HONG KONG — In one of the smoggiest, muggiest days of the year here, thousands of tourists from around the world turned out Monday for the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, the $3.2-billion theme park Walt Disney Co. hopes will establish a beachhead for its iconic brand in China's vast market.
The 320-acre park opened at 1 p.m., a time determined by an ancient Chinese system of harmonizing with nature. Ticket sales were limited to about half of the park's capacity of 30,000 to give breathing room to the hundreds of media members and VIPs, including Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong.
In dress rehearsals leading up to the opening, the park -- modeled on the original Disneyland but about a third its size -- was beset with complaints that near-full-capacity crowds resulted in excessive waits for rides and delays in ordering food.
Apart from the heat and lines that sometimes stretched for an hour or so, workers and visitors said the day went smoothly, unlike Disneyland's opening 50 years ago when the water fountains weren't working and about 30,000 visitors showed up, twice the number expected, because of counterfeit tickets.
Hong Kong native Raymond Luk was among the first customers to walk into the new park. "Today's my birthday," said the 31-year-old interior designer. "I want to take a photo with my girlfriend and Donald Duck."
Feng Shumu, an 8-year-old from Beijing, was pressed against the gate waiting to get in, holding the rails with his two hands like a prisoner behind bars. Asked about school, the boy turned to his mother, Cao Min, who said sheepishly, "I asked his teacher for a holiday."
During an opening ceremony, Zeng called Disney's new park an "eternal carnival for the Hong Kong people." He said Beijing was fully behind the park and Hong Kong's effort to draw investment and build its economy.
Departing Walt Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner uttered "Ni hao" -- a Mandarin greeting -- as he began the christening ceremony, then added a welcome in English and Cantonese, the local dialect.
Disney executives have talked in recent years of a second China Disneyland, most likely in Shanghai, but the plan faces considerable challenges.
Monday's visitors included lots of Disney neophytes, mostly from mainland China, as well as plenty of Disney loyalists who came from all over to compare Disneyland parks, buy pins and reminisce about days long gone.
