News: Hong Kong Disneyland misses attendance forecasts

Posted at 12:09 PM EST (1709 GMT)

Dec. 18th, 2007 -- Tuesday Hong Kong Disneyland revealed their latest attendance figures and the Walt Disney Co. does not seem pleased with the results.

The theme park’s attendance for its second year of operation was 4-million-plus people, 23% less than last year and missing predictions for the park’s opening years.

Before opening in September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland had estimated 5.6 million patrons would visit the park in the first year, but only 5.2 million actually showed up.

"In the short term, we did not achieve the attendance targets for which we had hoped. We recognize that we need to bolster our numbers," Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Glendy Chu said in an e-mailed response.

The park has had other obstacles to deal with the past few years including an embarrassing incident during last year’s New Year holidays when the park had to shut its gates on tens of thousands of visitors to prevent a stampede.

There have been pressures from the government as well. Many representatives originally were opposed to construction of the world’s smallest Disneyland from the start.

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