Well, I was going to dress up as one of these two today but the weather put a “damper” on that plan. So I thought I’d just share some pics instead.
I’m having a hard time realizing the end has come. I had so much fun in this class. (I mean, I don’t think any of my other classes ever fed me as much!) And these presentations, ours were way better than some of the theses I saw (but not Steve’s — your senior thesis presentation rocked!) From Wang Shuo to Wal-Mart and Kung Fu to prostitutes, we had it all! Everybody really did a great job.
Good luck to all no matter where you end up and have a fantastic summer. But let’s not say good-bye. Let’s just say :
Well, I couldn’t find the actual picture of the sign at the admission gate of HKDL, but straight from the website (www.hongkongdisneyland.com), here are the prices of admission. I believe Dr. Fernsebner said the ratio was 8 to 1.
One-Day Tickets Prices
Adult
Child
(3 – 11)
Senior
(65 or above)
Regular Day
HK$ 295
HK$ 210
HK$ 170
Peak Day
HK$ 350
HK$ 250
HK$ 200
Special Day
HK$ 350
HK$ 250
HK$ 200
Annual Passes Prices
Value Annual Pass
HK$ 650
HK$ 460
HK$ 370
Deluxe Annual Pass
HK$ 1,300
HK$ 930
HK$ 740
Premium Annual Pass
HK$ 1,800
HK$ 1,250
HK$ 1,000
Children under 3 years old are welcomed into the park free of charge.
Tickets prices listed above are in Hong Kong dollars, and prices are subject to change.
I just wanted to share because I”m a proud mommy. This is my son Bryon (15 yrs old) and his stunt partner Victoria “Pixie” (12 yrs old) at our last competition of the season. They did so good and won first place in the junior coed stunt group division. )
Below is an excerpt from an email conversation with Eric Chow, a manager at one of the stores in HKDL. Eric has provided me with some of the most useful information for my project. However, I invite all to visit my blog to view the myriad of other primary sources – various pics, videos, HKDL press releases, and HK residents survey results – that I have posted. The most interesting are videos of the entrance line, angry ticket holders, and the Chinese New Year show. They all help to give an understanding to the wonder that is HKDL.
Why exactly do the managers have a hard time with making the guest, and the employees under them, happy?
>>> The most important thing is that most of them don’t believe in Disney tradition & culture. They only believe what they experienced & the HK or Chinese tradition. They don’t believe nor agree that making the guests happy be the first priority in the park. They only focus on how to make the sales volume bigger & bigger ! They always push the hosts ‘ hard sell ‘ to the guests but need to keep the show quality simultaneously. Its’ really difficult for the hosts to do so. Most of teh hosts would like to follow the Disney way, but what the managers require is totally opposite. Finally, the wired ‘ disney culture ‘ appears in HKDL.
-How do you feel about the Disney culture?
>>> I of course beieve in Disney culture. May be it’s really can not fits anywhere but Disney exists in the world over 50 years, there must be something they do is right ! And that’s what HK prople has never done before. Why don’t we try to learn & follow ?? If the Disney culture doesn’t work here, the CEO level can’t insist to keep on because Disney is business , is a commercial enterprise … making the company bigger & bigger is a ‘ must ‘ ! Maybe we have to modify it to a new HK Disney way. It’s a pity that the Disney culture ruins without a real, thorough & serious ‘ kick-off ‘.
Well, well, well . . . can you believe we are near the end of the semester?! I was going through the blogroll, reading posts and comments, and I started thinking how much this particular class has impacted me. (okay, no suck up noises!)
Seriously though, my entire time at Mary Wash has centered on American history, particularly the 1860s-1930s. I never stepped outside that realm until this class – and I’m so glad I did. I’ve studied how America industrialized and became a capitalistic society. Now I get to see those reforms live and breathe in China. I would have never looked beyond the media to understand that change if not for this class.
I think it was Cassie who first noted how the Sue Williams documentary opened her eyes to how little she knew about present-day China. I couldn’t agree more. My knowledge up until this point has been that China is communist and the US is angry that they have nuclear bombs. And I really didn’t care because international politics is not my cup of tea. But I do care about the lives of everyday people and I had no idea how much unemployment, poverty, and corruption the Chinese people faced. When America industrialized, it was the immigrants who primarily faced the poor jobs, poor wages, and poor housing. In China’s reform, it is those born and raised in China that suffer. Then I wonder, if the Cultural Revolution was inspired by the growing gap between the haves and have-nots, could China’s present-day situation inspire a similar revolution?
I know that I will definitely be more attentive to the progress of China as it grows and settles into capitalism merged with socialism from now on. Perhaps my buddy Eric Chow from HKDL will swap places with me for a few weeks so I can actually visit China. But I know I shall not eat the peaches.
I saw this when logging onto hotmail. Made me think of Steve’s project. )
Jackie Chan Launches Chinese TV Show Apr 7, 9:23 AM EST
The Associated Press
BEIJING — Jackie Chan on Saturday launched a Chinese TV competition aimed at scouting out new action movie talent, saying more than 100,000 people have already signed up for a shot at kung fu stardom.
“A lot of actors are good at fighting but (their style) is not beautiful,” the Chinese star and stunt man, who turned 53 Saturday, said in Beijing.
“If you can incorporate dance with an ability to perform kung fu, that would be better,” Chan told an audience that included a selected 20 of the show’s contestants and some Chinese celebrities.
The TV show, whose English title is “The Disciple,” is jointly produced by Chan and Beijing TV Station, known as BTV.
The show will run from March to October, with 10 winners appearing in a movie to be produced by Chan, organizers said. The movie will be released before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Chan said.
I just heard back from my other contact, Jeff, who was on the opening team at HKDL and get this – he checked up on me! He went onto the UMW website and saw my picture under scholarship winners. Isn’t that wild?! I had sent him a list of questions and he replied by asking me if I was Chinese because my questions sounded like someone from Hong Kong. He said he started to answer and then deleted saying that if I hadn’t lived in Hong Kong, it would be very hard to understand the culture. I told him that was a big part of my research – to understand. So I am hoping now that he is satisfied that I am valid, he will go ahead and send me some info.
I just keep finding more and more uses for this class. I was looking for a dress for the graduation formal and I found this guy on eBay who makes dresses out of Shanghai. I emailed him some questions and ended with “xie xie.” He wrote me back right away and was so excited that I said thank you in Chinese. It made me feel pretty cool.
Eric, an employee of HKDL, replied back to my list of questions this morning and his information is fantastic! He gave me his perception of the Disney culture fitting into Hong Kong culture and his thoughts on why park attendance has not meet expectations. He clearly loves working at HKDL but is not afraid to give me his opinion on Disney in China. AND, he gave me the answer to my most sought after personal question – Do the princesses speak Chinese? Stay tuned . . .
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