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...billion-dollar theme park. It's 2 p.m. on Sunday, a peak hour for family fun, but Hong Kong's Magical Kingdom is a little short on enchanted subjects. The fifth branch of the Happiest Place on Earth has been criticized for being too small and offering too few rides, but the The Walt Disney Company hopes to inject a little fairy dust into the place by adding a hitherto missing ingredient: the iconic "It's A Small World" ride - a boat tour through an air-conditioned world of singing and dancing dolls sporting Disney's idea of their country...
...feature of all Disneyland parks except Hong Kong - until now - the "Small World" ride debuted at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. And it exemplified the optimistic post-World War II attitude of inclusivity and global understanding that drove the creation of such institutions as the United Nations, although from the perspective of a victorious and magnanimous industrialized West. Having spent many hours on the ride in my California youth, I couldn't help but wonder how Disney would translate the message of "Small World" in an era so profoundly different - particularly at a theme park whose desired...
...company's answer to the challenge of updating and translating "It's a Small World" appears to lie in improved special effects and cross-promotional branding. As the Hong Kong ride's water propulsion system nudged our craft past scenes familiar from my childhood - the Taj Mahal, the rainforest, the singing mermaids - it became clear that the basic concept and signature, blocky 1960s motifs of Disney artist Mary Blair had been retained. The Hong Kong sets look more vibrant thanks to lighting techniques, while a more sophisticated sound system belts out "it's a world of hopes...
...Still, to anyone familiar with the Disneyland experience elsewhere, the Hong Kong facility has its advantages: In Tomorrowland, the wait-time to get onto the park's single thrill ride, Space Mountain, hovered at around five minutes - a kid's fantasy, even if that's a company's nightmare. Kyle Smith, a casino performer in the nearby gambling mecca of Macau, waits for his friends near the ride's entrance. "I've been away from the States, so having this familiar place is nice," says the 24-year-old, visiting for the third time in less than a year...
Your best pick up line: Would you like to give me a naked piggyback ride...