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Published on February 2, 2008

The Year of the Mouse starts next week and over in Hong Kong Disneyland, Mickey, Minnie and their pals are already busy celebrating this auspicious event with a bundle of new festivities that run through February 24.

Of the 11 Disney theme parks around the world, only the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort celebrates Chinese New Year. And it's an even bigger occasion this year as the mouseketeers are entering the year of the Mouse according to Chinese beliefs.

"The Year of the Mouse is a very special year for Mickey," says Bill Ernest, the resort's executive vice president and managing director. "The Walt Disney Company has planned an exciting series of activities to celebrate and with Hong Kong Disneyland at the heart of the fete, Mickey and his friends will help families, friends and their loved ones enjoy this festive occasion together. Hong Kong Disneyland will be the best place to create magical memories during the new year celebrations."

Working closely with celebrated designer Vivienne Tam, who is also a big Disney fan, guests who visit Hong Kong Disneyland during the month-long festivities will be able to admire Mickey and Minnie in new haute couture outfits.

Tam, who has her roots in Hong Kong, understands the importance of Chinese tradition and her unique design style and contemporary thinking has allowed her to come up with creative new ways to combine the magic of Disney with an age old festivity.

The designer created all-new silhouettes for Mickey and Minnie. Combining non-traditional designs with Chinese New Year elements, this seemingly effortless merging has brought about an exciting East meets West style.

Mickey's intense China red costume consists of two pieces: a Mao style coat with a spare collar and a matching pair of trousers. The Chinese characters "kung hei fat choi" meaning "good luck and prosperity", are embossed on the coat's mid-section.

Minnie's feminine and modern costume features a cherry blossom red dress with flowers from the waist down. Like Mickey's, Minnie's costume has the Chinese characters "fa hoi fu gwai" or "flowers blooming and lots of prosperity", embossed on the front.

Apart from creating new costumes for Mickey and Minnie, Tam and seven other Hong Kong designers were invited to create eight life-size Mickey statues to bring blessings to guests who visit the park.

The eight Mickey statues reflect the different aspects of luck - prosperity, family, health, popularity, career, education, happiness and romance.

Apart from the daily shows, visitors can also enjoy an array of extravagant shows, among then Mickey's "Rockin' the Mouse Castle", "Rhythm of Life: Dragon Procession" and "Adventures in Fashion", a glitzy showcase of the newest designer label outfits.

For the shopaholics, aside from the hundreds of souvenir designs in Disneyland shops, there are more than 70 specially designed Year of the Mouse merchandise items plus a range of sweets, clothes and souvenirs with a distinct Chinese style.

Tanaporn Tangcharoenmankong

Special to The Nation

Hong Kong