Toy Story comes to life in Hong Kong
Good news for Disneyland fans. Toy Story Land opened last Friday and two more themed areas are now under construction and scheduled to open over the next two years. To find out about the ideas behind the new projects, Young Post spoke to Joe Lanzisero, the Creative Senior Vice-President of Walt Disney Imagineering.
Lanzisero has been working for Disney for the past three decades; he joined the Imagineering division in the late 1980s. He is the key person in this division which masterminds new creative works for Disneyland parks. The 55-year-old American graduated from the California Institute of the Arts; many of his former classmates have also become big names in creative industries. Famous film director Tim Burton is one of them.
Lanzisero and his team were responsible for building Toy Story Land at Hong Kong Disneyland. He came here every other month during its construction to get everything ready, from hardware to software, such as the synchronisation of the music with the rides. 'Everyone has a 'kidden' side even if they are no longer in their childhood,' he says.
When planning Toy Story Land, he imagined it as a backyard for the main character Andy in the Toy Story movies. 'What would Andy do when he wants to have fun and play with his toys in the backyard? We imagined and enlarged the scale of the toys.'
When visitors walk into Toy Story Land, they suddenly feel like they have become much smaller.
Toy Story Land is for visitors of all ages. So, besides the two most thrilling new attractions - RC Racer and Toy Soldier Parachute Drop - the designers also created Slinky Dog Spin, a more gentle ride for the very young.
Lanzisero suggests you take a look at the view when you are at the top of the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop. 'This is the only game in the park that elevates our visitors up into the sky,' he says. 'You will see the IFC and other buildings in Central together with ICC on the Kowloon side.'
Lanzisero and his colleagues also pay attention to the cultural and practical needs of the places where the parks are located. 'Even though we are working on the same themes, there are unique designs for different Disneylands. For example, we have built more shelter for Toy Story Land in Hong Kong, so our visitors will not get wet if it rains or be boiled under the bright sun in summer. We also considered other weather factors like typhoons when we built this new theme land,' he says.
Lanzisero revealed there will be more surprises and fun for park visitors in the coming two years. His team is working on Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point. These two themed areas will only exist at Hong Kong Disneyland.
'These two theme lands are created by my team and are not based on any movies,' he says. 'In the past, the Pirates of the Caribbean theme land was also created from imagination and its success and great response led to the making of a film afterwards. Maybe we will have films for Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point, too - who knows!'
