“Being a respected global citizen isn’t just good for our employees and the communities in which we operate, it is critical to the growth and success of our business,” said Robert A. Iger, Disney President and CEO. “Our next step is to build upon our existing programs and initiatives by clarifying our commitments and expanding our efforts to track and measure our progress.”

Highlights of the 2010 Report include:

The interactive multimedia report, now available online only at www.disney.com/citizenship2010, includes comprehensive coverage of eight key areas: family entertainment, inspiring kids and communities, nature conservation, environment, community, workplaces, supply chain, and human rights. An interactive map provides insights into Disney’s activities around the world. The report follows the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

The citizenship report anchors a broader suite of publications. Six additional reports provide information on local impacts of our Parks & Resorts segment.

Ranking the top 25 parks worldwide, the top 8 spots went to Disney Parks, with number one being — with no surprise — the Magic Kingdom with an annual attendance of about 17.2 million, a relatively minor increase over 2008. Ten of Disney’s theme parks ranked in the top 25, the only absentee being the Walt Disney Studios at the Disneyland Paris Resort.

The Disneyland Resort saw the largest percentage in attendance increase with Disneyland gaining 8% to 15.9 million guests and Disney California Adventure with a whopping 9.5% increase to slightly over 6 million.

Conversely, the Tokyo Disney Resort saw a slight decrease in attendance over 2008 but as we pointed out earlier, 2008′s increase was due primarily to the Resort’s 25th anniversary and, in fact, 2009 was Tokyo Disneyland’s second best year ever in attendance.

Arguably the best news, however, comes from Hong Kong Disneyland, which — despite highly publicized troubles — is closing the gap on perennial rival Ocean Park. With only 200K visitors separating the two in 2009, Ocean Park’s attendance dipped by 4.6% while Hong Kong Disneyland’s actually grew 2%.

When further broken down into geographic regions, all six North American Disney Parks take the top spots while Disneyland Paris takes the #1 spot in Europe and Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea take the top two spots for Asia.

The report also covers water parks around the globe in which Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, both located at the Walt Disney World Resort, commanded the top two spots with virtually zero change in attendance over last year. In North America, Sea World’s Aquatica and Universal’s Wet’n'wild took the following two spots.

For more information, you can access the report directly here. Note that attendance figures are not reported directly by the theme parks and are estimated based on several factors and formulas.

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To celebrate a significant step in the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland, a groundbreaking ceremony was held today at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. John Tsang, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, and Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts officiated the ceremony with representatives from the Government, The Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong community in attendance.

The ceremony represents a major milestone in the Resort’s expansion plan. The expansion will bring the total number of attractions, entertainment and interactive experiences at the Park to more than 100, create 3,700 jobs during the construction phase and 600 new full-time jobs after expansion.

“Today marks the beginning of another exciting phase for Hong Kong Disneyland,” said Mr Rasulo. “The new themed areas will showcase the best in creativity, technology and story-telling. The planned attractions and rides will position our youngest Disney theme park for future growth and success.”
Mr. Tsang said that a larger park with more attractions will continue to draw the crowds and provide even more fun and excitement for visitors.

“Together with the magic of an expanded Hong Kong Disneyland, I am confident that Hong Kong will continue to be a premier destination for our friends of all ages from all corners of the globe,” he added.
Expansion work will begin immediately on the primary infrastructure and road work that will support the construction of the three themed areas.

“Our entire team is excited to be part of expanding the magic at Hong Kong Disneyland,” said Andrew Kam, Managing Director of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. “This expansion will enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness in the international tourism sector and allow us to contribute further to the local economy and labor market.”

Two of the three themed areas, “Grizzly Gulch” and “Mystic Point,” will be exclusive to HKDL for the first five years after their respective openings. The third, “Toy Story Land,” will be exclusive within Asia for the first five years after opening.

Also officiating at the opening ceremony were Rita Lau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development; Yvonne Choi, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Commerce, Industry and Tourism); Joey Lam, Acting Commissioner for Tourism; Jim Hunt, Executive Vice-President/CFO of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts; and Bill Ernest, President and Managing Director, Asia of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

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Financial Secretary, Mr. John C. Tsang commented that, “HKDL, as an important tourism infrastructure, has brought substantial economic benefits to Hong Kong. With the proposed expansion and realignment of the financial arrangements, we believe that HKDL would rise up to the keen competition in the region on the tourism front, attracting more family visitors from round the world. This will generate streams of benefits to our tourism and related sectors, further reinforcing the tourism industry’s contribution as a major pillar of Hong Kong’s economy.”

