Disney cultivates innovative talent from across the Greater Bay Area

Nearly 100 teams comprising over 300 students from Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Macau competed in the Disney Imaginations Hong Kong Design Competition 2024 in hopes of winning fabulous prizes. They include a HK$25,000 cash prize, a familiarization trip to another Disneyland Park for a learning exchange, and a three-month internship at the Walt Disney Imagineering Hong Kong office, where they would get to work with Disney Imagineers and share their insightful knowledge.

Embrace creativity without boundaries
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (HKDL) expanded the competition this year to include more universities and cities in the Greater Bay Area as part of its mission to develop talent across boundaries. Additionally, students with a creative flair from all disciplines were encouraged to participate for the first time. 

Officiating at the award ceremony as the guest of honor was Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung: "I am delighted that this competition has been extended to the Greater Bay Area this year, attracting almost 100 teams of young talents from institutions in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Macau."

"This is also the first time the competition opened to students from all disciplines, elevating it to be an amazing platform for youngsters with different backgrounds to showcase their boundless creativity and exchange views,” Yeung added. 

First brought to HKDL in 2011, the competition this year featured sustainability and inclusivity as its core themes, with a focus on conservation. It asked participating teams to create an educational experience that showcases and helps preserve cultural heritage at risk of being forgotten.

Dedicated to cultivating innovative talent
According to Michael Moriarty, managing director of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, the competition has a special place at HKDL: "This competition offers young talent a platform to express their creativity and learn from top industry professionals.”.

Raising the bar with technical, artistic and creative skills
The top prize for this year's competition goes to Cheng Lok-yiu, a major in Early Childhood and Family Studies at The Education University of Hong Kong,Chan San-kai from City University of Hong Kong, and Cheuk Man-yuk from Hong Kong Baptist University. They created an experience inviting visitors to explore a mysterious, magical realm where the long-lost culture of Shui Shu can summon water, the source of life in this land, to manage everything from daily jobs like cooking to carrying out critical duties like providing medical care.

“This group sets the initial precedent for the competition, extending to other disciplines. They excelled at creating a seamless narrative and layering the organization of their presentation. They demonstrated their excellent collaboration to us. ” Jo Phoa, Director, Creative Development, 
Walt Disney Imagineering Hong Kong said.

The first runner-up goes to Hau Sze-chai,Yeung Hoi-ling, and Chung Yuen-yee from The University of Hong Kong. The architectural studies students created an experience based on a self-written short tale that conveys the concept that Traditional Chinese Medicine is not as ineffective as many believe. 

The second runner-up goes to Wendy Liu, Ledyard Shen, and Yvonne Qian from Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College. As students from the Greater Bay Area, they created an experience called The Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, where visitors can participate in six activities that help them understand the heritage.  

Imaginations is a design competition organized by Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) in the United States. It was founded in 1991 to seek out and nurture the next generation of diverse Imagineers.

With the competition's continued success, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort was Disney’s first international site to adapt the competition from the United States in 2011, naming it Disney Imaginations Hong Kong Design Competition.

Participants from selected tertiary institutions apply their technical, artistic, and creative skills to propose hypothetical concepts to create an immersive experience.

The 2025 Disney Imaginations Hong Kong Design Competition will begin receiving applications from June this year. It offers a fantastic chance for young students to showcase their skills and fuse their love for Disney with creative and diverse ideas.