On the third point, I agree. That's exactly what Martin Sklar, the original Imagineer, said about the Hong Kong Disneyland.

But, I'm not sure I agree with the thesis completely.

For one, the issue of Chinese taking pictures raised Disney's hackles, because they seemed unprepared for it.

I guess I'm saying that if they really thought the Chinese were the ones whose whims chose how the park was run, Disney should have done a little more research. All the scripts were written by Americans in Anaheim, and then taken to China , where they were interpreted and ''stylized'' by Cantonese and Mandarin speakers in Shanghai and in Hong Kong, according to an Imagineer I spoke to.

Seems like this guy was pitching for Disney, or his thesis, or your understanding of his thesis is not fully complete. Not that I am harping on you, HK Dave. I'm just sayin' is all...

Hi Doug, I think I may have mis-represented Geoffrey Fowler's thesis. From what I understood him saying, it seemed like their focus group research told them that Chinese visitors didn't want rides with the Monkey King or Mulan, they wanted the genuine Disney experience, which is why they felt compelled to bring over and re-create Anaheim as much as possible. But then already it seems as though they are having to change a lot of ways Disney is presented to the Chinese, simply because most Chinese haven't watched a Disney cartoon due to its having been blocked in China (although they may have seen it on T-shirts and such). The freedom of interpretation of Disney and its characters that provides the mainland consumers is forcing Disney into a lot of tweaks of its park to suit Chinese tastes. The fact that Chinese visitors aren't as interested in the rides as much as just photo opportunities is I think an interesting example.

Thanks for posting about this, Dave. IT sounds like it was an interesting talk.

I thought it was a very excellent talk. An amusing thing was that there was an employee from Disney in the audience, that perhaps was dismayed by this study that really put Disney's corporate practices under the microscope. He actually asked the final question to the speaker during the Q&A. It was, "Did you have a good time at the park?" Geoffrey Fowler answered, in a typical anthropologist style, that he was too busy observing to have a good time. But he said that while he enjoyed the space mountain ride, he really didn't think he'd be going back. He also mentioned that on two of his visits he followed a mainland kid and then two local teenagers around. The Chinese kid thought it was OK, but did not really associate well with the characters there beyond the picture taking element. The rides made the kid a little ill because he hadn't tried anything like it before.

The Hong Kong teens enjoyed the rides, but thought they were over too quickly. They also thought they were too expensive. They said next time they'd just go to Ocean Park and buy a new pair of shoes!

Fowler also mentioned that the Disneyland here, given its small size, is clearly just looking for first-time visitors, and will worry about repeat visitors later once they have gained the requisite confidence to expand the park.

It's kind of reassuring to know that what the papers have been reporting has been at least somewhat correct in an expert's eyes.

Here's the deal:

Disney in Hong Kong, from what experts say, will not give the government much money until 2010 or so, when Shanghai's park would open. Now, I ask you: this is just a test, isn't it? How can we be confident that Hong Kong's economically benefiting from this. I feel we cannot. And we should be dismayed.