Letter from Hong Kong: There was no sign of Goofy among the hundreds of wild dogs running around Hong Kong Disneyland just weeks before its big opening day on September 12th.
But Mickey Mouse's trusty companion, along with the Mouse himself, Donald Duck and all the rest of the Disney regulars are coming to China.
And it seems to be driving the territory barking mad - organisers were even thinking about cutting back on the number of visitors after nearly 30,000 people queued in the searing sun to get into the park during a trial run, putting pressure on service.
This is a tale of two Donalds - Donald Tsang, the chief executive of the territory, keen to boost tourist revenues, and Donald Duck, the big-beaked commercial icon who has a proven track record in drawing the crowds.
In one of its many reinventions, Hong Kong is transforming itself into a tourist magnet, concerned that its booming financial services industry will move north to the mainland, just as manufacturing did in the 1980s.
Disneyland Hong Kong is seen as crucial to keep the former crown colony growing strongly amid increasing intense competition in the region for the coveted tourist dollar, particularly from Chinese tourists.
With this in mind, the park will be opened by Chinese vice-president Zeng Qinghong.
The Disney hype is unmissable. On Lantau Island, where the theme park will be located, the road signs have little Mickey Mouse ears above them.
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's airline, distributes Disney bags and toys to children before you have even landed at the superb airport, also on Lantau Island. Once on the ground, Giordano, purveyor of cheap and cheerful mass clothing, has a tie-up with the American company and its famous characters adorn clothing from T-shirts to shorts.
The opening date, was chosen by feng shui experts, geomancers who examine sites and dates to see if they are auspicious in terms of dragon lines of energy.
Hong Kong Disney is Asia's second, after Tokyo. Certainly the Hong Kong government believes it's an auspicious project.
It has spent €2.3 billion to buy 57 per cent of the park, while Disney has put in around €255 million for the remaining 43 per cent. And the bean-counters reckon Disneyland will add around half a per cent to gross domestic product in Hong Kong next year alone.
Last year, 22 million tourists visited Hong Kong from all over the world, mostly from China.
Nearly 1½ million visitors are expected to come to play with Mickey Mouse in the first year by Hong Kong Tourism Board's reckoning. Even before the park opened, 120,000 citizens took the train out to the 126-hectare site - just for fun.
The park will be the standard-issue Disney familiar to any families with kids who've been to Paris recently, complete with Sleeping Beauty's castle, Fantasyland and Adventureland.
It will be the smallest of the Disneylands, but that's not necessarily a problem in a city-state famed for its clever use of space. It will also have the cheapest admission rates to attract Chinese visitors and a day pass for a typical family of two parents and one child will start at around €80.
However, in neighbouring Guangdong province the average urbanite's disposable income is just over €1,200 a year, so the experts reckon most visitors will be coming for one visit only.
That said, theme park analysts believe Hong Kong Disneyland will make money immediately, unlike Euro Disney in 1992.
Just to make sure, the government is going to spend nearly €50 million on an advertising campaign called "2006 Discover Hong Kong Year" and is planning special queues at the border for visitors coming from the mainland.
There have been dissenting voices - groups of university students protesting against the lack of trade union representation, as well as the environmental impact of giving up so much of Lantau Island to a theme park. And there have also been allegations of dangerous work conditions, overwork and low wages at factories making goods for Disneyland.
In response, Mickey Mouse is reaching out to the community and is giving out 20,000 tickets to the underprivileged before the park officially opens.
Residents at Discovery Bay on Lantau island have complained about pollution from fireworks at Disneyland and many Hong Kong residents believe the €30 entry fee for an adult is too much.
In the meantime, there are teething troubles to deal with. Disney has had to call in the dog catchers to kill the roaming packs of wild dogs scavenging for food on the Disney site.
They have even chased senior Disneyland executives on their way to work. But wild dogs are a short-term problem as Goofy comes to Hong Kong.
Perhaps of greater concern are reports that a Disneyland in Hong Kong's arch rival Shanghai is due in 2012 that will be four times the size of the Hong Kong park.