“We are pleased that the financial agreement relating to the HKDL expansion has been approved and we are eager to begin work on this exciting new chapter for Hong Kong Disneyland,” said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. “This substantial investment represents our continued commitment to and confidence in Hong Kong Disneyland and solidifies our partnership with the Hong Kong government helping assure the resort’s long-term success.”

He continued, “This expansion will further enhance HKDL’s position as a world-class family tourist destination, provide immediate and long-lasting benefits to Hong Kong and add unique and thrilling new experiences for our Guests.”

The new offerings, designed to significantly add to the overall Guest experience at HKDL, are expected to open in phases over a five year period. Work is expected to commence later this year, spurring the local Hong Kong economy by creating more than 3,700 jobs in terms of man-years in Hong Kong from 2009 to 2014, including 850 expected within the first year of construction. After the completion of the expansion, the project will continue to serve as a major economic driver with HKDL adding approximately 600 new positions, and bringing the total number of HKDL Cast Members to more than 5,500.

Two of the three new themed areas, “Grizzly Trail” and “Mystic Point,” will be exclusive to HKDL for the first five years after their respective openings. The third, “Toy Story Land,” will be exclusive within Asia for the first five years after opening.

Under the approved plan and current business projections, TWDC would contribute approximately HK$6.25 billion in new capital and debt conversion and the Hong Kong Government would convert a like amount in debt principal and

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With attendance falling short of targets, the government has been seeking ways to boost the number of visitors in the long term, given the threat from a rival Disney theme park planned for Shanghai.

Hong Kong will convert a significant amount of its HK$6.89 billion outstanding loan to the park into equity, while Walt Disney will invest HK$3.5 billion to help finance the construction cost and also convert its outstanding HK$2.76 billion loan to the theme park into equity.

After Disney’s new investment and Hong Kong’s debt-to-equity swap, Hong Kong’s stake in the park will fall to 52 percent from 57 percent.

(Reporting by Nerilyn Tenorio and Alison Leung; Editing by Dan Lalor)

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said Hong Kong would not invest more capital in the joint venture but would convert a substantial part of its loan to the project into equity.

After Disney’s new investment and the government’s debt to equity swap, Hong Kong will see its stake in the underperforming park fall to 52 percent from 57 percent.

“If there is no expansion, the attraction of the theme park will fall over time, government economist Helen Chan said at a media briefing to announce details of the expansion.

The Hong Kong government desperately needs the expansion to boost flagging attendance, with a much larger rival Disneyland expected to be built in Shanghai in 2014 that could draw much visitor traffic from the burgeoning mainland China market.

“To help deleverage the joint venture the government will convert a substantial part of its loan to equity, retaining a balance of not less than HK$1 billion,” the government said in a statement.

The expansion, which will cost about HK$3.6 billion, will include 30 new attractions and three new theme areas, and will see the total area of Hong Kong Disneyland increase by 23 percent over five years.

The total net economic benefit of the expanded theme park over 40 years would range from HK$64.7 billion to HK$117.3 billion, the government said in a statement.

Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary John Tsang traveled to Los Angeles in May, where he met senior Disney executives. The trip is seen to have paved the way for the breakthrough after Disney earlier said it would stall any expansion amid the credit crunch.

Disney earlier indicated it would likely invest more capital in Hong Kong Disneyland and allow the Hong Kong government to convert its loans to equity to maintain its majority share of the theme park, a source involved in their talks told Reuters earlier.

(Reporting by James Pomfret / Editing by Chris Lewis)

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If Disney and Hong Kong’s government, which now owns 57 percent of the underperforming and much-maligned resort, can close a deal, it could pave the way for an expansion that is estimated will cost HK$3 billion ($387 million) and boost flagging attendance.

(Reporting by James Pomfret and Gina Keating in Los Angeles; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Disney and the Hong Kong government have been embroiled in protracted discussions over financing for a second phase of the world’s smallest Disneyland which could cost a reported HK$3 billion ($387 million).

Opened in 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland has been criticized for being far too small to attract repeat visitors despite its proximity to mainland China. Visitor number projections failed to reach initial bullish predictions, and the Chinese tourist market has since been hit by the economic slump.

