HKDL First time - Lots of questions!

[mandyyyrose]

So the confusing backstory is that I'm a college-student studying abroad this summer in Chengdu. The program covers my domestic airfare from HK -> Chengdu and the opposite, Chengdu -> HK. So it makes sense to fly in to/out of HK.

I'm planning on spending July 17-19th in HK to visit HKLD, and I'm a little overwhelmed with planning.

1) With one suitcase is it easier to take a Taxi from Hong Kong International or the MTR? I'm leaning towards planning for MTR, but I wanted some more opinions. How easy is it to find taxis?

2) On-site or off-site hotel? Like I said, this is my first time going, and just me. On-site seems personally easier, but it seems expensive...

3) Is 1 1/2 days enough time? My only reference point it WDW, which is obviously larger...

4) Is there anything you must do in advance? Dining reservations or anything?

5) How busy is it in the summer? Absolutely miserable?

6) Is there a noticeable communication barrier? I can only speak/read/write in English.

 

[zanzibar138]

1) With one suitcase is it easier to take a Taxi from Hong Kong International or the MTR? I'm leaning towards planning for MTR, but I wanted some more opinions. How easy is it to find taxis?

For me it would depend on the time of day I am arriving/departing, and how much time I have in HK. A taxi is a short 15-20 minute ride from the airport, door to door. The airport train is about a 15-20 minute ride to Tsing Yi station, where you then have to change to an MTR train to Sunny Bay, which is another 15 minutes each. At Sunny Bay, you then have to change to the Disney train for the final 5 minute stint. From the Disneyland station, you will then have either a 15 minute walk to the Disneyland Hotel, or a 5 minute shuttle bus ride to either hotel (I wouldn't bother to walk to the Hollywood Hotel, it will be about a half hour walk). It's all very easy and straightforward to navigate, but it does take a bit of time and a few transitions. We still haven't ever taken a taxi (although we should have on our last trip!), so I'm not sure how much one would be, but do keep in mind that the airport train isn't cheap like the rest of the MTR network.

2) On-site or off-site hotel? Like I said, this is my first time going, and just me. On-site seems personally easier, but it seems expensive...

Onsite is definitely easiest. HKDL is nowhere near any other accommodation areas. It's about an hour's commute in from the Central area. Having said that, yes it is expensive. If you need a budget option, it will have to be in the city. You can also consider Auberge Discovery Bay. It's just around the corner from Disneyland, and there's a free hotel shuttle to Sunny Bay station to get the Disneyland train. For us, it was a worthwhile compromise. However, it's still not a cheap option, and you'll be limited by the shuttle schedule (which you have to book in advance).

3) Is 1 1/2 days enough time? My only reference point it WDW, which is obviously larger...

If you're used to WDW, you'll be severely underwhelmed by HKDL's size (and the size of its castle). Personally I find it such a charming place, with so much detail to take in and just a pleasant place to spend time, I could easily spend a couple of days there. However, there are many who claim it to be a half day park, and this would certainly be the case if it was all about rides. There are plenty of character opportunities, including a short line for Elsa and Anna if that's your thing. I think 1 1/2 days is a good compromise.

4) Is there anything you must do in advance? Dining reservations or anything?

Nope. That's why I love it!

5) How busy is it in the summer? Absolutely miserable?

If you're used to WDW in summer, you should be ok. It will be hot and humid, but I don't think the crowds to compare to WDW (especially this year when plenty of mainland Chinese will probably choose to visit Shanghai instead). Think 1 hour waits for popular rides instead of the usual 15 minutes that you get in non-peak season. And you may have to scope out a parade spot half an hour in advance of the parade instead of just waltzing up to the curb and sitting down 5 minutes before the parade starts.

6) Is there a noticeable communication barrier? I can only speak/read/write in English.

There really isn't a language barrier in HK at all, but especially at Disneyland. Most people seem to be able to speak good English, and there is English signage everywhere. The only thing you may have to look out for is the lame jokes on the Jungle Cruise getting a little lost in translation. I would expect much more of a language barrier in Chengdu!

I imagine you'll be having to get yourself used to Chinese cuisine, but if you'd prefer to take a more gradual approach and feel like western style food at HKDL, I recommend the fish/shrimp and chips in Grizzly Gulch, and of course Mickey Waffles!

 

[netimka]

just to add that we paid around $130 for a taxi from the airport to Disneyland Hotel so its not a lot...

I also agree with zanzibar to stay onsite, keep looking at the offers and you might get a good deal, also you could get Magic Access card and got discount on room/food on it as well... what time are you going to be on Sunday as if its late you could just get cheaper pass that is only for week days and relax at hotel, do a Character buffet etc and hit park on Monday morning

 

[Agent 86]

I found the public transport in Hong Kong to be fine, including getting to and from the airport.

I stayed off-site because we were in Hong Kong for a week and also because the official hotels were a lot more expensive. I had no issues getting to and from Disneyland by train each day we visited. BUT, if we had the money, obviously we would always choose to stay at a Disney hotel for that extra special Disney magic!

