Hong Kong Disneyland’s summer festivities set to enchant visitors from across the region
- World of Frozen has special celebrations for its first summer season, while a parade of Pixar characters includes water features to cool off
After announcing a strong fiscal year in 2023 and record-breaking earnings for the January-to-March period this year, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is determined to build on that success with a new line-up of activities, celebrations and experiences for the summer season, as the theme park seeks to draw in more tourists from across the border and overseas.
“According to our forecast, business this summer will be thriving,” says Sam Chan, director of marketing at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. “The financial results of the first quarter have set a great standard for us. We’re very much looking forward to and enthused about this summer holiday.”
One of the biggest keys to Hong Kong Disneyland’s confidence in its summertime business is World of Frozen, the first and largest themed land based on Disney Animation’s hit Frozen film franchise that opened last November.
World of Frozen’s first summer season
“World of Frozen has created a lot of buzz for Hong Kong Disneyland among different major markets. It has boosted the awareness of our park to an unprecedented high,” Chan says. “It’s one of the main reasons why some travellers include our park in their itineraries.”
She hopes that this immersive themed land, which brings the Frozen films’ kingdom of Arendelle to life, will continue to attract even more visitors over the next couple of months with the addition of some special seasonal offerings.
For its first summer, World of Frozen will celebrate the birthday of Queen Anna, one of the franchise’s main characters, from now until September 1.
Visitors can expect to see the citizens of Arendelle – played by Hong Kong Disneyland’s “cast members”, or employees – present different birthday surprises to Anna.
“If our guests visit World of Frozen in this period and spot Anna, they could join the fun as well,” says Ricco Leung, manager of park operations at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. “If your birthday falls within this period, you should come to celebrate your birthday with Anna.”
Another highlight at World of Frozen is Mossie, an original character created especially for this land. She is a baby troll who appears in the Arendelle Forest area and interacts with guests.
Other summertime happenings
Beyond World of Frozen, many more amusements and treats are being offered around the park during the summer months, ranging from new shows to seasonal dishes and themed merchandise.
Among them is the “Pixar Water Play Street Party!” parade, featuring characters from Pixar Animation Studio film franchises including Toy Story and Inside Out along with splashes of water to help guests keep cool. The character of Anger from Inside Out is making his Hong Kong Disneyland debut at this event, joining Joy and Sadness.
The theme park is also inviting fans of Duffy the Disney Bear – known as Mickey Mouse’s own teddy bear – and his friends to join in their “Friend-versary” celebrations over the summer.
Leung also notes: “We’ve added water elements to some of our outdoor shows, such as the Follow Your Dreams show at the Castle Stage and Adventure Is Out There!, to help our guests cool off in the hot weather.” The Adventure Is Out There! stage show is a refreshed version that adds Rapunzel and The Snuggly Duckling tavern from the Disney Animation film Tangled.
And for guests planning to stay overnight at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, they can choose to stay in a themed hotel room such as Mickey and Friends or Marvel, which are featured inside the renovated Disney’s Hollywood Hotel.
Appealing to different types of tourists
In addition to its brand-new offerings, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort finds it essential to devise specific, up-to-date strategies to encourage travellers to add the theme park to their vacation plans.
“Our guests have been changing,” says Leung, who has been part of Hong Kong Disneyland’s operations team since the theme park originally opened in 2005. “From asking us what to experience and how to tackle getting around the park a few years ago, to strategising their own game plan today, it’s really different now.”
This is especially true for tourists from mainland China. To appeal to this group of visitors, Chan says it is crucial to get the latest messages and offerings across as quickly and as thoroughly as possible.
Hong Kong Disneyland works with social media influencers to share ways to explore the park through various in-depth “city walks”, or how to achieve as much as possible within the least amount of time in what has been dubbed a “special forces” style of travelling. Both of these approaches are among the current travel trends in mainland China, driven by posts on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Douyin, WeChat and Weibo.
“When planning marketing strategies for the Greater Bay Area, we’d like to permeate their daily lives, reminding them that we are easily accessible within their living circle,” Chan says. “For example, we worked with the Shenzhen Metro and designed a Duffy-themed train car during spring.”
International travellers, however, tend to take other approaches to exploring Hong Kong Disneyland.
“Southeast Asian and overseas tourists often have different ways of enjoying their day in the park. They may enjoy their day a bit more spontaneously,” Chan explains. “Mainland Chinese guests may often have a more structured strategy – they might want to take the most beautiful photo at the World of Frozen, while overseas travellers might just want to check out the World of Frozen, as they have heard about it.”
For travellers without a specific itinerary in mind, Chan believes it is important to highlight the major attractions and offerings within each area of the park, and offer a choice of different packages for planning a visit.
In line with that strategy, Hong Kong Disneyland has been touring shopping malls around Southeast Asia and some other parts of Asia to showcase its World of Frozen experiences to potential travellers.
“[Such strategies] will hopefully help them grasp what we have to offer and establish their desire to visit more quickly,” Chan says.