Watch out for rude behavior at Hong Kong Disney Park

[Bob O]

I donj know if this was mentioned earlier, but since the Alveys are going to visit soon i thought this might be interesting. I found this on the web.

 

 

Ill-mannered mainlanders taking the Mickey out of Hong Kong Disneyland

 

Though Japan's already prickly relations with China didn't need to be enflamed any further, Shukan Post (12/16) -- one of the country's top-selling weeklies -- has come out with a goofy rant about the foul manners Chinese are displaying at Hong Kong Disneyland.

 

Running under the headline "Outcry at Hong Kong Disneyland over Chinese pissing and spitting everywhere," Post takes the Mickey out of mainlanders, who have made up 26 percent of the theme park's 1 million-plus visitors since it opened in September."Actually visiting Hong Kong Disneyland provides you with examples in all sorts of places of some pretty eye-popping behavior," the magazine writes.

 

Unlike Disney theme parks across the world, including Tokyo Disneyland, lines appear to mean little in the latest Magical Kingdom, where queue jumping is a given, the rag says.

 

Trash in the form of cigarette butts and discarded soda bottles is strewn throughout the park's sidewalks in such quantities that sanitation staff under strict orders to clean messes as soon as they appear can't keep up.

 

Hong Kong locals are just as flustered with their mainland brethren.

 

"Hong Kong was under British control for a long time, so the Chinese living in Hong Kong have at least a basic understanding of acceptable manners," a resident of the Fragrant Harbor city tells Shukan Post. "But Chinese from the mainland don't even know the existence of the word 'manners.' They have no custom of lining up. It's a waste of breath to tell them off."

 

Mickey's Philharmajic, a 3-D theater touted as one of the major attractions of Hong Kong Disneyland, has turned out to be a main source of souvenirs for mainlanders visiting the park, the weekly says, saying that they pocket the special glasses used to watch the movie instead of returning them at the end of the film as park operators ask all guests to do.

 

"These glasses are great souvenirs," a Chinese mainlander tells the weekly. "We're paying big money to get into this park, so I don't see why we should have to give them back."

 

Rest at the park is also an impossibility, apparently, with park benches frequently occupied by middle-aged men lying down to take a nap, "Chinese-style," according to the magazine.

 

Shukan Post quotes a Guangzhou daily telling stories of a Chinese mother who let her young son piddle in the pond below Sleeping Beauty's Castle, then sat by idly while he ran around the park without any pants on. When challenged, the mother apparently said she was hamstrung because her little boy couldn't hold on any longer.

 

Hong Kong Disneyland operators acknowledge there has been a bit of cultural friction."It's a fact that we have received complaints about bad-mannered guests since we opened in September," a park spokesman tells Shukan Post. "However, we have people from a variety of cultural backgrounds coming to the park, so it's understandable that there are all different types of behavior. We train out staff in dealing with this situation."

 

Birei Kin, a social commentator who claims to be well versed in Chinese culture, says China needs to change.

 

"China, especially the mainland, has a tendency to regard all actions in terms of whether they will bring a profit or loss. People live with the belief that obeying rules causes them to lose," the commentator tells Shukan Post. "Go to a toilet if you really want to see an example of ill manners. They don't flush and you've got urine and feces overflowing everywhere, but nobody is at all ashamed by it. Beijing is hosting the 2008 Olympics and I find it hard to see morals improving by then." (By Ryann Connell)

[DATman]

Poor HKDL

[radial]

yes, i'll back up Bob's post also with the link:

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/news//20051206p2g00m0dm020000c.html

[DenDen]

I read an article or post somewhere along the lines a while back about the poor conditions cause by the locals. Spooky!

[jarmor]

I think thats one of the main reasons that they are going for lol lol

[rosscoe]

I worked on a cruise boat out of Cairns ( Australia ) taking people to the Great Barrier Reef, the worst time of year for us was Chinese New Year.

 

Now not trying to offend anyone, but these people where pigs, the boat could have stayed at the dock all day cause they just wanted food, did not care about the reef it was all about the food and aftering eating all that food voimting came next.

 

What a way to spend your days, would hate to work at Disney Hong Kong, just for this reason alone..

[robbalvey]

I have to be honest, I witnessed the same stuff while working at Disneyland in CA. I probably picked about 10 pairs of Captain EO glassess of the tables every day.

 

--Robb "You get 30,000 of any people together in one place, you're going to have bad apples." Alvey

[dougr]

Sounds like the film business is learning-apparently if you go see Chicken Little in 3-D, they let you keep the glasses.

Wait a minute-when do you EVER NEED 3-D glasses except in a theater that lends you a pair?

Souvenir hunters make no sense sometimes.

I'm thinking this could be a reaction to a society that has people everywhere and you have to be very self-controlled. Bodily functions and basic rudeness appear to have been honed to a science. I'm sure the culture will improve with more contact with the outside world.

[mcjaco]

Although this sounds extreme, I'd say we have our fair share of pigs here too.

[CoasterEricHP]

I can't even tell you how many pairs of Spiderman/T3D glasses we would take away from guests on any given day while I worked at Dragons. Half the time they would just be wearing them around on their heads like the thought that they were pretty much stealing never even crossed their minds. Then we'd have lots of fun when we'd take them away and they would never understand why... rarely were they Chinese

 

Eric

[SharkTums]

^LOL!!!

 

At HHN we found a big stack of them at Dragons at the Express Entrance. Robb made himself look all official, swiped peoples express cards and handed out the 3D glasses to people letting them know that DD was now in 3D. EVERYONE bought it! It was hilarious!

[Imhotep]

^ah, so thats what that was all about!! when we met up with you robb handed me 3-d glasses and I didnt understand the joke.. I guess I should have got there earlier!

[CoasterEricHP]

LOL.. That's awesome. Thank god I dont work there anymore! I'd have hunted you down! Sounds like the typical staff at Dragons where Express is just let up to survival of the fittest.