I think 1.5 days should be fine. We visited for two days, but that allowed us to do many, many, many attractions twice (or more times). I would just apply the same rules as any Disney park - be there before it opens and stay there until it closes!

I don't think anyone couldn't speak English in Hong Kong. We had no issues in Hong Kong, especially in Disneyland.

Have fun!

 

[hkkatie]

You've got a lot of good answers already, but here are my thoughts.

I agree that the easiest way to get to a Disney hotel from the airport is a taxi. There is a taxi stand at the airport that usually has several lined up. If you wanted to take public transportation, it would be a bit more complicated, but still doable.

If you can swing it, do stay at a Disney hotel. I've stayed at both hotels, and they are both good. There are resort shuttles that go between both hotels and the park, so if you were to stay at the Hollywood Hotel, but go to the character meal at the Enchanted Forest restaurant at Disneyland Hotel, it would be an easy ride to get there. (But please double check the order of the drop off points. I think it goes Park--->Disneyland Hotel--->Hollywood Hotel--->Park). Like a previous poster said, there aren't really any other hotels close by, (that I know of, anyway), but you can google to see if there are any hotels in Tung Chung. Then you just ride the MTR to Sunny Bay and switch to the Disneyland Resort Line, which takes you right to the park.

1 1/2 days is plenty of time. This park is pretty small comparing to the other parks around the world. You could probably do it all in one day if you are there right at opening. (FYI they open the main gates about 30 minutes before the park actually opens, so you can access Main Street, then there is a Rope Drop at the hub at opening time.) There are two stage shows, The Festival of the Lion King, and a new show called Mickey and the Wondrous Book. They are both quite good. For Lion King, it's no problem, usually, to get in line right before show time, but the the other show fills up fast, and people are usually lining up at least 30 minutes in advance. By the time you come the new show will be about 7-8 months old, so possibly it won't be filling up quite as fast. Try to go to the earliest showing.

If you want to eat at one of the Disney hotels, you do have to make reservations in advance. For restaurants at the park, the only place that I've noticed you might need a reservation is the Main Street Corner Cafe. I don't know if you have to call in advance, or if you can just make a reservation in person right when you get to the park, but it's always been fully booked whenever we tried to walk in. All the other restaurants you can just walk in. But places like The Royal Banquet Hall are quite hard to find seats during busy meal times. (However, as a solo visiter, you could probably find a seat easier than me with 4 kids and a double stroller!)

Summers are quite busy, but still manageable. I'd be more concerned with the heat and humidity than with the lines. As a previous poster said, Shanghai Disneyland is opening in June, so perhaps there won't be as many mainland visitors coming down this summer, which would help a lot with the lines. I'd say the one ride that you should ride first, (if you care), is Autopia. Personally, once the line is 30 minutes or longer, it's not even worth it to me to stand in line. I don't think it has a single riders line. You can get fast passes for Space Mountain, Winnie the Pooh (not worth standing in line without fast passes, unless the line is 10 minutes or less), And Buzz Lightyear. I would also check out Toy Story Land early in the day before lines get too long.

No communication barrier at all. Everything is in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, and all cast members speak English. Signage is very good.

I hope you have a great time!

 

[zanzibar138]

Just to confirm (because I went through all this just a couple of months ago looking for a decently priced hotel near DL), there is only one hotel in Tung Chung, the Novotel, and the prices weren't much better than onsite. I also considered staying at an airport hotel, but found the same issue. For the money, I'd rather stay at a Disney hotel.

There were a couple of well priced options around Tsing Yi station, but not close enough to walk to the station, and they weren't the flashest looking places either, so it wasn't going to be worth it for us. I think if you're not staying onsite, you may as well stay in the city and just take the train. Although it's a bit of a time-waster, it's very easy and convenient.

I also second the comments about Mickey and the Wondrous Book. We went to line up about 20 minutes in advance of a couple of the show times in the afternoon, and there were signs up saying that the theatre was already full. We never did get to see it. Should have gone in the morning before the crowds arrived!

I would also recommend checking out Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point early in the day before the crowds arrive. Both rides are excellent and were walk ons for the first couple of hours. Plus, both areas are so beautifully themed, it's nice to get photos without too many people in them.

We never had to make reservations to eat at Walt's, but yes if you want a character meal (or the Disney dim sum I believe) you should probably book in advance (and by in advance I mean like a week in advance - none of this 180 days call right on opening stuff you'd be used to!). Having said that, we've been able to get into Chef Mickey's for dinner twice without a reservation.

 

[AngelDisney]

It will be my first visit this July. I am arriving on July 18. I am planning to have two full days at the park and staying onsite for the two nights for convenience and proximity. I have booked the Novotel Citygate at Tung Chung for the arrival day. It has free airport shuttle and it's walking distance to the MTR. I have booked it at HKD1100 for the night versus HKD2376 a night for my stay at the Disney Hollywood Hotel. The Tung Chung station is about two stops to HK Disneyland as described on the Novotel Website. It is not as cheap as other city centre hotels but it is easy to get in and out of airport and to Disneyland. If you sign up for the Accor Hotel Club, you can get free wifi.

Hope this helps! Have fun planning!!

