Under control: Commissioner for Tourism Eva Cheng announces transport and crowd-management measures for the phased opening of Hong Kong Disneyland.

Comprehensive transport and crowd-management measures have been formulated for the phased opening of Hong Kong Disneyland and associated facilities in Penny's Bay from early August.

Commissioner for Tourism Eva Cheng said today the arrangements aim to ensure a smooth and well co-ordinated opening.

"The idea of a phased opening is to give the theme park, public transport operators and relevant departments a familiarisation period to adjust their operation and services," she said.

Three phases for opening

The opening will be divided into three phases. From early August to mid-August, the Disneyland Resort Line is scheduled to run between Sunny Bay and Disneyland Resort Stations. A section of the Park Promenade linked to the line will be opened.

From August to September 11, all public facilities at Penny's Bay, including public roads, the Park Promenade, the Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre, the Disneyland Resort Public Transport Interchange, the Disneyland car and coach parks and the Disneyland Resort Pier will begin operation. Franchised buses and taxis will also start service.

From September 12, the theme park and hotels will be open to the public.

To ensure both the public and visitors are well informed of the operation sequence, communication channels have been set up by relevant departments and operators.

Info channels

Visitors can obtain information for planning their trips by visiting a designated website, the Transport Department's website, and the Hong Kong Disneyland website.

Enquiry telephone lines will also be provided by the department and Hong Kong Disneyland. Information booklets, TV and  radio commercials will be launched in August.

Ms Cheng said the familiarisation period will last for more than one month. She urged people to plan their visit, and make good use of communication channels to gather important information, such as the new transport services and opening hours.

Transport arrangements

A newly built Penny's Bay Highway will connect to the North Lantau Highway. The Disneyland Resort Line, franchised buses, taxis, non-franchised buses and cross-boundary coach services will start operation to tie in with the opening of the park.

The Guangdong and Hong Kong governments will issue 60 quotas for cross-boundary coaches operating directly between the Mainland and Hong Kong Disneyland via Lok Ma Chau.

A joint command centre will be set up at Penny's Bay Police Post with representatives from the Police, Tourism Commission, Transport Department, MTRC and Disneyland to monitor activities in Penny's Bay and co-ordinate contingency measures.

Police will co-ordinate the joint command centre. To cope with the anticipated workload, nine Police Constable posts have been created. They will be responsible for manning the police post and mobile patrols.

Mainland visitors are advised to use the Lo Wu control point instead of Lok Ma Chau to enter or leave Hong Kong to avoid long waiting times. Visitors should avoid entering Hong Kong through Lo Wu Control Point during the busy hours of 8-10am.

Ticket-sale arrangements

Hong Kong Disneyland today announced its ticket-sale arrangements. Visitors can purchase tickets online through the Hong Kong Disneyland website, the two Disneyland resort hotels, and at the ticket office at the Hong Kong Disneyland's main gate.

They can also buy tickets at Disneyland's group-sale office for purchases of 25 or more tickets, while overseas guests can buy tickets through tour packages with travel agencies.

From July 1, visitors can begin purchasing tickets online through the Hong Kong Disneyland website. Tickets are available for the first three months of operations. People can purchase up to ten tickets per credit card per day.

Tickets purchased on-line can be collected through the automatic machines or the tickets windows located at the theme park's main entrance. Visitors can redeem their tickets by showing the same credit card that they have used for the on-line purchase.

Visitors will be able to purchase tickets from the main gate's ticket windows on the date of their visit based of the availability.

Hong Kong Disneyland will join the Community Chest to launch Disneyland Community Day on September 4. Tickets at weekend prices will be available online for public purchase at the Hong Kong Disneyland website from June 28.