Disney meanwhile has signed a framework agreement with authorities in Shanghai to build a park there.

The meeting between Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang and Disney on Friday in Los Angeles follows Disney’s decision last month to put the expansion on hold.

The involvement of such a senior Hong Kong official underscores the importance the government sets on getting negotiations back on track.

“We hope we can maintain positive engagement with Disney on the matter, but it’s hard to predict whether there’ll be a breakthrough after the meeting,” said a government source cited in a report by the South China Morning Post.

In March, Disney said it would put the expansion plans on ice and fire about 30 staff dubbed “Imagineers” who had helped conceptualize and plan the Hong Kong expansion.

“Disney wants the (Hong Kong) government to put in some of the (financing) loan, but the government can’t do it. It’s a very sensitive issue,” a well-placed source close to officials involved in the talks told Reuters.

“Disney’s trying to drive a hard bargain (with Hong Kong) and Shanghai’s an ace in the hole.”

(Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Burbank, Calif. USA — April 16, 2009 — The TEA/ERA Attraction Attendance Report for 2008 is now posted on the TEA and ERA websites. It reveals 2008 visitation totals for top theme parks and waterparks worldwide.

The report summary is included here (see below). To access the full report including attendance charts, visit:

TEA (http://www.teaconnect.org/etea/TEAERA2008.pdf) (Themed Entertainment Association)

ERA (http://www.era.aecom.com) (Economics Research Associates, an AECOM Company)

2008 TEA/ERA Attraction Attendance Report Summary

Essential information for the attractions industry

“The numbers provided by the TEA/ERA Attraction Attendance Report are a resource that will help us all to work better and smarter in 2009 and to plan wisely for 2010,” says Themed Entertainment Association President Steve Thorburn of Thorburn Associates.

“Theme park and amusement park operators, developers, vendors, consultants, designers, and others in the visitor attractions industry need good information to build their businesses and make balanced decisions – now more than ever,” says Thorburn. “The data and analyses in this Report are also relied upon by journalists, and closely watched by parks enthusiasts.”

The TEA/ERA Attraction Attendance Report identifies the top commercial theme parks and waterparks around the world and reflects their performance in 2008. Global attendance data is broken down by geographic region, by chain and by type of venue. This vital report is issued annually and jointly produced by the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) – the leading international trade alliance for the creators of compelling experiences and places – and ERA (Economics Research Associates) – a top international consulting firm providing economic analysis for the entertainment and leisure industry worldwide.

Some key figures and information from the report

(All figures are for calendar year 2008 unless otherwise indicated.)

122.7 million: Total visits to the top 20 parks in North

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In North America, Magic Kingdom (#1) remained steady at approximately 17,063,000 after its record breaking performance in 2007; Epcot (#3) also remained steady at 10,935,000; Disney’s Hollywood Studios (#4) saw the largest percentage increase of 1% for an attendance total of 9,608,000; and Disney’s Animal Kingdom (#5) set an attendance record of 9,540,000 (an increase of .5%)

Conversely, the two parks at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim saw attendance drop on a larger scale. Disneyland (#2) saw a 1% drop to a total of 14,721,000 while Disney’s California Adventure, which is currently receiving a major overhaul, dropped a whopping 2% to 5,566,000.

Overall, the Disney parks outperformed their local competitors, with Disney Parks bettering other parks on both coasts save for Disney’s California Adventure (which was bested by Universal Studios Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando).

Over in Hong Kong, mainstay Ocean Park’s attendance did outnumber Hong Kong Disneyland’s, but HKDL saw an incredible 7.9% increase in attendance with about 500,000 separating the two.

Tokyo Disneyland had a record breaking year with both parks seeing an increase in visitors as did both parks in Disneyland Paris.

About the numbers

ERA obtains the figures used to create this report through a variety of sources, including statistics furnished directly by the operators, historical numbers, financial reports, the investment banking community and local tourism organizations, among others. The global market is studied as a whole, and each of its four main regions are also studied separately: North America, Mexico/Latin America, Europe/Middle East and Asia/Pacific Rim. There is also a table of the top waterparks in the world and in the United States, and of the top global chain operators.

To be included in the study, a facility in general must be gated (entry ticket required). North American parks must have annual visits above one million. To be included on the top chains list, a chain operator must have theme parks in its portfolio. External and internal factors such as development, pricing, customer service, weather, demographics,

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