spaces really do need people – hong kong update 4.
the overall lack of crowds at hong kong disneyland made for an unusual visit—at times the park felt like a ghost town, abandoned and eerily quiet; almost as if the majority of the guests were heading home for the day, and i had somehow eluded detection and had stayed behind to explore on my own.
this is not a comment on the park’s popularity, per say—because of the oppressive humidity and oft-rain showers, most of the summer remains an off-season time for the resort; i was also spending my time there during the middle of the work week.
if it had visited during the fall and winter’s peak tourist season—or worse, during the chinese new year (when even the wait for fast food is nearly an hour)—the experience would have been markedly different.
at first i was delighted; hong kong disneyland seemed like mine alone to enjoy. yet this quickly wore off, and i began to realize that the crowd dynamic is a very strong component of the thematic experience.
without a population, main street U.S.A. comes off as just another movie set sitting idle, awaiting filming.
similarly, the lack of cues on nearly every attraction (i rode space mountain five times in a row in less than an hour) was a novelty that soon lost its luster.
there simply wasn’t enough time in just five minutes per attraction to adjust to each new thematic environment. also, without waiting, there is no anticipation built up before each new stimulation; after a short time, every new sight, sound or smell blended together into one long, bland buffet.
a buffet in which everything seems to have been siting under the heat lamp all day. like a restaurant with a long wait (”something must be good in there!”) draws an even longer one, an empty restaurant excites and invites no takers.
thematic environments are most effective in an interactive social context; they are, despite my suspicions, better when somewhat crowded with bodies. not only does the constant flow of kinetic energy add to the liveliness of the designs, but the presence of a community inhabiting the spaces gives them an added touch of reality.
even if this crowd is constantly posing with cameras, eating and drinking, and chasing enthusiastic children—the dynamic is similar to any heavily visited site; tourist behavior is pretty much the same at a real bavarian castle as at hong kong disneyland’s diminutive simulation.
a site is hardly a sight without the requisite “seers.” people needs spaces, but spaces also really do need people.