Record Crowds Visit Hong Kong Disneyland to Celebrate the Chinese New Year; First-of-its-Kind Park Attracts Crowds from Throughout Asia.

BURBANK, Calif. -- Hong Kong Disneyland (NYSE:DIS) has proven to be an extremely popular destination at which to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The park welcomed sell-out crowds this week, including Hong Kong residents and many others from mainland China and around Asia who have traveled to the region to celebrate and greet the Year of the Dog.

The number of people who wanted to visit Hong Kong Disneyland was so great, in fact, that Thursday marked the fourth consecutive day during the New Year festivities that the park recorded sell-out crowds. On Wednesday and Thursday, the number of guests allowed into the park had to be limited in order to preserve the quality atmosphere and experience. On Friday, Hong Kong Disneyland was able to accommodate all visitors to the park.

"Holiday periods are extremely popular times at all of our parks around the world, and that has certainly been the case with Hong Kong Disneyland," said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "This is our first Chinese New Year, and we have experienced unprecedented demand -- particularly from mainland Chinese, who comprised approximately 70 percent of total daily attendance over the first four days of the holiday.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to accommodate everyone who wanted to visit our park during the Chinese New Year -- and we regret that anyone may have been inconvenienced," added Rasulo. "Based on our experience this week, we'll go back and make sure our ticketing policies better reflect the heavy demand around peak holiday periods."

Hong Kong Disneyland has taken a number of steps to accommodate the high guest demand during the Chinese New Year. Park hours have been extended, and Hong Kong Disneyland is in continuous contact with travel providers to help coordinate their groups' trips to the park.

In addition, the park's current ticketing option provides enhanced flexibility and allows guests to return to the park at another time within six months from the date of purchase. Guests this week who said they wouldn't be able to return within six months and requested a refund, were given refunds for tickets purchased.

According to resort surveys taken during this week's festivities, guests at Hong Kong Disneyland rated their experience highly. Of those guests surveyed, 90% rated the overall live entertainment experience positively, saying their experience was good, very good or excellent. Similarly, 84% responded positively when asked if they intended to visit the park again; 83% rated the overall park atmosphere positively; and 88% rated positively the friendliness and courtesy of cast members.

"We listen carefully to our guests and adjust our operations based on their feedback and experience," said Bill Ernest, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Hong Kong Disneyland. "We also constantly evaluate travel patterns and seasonality. We anticipated that there would be high demand during the Chinese New Year -- but we did not expect the unprecedented number of tourists from mainland China who were not traveling as part of a group tour."

Each night during the New Year festivities, the park fills with the music of drum rolls, cymbals and gongs and a wave of bright colors as dragons, lions and musicians dance in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

During the ceremony, selected guests are invited to "dot the eyes" of the three lions, which brings them to life, as dragons dance to welcome the New Year.

"We are pleased that guests who visit and experience Hong Kong Disneyland come away happy and satisfied," said Ernest. "Our top priority is to continue to bring safe, quality family entertainment to guests from all over the world. We think we have achieved that."