Credit: Arist Xiong, FlickrOne Disney theme park will (quite literally) go dark for an hour tomorrow.
As is tradition every year, March 23 marks Earth Hour – AKA the “Biggest Hour for Earth,” in which participants switch off for 60 minutes to “bring the world together, shine a spotlight on nature loss and the climate crisis, and inspire millions more to act and advocate for urgent change.”
Unlike Earth Day, which each resort tends to mark in one way or another, Earth Hour isn’t widely acknowledged at Disney theme parks worldwide. However, this year will see one park go (mostly) power-free.
According to its official operating schedule, Hong Kong Disneyland will switch off decorative lighting on its biggest attractions – including the Main Street Train Station, Theater in the Wild, Mystic Manor, and Hyperspace Mountain – for one hour on March 23.
A warning posted on the park’s website reads: “In support of Earth Hour 2024, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort will switch off some decorative lighting at Main Street Train Station, Theater in the Wild, Mystic Manor, and Hyperspace Mountain from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on March 23, 2024 (Saturday). All schedule information [is] provided for your reference only and may [be] subject to change without prior notice.”
This timing notably overlaps with the park’s fireworks display, “Momentous” Nighttime Spectacular, which will be performed at 9 p.m. on March 23, meaning things won’t be totally dark.
Outside of the park, Hong Kong Disneyland will also switch off decorative lighting at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, Disney Explorers Lodge, and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel.
The park previously switched off or dimmed unnecessary lights for Earth Hour in 2023, 2022, and 2021.
To support Earth Hour, different locations at Hong Kong Disneyland are turning down unnecessary lightings during designated hours tonight.
#journeyswithdisney #hkdisneyland #hkdl #hongkongdisneyland #disney #disneyparks #香港迪士尼樂園 #迪士尼 #香港ディズニーランド #ディズニー
To support Earth Hour, different locations at Hong Kong Disneyland are turning down unnecessary lightings during designated hours tonight.#journeyswithdisney #hkdisneyland #hkdl #hongkongdisneyland #disney #disneyparks #香港迪士尼樂園 #迪士尼 #香港ディズニーランド #ディズニー pic.twitter.com/5W8w3zMKSk
— Journeys with Disney (@journeys_disney) March 27, 2021
For now, Disney’s other resorts worldwide are yet to announce their participation in Earth Hour. However, we can expect plenty of eco-friendly celebrations over the next few weeks, with Disneyland Paris typically marking Earth Month each year and both Disneyland and Disney World going big for Earth Day on April 22.
At the latter, Animal Kingdom (which opened its gates for the first time on Earth Day in 1998) is the hub of Earth Day celebrations, with nature-inspired entertainment, merchandise, and limited-time food and drink offerings. Stay tuned for more on this year’s celebrations.
Are you marking Earth Hour this year? Let us know in the comments!