The next time you go to Tokyo Disneyland and find yourself waiting an inordinate length of time for five minutes of thrills on Space Mountain, spare a thought for Hung Wah-fung, who is certainly thinking of you -- or, more precisely, your situation.
Hung is the man who filed a suit in a small-claims court against Hong Kong Disneyland on Sept. 12, the day the theme park opened. The week before, he and his family had attended a special pre-opening charity day at the park along with 30,000 other people. He claims there were long lines at rides and restaurants, some up to three hours, and told the South China Morning Post that the park's managers "only want to squeeze as many people in as possible in order to make money." He is suing for "poor crowd management," and it's obvious from the small award he is seeking, HK$1,400 ($175), that the suit is mostly symbolic.
It was also inadvertently timely since it coincided with glowing reports about the success of the Aichi Expo, which was just about to end. These reports presented the long lines and cramped conditions at the Expo as a good thing, not only for the organizers but also, apparently, for the people who were doing the waiting.