Hong Kong - Hong Kong's struggling Disneyland theme park confirmed Wednesday that it is pushing up its weekday admission prices by almost 20 per cent despite the economic slowdown.

Weekday admission to the park is to rise beginning Monday from 295 to 350 Hong Kong dollars (38 to 45 US dollars) for adults and from 210 to 250 Hong Kong dollars for children.

The higher prices previously only applied to visitors who went to the 3-and-a-half-year-old, 3.5-billion-US-dollar theme park on weekends and public holidays.

Local visitors and travel trade tour groups would be given a five-month grace period before the new charges come into effect, but all other visitors would pay the new weekday rates from Monday.

The price increase at the 120-hectare theme park, which has been widely criticized in the past for being short on attractions and high on cost, comes as preparations were made to expand the park.

Hong Kong government officials have reportedly travelled to Los Angeles to see expansion models for the theme park, which is jointly owned by the government and Walt Disney Co.

The theme park is said by sources to have attracted around 4.5 million visitors from October 2007 to September last year - its third year of operations - against a pre-opening target of 6.22 million visitors.

It reportedly fell around 500,000 visitors short of its 5.7-million first-year target and then saw numbers plunge by more than 1 million in its second year of operations. (dpa)