by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra slated for later this year has been cancelled by the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

The move was in response to the mayor of the Czech Republic capital’s meetings with the president of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and Taiwan in March. The CTA is the Tibetan government-in-exile. China claims complete sovereignty over Tibet as an integral part of its territory.

While the CTA president Dr. Lobsang Sangay was visiting Prague to attend a documentary film festival, the mayor of the city, Zdenek Hrib, presented him with a symbolic “key to the city gates” and pledged to “raise the Tibetan flag on the buildings of Prague City Hall” to commemorate the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising.

On March 28, Zdenek visited Taiwan, which China also claims as an integral part of its territory, to meet with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen.

In light of China’s cancellation of the tour, Zdenek has reportedly suggested that the Prague Philharmonic tour Taiwan instead.

Japan

Guitar Wolf Signs To Third Man

The veteran Japanese garage rock trio Guitar Wolf has signed with Jack White’s Third Man Records label in the U.S., which will release the band’s 13th album, Love&Jett, on May 10. To celebrate, Guitar Wolf will launch an American tour with Nashville Pussy in Atlanta on May 8. The tour will visit 23 cities.

Guitar Wolf has been an indie rock staple in Japan since 1987. During the group’s heyday in the late ’90s and early ’00s, they often opened for similarly raunchy foreign guitar bands, and in many cases were a tough act to follow, though not necessarily because of their musicianship.

The leader, who goes by the single moniker Seiji, was influenced musically and sartorially by Link Wray.

The band’s music is a blend of rockabilly and punk that is played so loud as to purposely create distortion.

Their shows are raucous and chaotic, and almost always feature Seiji inviting an audience member onstage to play guitar regardless of whether or not the person knows how to play.

Guitar Wolf has toured the U.S. a number of times in the past and were once signed to Matador.