Expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland Approved

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The Walt Disney Company announced the approval of the Hong Kong Disneyland Expansion Plan, which will add three new areas to the park: "Grizzly Trail" and "Mystic Point," which will be exclusive to the park for five years after opening, and "Toy Story Land," which will be exclusive in Asia for five years after its opening.

Disney will invest about $448 million in the construction and swap its outstanding loans totaling about $353 million into additional equity in a joint venture company, Hong Kong International Theme Parks. The Hong Kong government will retain the majority ownership, however with 52 percent in the joint venture and The Walt Disney Company would own the other 48 percent.

Financial Secretary, John C Tsang commented that, “Hong Kong Disneyland, as an important tourism infrastructure, has brought substantial economic benefits to Hong Kong. With the proposed expansion and realignment of the financial arrangements, we believe that Hong Kong Disneyland will generate streams of benefits to our tourism and related sectors, further reinforcing the tourism industry’s contribution as a major pillar of Hong Kong’s economy.”

The new offerings are expected to open in phases over a five-year period. Work is expected to commence later this year, spurring the local Hong Kong economy by creating more than 3,700 jobs in terms of man-years in Hong Kong from 2009 to 2014, including 850 expected within the first year of construction. After the completion of the expansion, the project will continue to serve as a major economic driver with Hong Kong Disneyland adding approximately 600 new positions, and bringing the total number of resort Cast Members to more than 5,500.