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Hong Kong Disneyland: General Discussion

I’ve just seen these images of Hong Kong Disneyland which show the shocking aftermath of the recent Typhoon Mangkhut... :eek:
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Images from @manilabulletin on Twitter.
 
Have they extended onto the back of the old castle or completely demolished it and started a new castle?

Looking good!
 
Have they extended onto the back of the old castle or completely demolished it and started a new castle?

Looking good!

I think they have extended on top of the existing castle, they were the original plans at least. Looking at the photos I think that the bronze coloured turret in the centre right of the castle is the top of the original.
 
I think they have extended on top of the existing castle, they were the original plans at least. Looking at the photos I think that the bronze coloured turret in the centre right of the castle is the top of the original.

Interesting, I’d like to see how they’ve managed to incorporate it all together then.

Presume they’d hollowed out the old castle and removed the back and then just extended and rebuilt the interior?
 
I never realised how wide and open Hong Kong's Main Street is. No wonder the old castle looked so small.
 
The large hills behind it don’t help with the forced perspective
 
Hong Kong Disney reopened ... and is now closed again - from NYT

"Sorry folks, park's closed (again). Mouse out front shoulda told ya"
 
Disney have uploaded a video of the new castle:



It looks great... but as with the Shanghai castle I think they've cluttered the design by trying to include too much.
As they say in the video each part of the castle represents a different character, but architecturally some of them just don't match.

Of all the castles I still think Disneyland Paris has the best. One architectural style that blends the shape of a Disney Castle with the details of a French Chateau.

As Disney would say; Authentically Disney distinctly French.
 
Paris is still by far my favourite but I think I could probably put this as second. While I had my doubts at the start of construction I think it came out well in the end. It sits really nicely against the mountain backdrop, rather than being dwarfed by them as the original castle was, which I think is really helped by the number of elongated, more slender turrets and spires.

I can’t stand the Shanghai castle and I’m not exactly a big fan of the Florida or Tokyo design either.
 
Paris is still by far my favourite but I think I could probably put this as second. While I had my doubts at the start of construction I think it came out well in the end. It sits really nicely against the mountain backdrop, rather than being dwarfed by them as the original castle was, which I think is really helped by the number of elongated, more slender turrets and spires.

I can’t stand the Shanghai castle and I’m not exactly a big fan of the Florida or Tokyo design either.
I think the Florida one has improved since the recent makeover but before that was drab. Paris is by far the most beautiful and has the added bonus of a dragon to go with it.
 
I’m still not overly sold on the Florida makeover. The walls look much less drab with the new pink they’ve applied and the way they’ve redistributed the gold accents look good, but the turrets, especially those around the outer wall are so bright blue they look plastic now!

Still, I guess it’s not the most horrific thing that’s ever been done to a Disney castle...

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But I digress, and will loop back around to Hong Kong now.
 
I wasn't sure about the new Hong Kong castle when concepts were first revealed, but it has really grown on me and I am pleased that the park now has its own unique castle rather than a copy of the original Disneyland castle.

Paris remains my favourite castle; it is the most magical and whimsical. But I also adore Disneyland's, yes it is tiny but in that park it is just perfect.
 
Just seen this video of the new Hong Kong Frozen ride:



Despite knowing it was just going to be an updated clone of the EPCOT ride I still feel like this is a missed opportunity.
The most noticeable change is the extension of the rides layout to give each song more time to play out. But this to me highlights that the ride system isn't a good fit for this style of ride. They needed something that could stop and hold in each scene (think M&M's Runaway train). Instead the music starts at a set-piece but the boats continue on and the song plays out down empty corridors with mostly screen based content.

Also noticeabley lacking is any new songs. There's a few that could have been added from the original film that couldn't fit in EPCOTs version but would have been great scenes here. And not including "Into the Unknown" and "Show Yourself" from the sequel gives the ride a "10 years too late" feel.
Had they used a different ride system the filler scenes could have made space for the extra content and still given each song more time to play out.

Overall the ride is fine but I don't see it as a headliner. Considering that Paris will be getting the same ride, but over there it's the headliner of the studios parks redevelopment, it feels like a missed opportunity that more was not done.

Besides the ride Arendelle looks fantastic.
 
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Also a video of the new coaster:

From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlGSWdHd8tg


I get that it's a family coaster but wow, kind of underwhelming... dispatch on the video is at 2:20, past one static figure of some characters and up a lift hill, through a couple of turns, and into the break run by 3:07. Someone on Youtube clocks everything from the top of the lift hill to the brakes at 23 seconds.
 
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The dark ride is fine, but it's so odd that they have seemingly technically rebuilt Maelstrom to it's 80s framework, even down to a juddering chain lift hill. Disney are baffling to me sometimes.
 
Also a video of the new coaster:
From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlGSWdHd8tg


I get that it's a family coaster but wow, kind of underwhelming... dispatch on the video is at 2:20, past one static figure of some characters and up a lift hill, through a couple of turns, and into the break run by 3:07. Someone on Youtube clocks everything from the top of the lift hill to the brakes at 23 seconds.

The coaster is short, but If you take it for what it is (Hong Kong's Barnstormer) you could say it's the best themed kiddie coaster!
I have to at least give the Imagineers credit for giving a filler ride the same attention to detail as any other attraction. The only downside is they made it seem like a far more important attraction than it was ever meant to be.
 
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