HK Disneyland will be open to visitors with 6-month tickets for four days during the weeklong Labor Day Holiday. Newly implemented to control the number of guests in the park's 30,000 maximum capacity, which caused a calamity during the Spring Festival.

Visitors, who buy tickets valid for six months, can enter the park on May 1 to May 3 and on May 7, while the other three days are available for those who purchase date-specific tickets, Disneyland announced yesterday.

Anyone who has purchased tickets before March 1 can go to a booking agency to exchange their tickets for one with a specific date.

HK Disneyland allows guests with six-month tickets to enter the park anytime except for special holidays.

The park will control the sales of tickets for tour peak seasons, like golden weeks and Easter.

April 14 to April 21 and September 12 were also added as special holidays, and now require date-specific tickets.

Some booking centers advised tourists to book tickets one week ahead of usual or one month ahead for peak season tickets.

On February 1 and 2, hundreds of visitors, mainly from the mainland with tickets valid for 180 days or valid for the first few days of the Spring Festival, were denied entry because the park was already passed its allowed capacity.

The ticket holders were turned away for two days, despite having valid tickets, and the crowds were furious.

Disney hastened to grovel, but said it had a lot to learn about China from the lunar New Year holiday fiasco.

Bill Earnest, the theme park's vice president, called it "an unfortunate incident," and said, "We will make sure it is not repeated next year."

The next surge of visitors is expected for the May 1 Golden Week holiday.

(Shanghai Daily March 2, 2006)