 

[zanzibar138]

Wow great deal on the Novotel! If we'd have been able to get it that cheap, we definitely would have stayed there Unfortunately for the time of our visit, it was still about AUD $320 for the night. Disney's Hollywood Hotel was about $350. FWIW the Auberge (where we ended up staying) was about AUD $220 (which is still *well* over our normal hotel budget!).

 

[netimka]

we also be staying at Novotel but on our last night and must say it wasn't plan first at all but when researching for Tai O Village just end up on their website and notice that on each Sunday they are offering families late check out till 5PM and when you book with them direct they give you 10% plus free breakfast so we will end up with 3 hotels this time lol
but as we wanted to visit Tai O and you will still have to travel to airport from town we just move there a day before we go home and as flight is after midnight it will be good to have free late check up... plus with booking direct it is cheaper than our HK hotel and we even got breakfasts...
http://www.novotelcitygate.com/
code is on the main page HKDIR

forgot to add for 2A 1CH we only paid HKD1240 with tax so really good price for room, breakfast, late check up and free airport shuttle

 

[RandomlyrachelG]

I lived in China, across the border from Hong Kong for a year (moved away in 2015), and the Hong Kong Airport practically feels like home at this point!

1) Taxis are really easy to get at the airport, but the MTR is really not inconvenient, even with one big suitcase. There are also a lot of buses to many different parts of Hong Kong. We only ever took a taxi from the airport once, because we travel on a small budget, but never had a problem with trains or buses.

2) If you can afford it, I think staying in the Disney hotels would be so cool! However, you're in college and I'm just a few years out of college, so I definitely understand if you're looking for an affordable option, so I'll tell you what we did--we used the website Airbnb to rent an apartment near a mtr stop that was about 2 stops from the Disney line. Paid about $50 (USD--I'm American, haha, so that's the currency I always remember) for a room, the guy who owned the apartment was super nice, and it took 20 minutes or less to get to Disneyland in the morning. I way overestimated how early you had to be there (on a Saturday in December) and was actually the first person in line at my turnstile. So, it's true that you don't want to stay in downtown HK if you want to be at Disney early, but there are other options for staying close by, especially if you're willing to do something like rent an apartment or room through Airbnb.

3) 1.5 days should be plenty. We did it all, pretty much, in our one day there, but it was a very slow time, we pretty much didn't wait for anything, and even with that, it was a very busy day to experience every ride and show. During a busier season like July, it'll be good to have a little buffer time.

Have a blast! I so enjoyed our trip to HK Disney in 2014, I'd go back in a heartbeat (of course, I'd also return to Hong Kong and China as well--living there was just awesome for me and my husband.)

 

[Aussie Wendy]

I haven't anything to add to what everyone else has said except lucky you and have a wonderful exchange experience. If you can afford the splurge I would stay onsite at the Hollywood Hotel; otherwise AirBnB is always worth exploring. We stayed in a great AirBnB fully self contained but tiny apartment in Yau Ma Tei for around US$150/night (October 2015) before moving to the Hollywood Hotel for 2 nights (security entry to building and flat and watchman in the foyer at all times and lots of families in the area so felt very safe). Two days makes for leisurely visiting the DL park and hotels as it is much, much smaller than the US parks. My DH was underwhelmed but I thought it was nice and manageable and the attention to detail which I love the most, was equal to the US. It would be nice if you dropped in once you are over there not only to report on how your HK visit goes and what you think but also to tell us about your experiences in Chengdu!

 

[Dramatic Muffin]

I live in Chengdu too, and was at DLHK just last month. I took my DD14. We stayed pretty far away from the park (a 50-minute metro ride each way). It was a five-star hotel (Crowne Plaza), and it was really nice, but I have to say, it would have been nice to stay on site. I just didn't want to spend the money.

I loved the Disney metro train. You should do it at least once, just for the experience.

We spent two days in the park. We loved it, because we are Disney lovers. But I can see why some people are underwhelmed. It's very small and doesn't have many rides. But if you try to see it for what it is, and not compare it to WDW or DL, it's very charming.

Grizzly Gulch was closed when we went, but we loved Mystic Manor! That's one of my favorite Disney rides anywhere. And the Enchanted Forest is really cute! The landscaping in Adventureland and Mystic Point is beautiful. I really liked their version of Small World. It was the week before Easter when we went, so Egg-Stravaganza was going on. They had big character Easter eggs all around the park. Really cute! I also loved how the cast members had stickers and you could just go up and ask for them.

Both shows were really good. The Wonderous Book had Mickey and Goofy speaking Cantonese, with English and Mandarin translations written on LED screens on either side of the stage. The songs were sung in English. Lion King was nearly all English, with some monkey men occasionally translating into Cantonese.

The food was not great. We didn't go to any sit down restaurants, as none appealed to us. We went to Tahitian Terrace one day and to one of the Tomorrowland counter service places the other.

We had a great trip. As I'm sure you know, from living in Chengdu--it's always good to leave mainland China and access some Western stores and restaurants, and even better to get a Disney fix! I'm sure you'll love DLHK.

I'm looking forward to trying Shanghai DL, maybe in the Fall.