Three years after its opening in September 2005 Hong Kong Disneyland had yet to gather sufficient momentum to catapult its attendance rate to a satisfactory level.

Three years after its opening in September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland had yet to gather sufficient momentum to catapult its attendance rate to a satisfactory level. Despite high expectations of it as a cash-cow tourist attraction, things had turned rocky, with a series of negative media coverage both before and after the launch. The park suffered a major blow after a ticketing hiccup during the Chinese New Year in February 2006, when many mainland tourists with valid tickets were barred from entering due to overcrowding, causing a chaotic scene in front of the TV news cameras.