THE Walt Disney Company is poised to make its biggest push into China with the opening of its £1.8 billion Disneyland resort in Hong Kong, which the media conglomerate expects to attract almost six million visitors in its first year.

The park will open its doors on Monday after five years of construction, during which half of a bay on Lantau Island was filled in to accommodate traditional Disneyland scenery such as Snow White’s Castle and Main Street USA.

Disney hopes that the new park, only its third outside the United States, will provide it with a springboard for further investment in China, including a possible second Disneyland in Shanghai.

“This is a giant step in the direction of growing the company and all its Disney brands and businesses in this very populous region,” Robert Iger, Disney’s chief operating officer, said. He will take over as chief executive from Michael Eisner at the end of the month. “This is the biggest venture that any, certainly any Western media company has ever embarked on in this region,” he said.

Jay Rasulo, the head of Disney’s theme parks division, said that China “will become one of the largest tourist destinations in the world, and also one of the largest sources of tourists for the rest of the world. We’ve seen nearly a doubling of visitors to Hong Kong in the five years that we’ve been building the park.”

Although it is Disney’s smallest theme park, there are plans to double its size over the coming years.

Mr Rasulo said that Disney “has an ongoing dialogue with the central Government of China to make a whole plethora of Disney products available to the population, including films, TV and consumer products”. Mr Iger also said that Disney has been talking to the authorities in Shanghai about locating a park in the city.

Disney expects Hong Kong Disneyland to be a financial hit. The company believes that it will attract 5.6 million visitors in its first year, a third of which will come from mainland China.

The park is a joint venture deal between Disney and the Hong Kong Government signed in 1999. Hong Kong’s Government has paid HK$16.5 billion (£1.2 billion), including costs for reclaiming land and supporting infrastructure, and extended a HK$6.1 billion loan. Disney has committed HK$2.45 billion and yearly rent of HK$120 million.

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