Hong Kong Disneyland opened to the public this morning, two weeks earlier than originally projected.

Announced in 1999 as a joint venture between Walt Disney and the Hong Kong government, the theme park is located on Lantau Island and is Disney’s first theme park in China.

The 128-hectare (310-acre) attraction’s facilities include two theme parks, 2,100 hotel rooms and a 28,000sq m (300,000sq ft) retail, dining and entertainment complex.

The theme park’s projected economic benefit to Hong Kong as a whole has been estimated at HK$148bn (US$19bn, £9.8bn, 111bn euro) over the next 40 years.

The park is expected to create 18,000 jobs in the area and to attract around 10 million visitors per year.