Hong Kong Disneyland

[abc999]

I will be going to China/Hong Kong next month. Anyone with advice for Disneyland?

 

[Disney_Fanatic]

I will be going to China/Hong Kong next month. Anyone with advice for Disneyland?

Hi abc999! I'm so excited that there's another DISer going to HKDL!!! I've been there for 4 times in the past 3 years.

HKDL is very small compared to Disneyland, which means less walking! It has the new Space Mountain just like the one at Disneyland in CA and it also has the Golden Mickey show that is not to be missed!

Just bear in mind that given the language difference, most of the shows are performed in one of the 3 languages (English/Cantonese/Mandarin) at difference show times. I usually grab a showtimes schedule at the park entrance to check what time the shows are performed in English.

I personally think that the food in HKDL is great, especially the snacks items, which have a special local twist to it!

Let me know if you have other questions! Hope you'll have a great trip!

 

[steve76]

I will be going to China/Hong Kong next month. Anyone with advice for Disneyland?

I've only been there once, but I had a great time. It's a really charming little park.

The main advice I would give is just to be prepared for the fact that it is a very small park when compared to most other Disney parks. There is (for the time being at least) no Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion. People who go there expecting these things would probably be dissappointed. As long as you're aware of it then you'll probably have a great time.

Obviously try to go on a weekday (avoiding any public holidays) if you can. Space Mountain is awesome. Jungle River Cruise has a slight twist on the US versions. I also enjoyed the Golden Mickeys show. Don't forget to look at the view of Hong Kong from the top of the treehouse.

I posted a trip report a few months ago which has some more information: Hong Kong Disneyland Trip Report and Review

Have a fantastic trip!

 

[abc999]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the information. Hopefully my kids will be tall enought to go on Space Mountain. I can't find anything on the height restrictions, but I know they are not tall enough for the one at WDW.

I wonder if it will be more interesting to watch the shows in English or Chinese...

Steve - great trip report. I was actually thinking of maybe skipping Disney and just doing Ocean Park, but I will definitely do both now. Can you tell me a little more about Autopia? The last time I was in Disneyland was in 1995.

 

[Disney_Fanatic]

I just did a quick search on google and found you a map of HKDL. It has the height requirement listed under each ride (although the fond is kind of small). HTH!

 

[ShastaBear]

We just got back from a trip to Hong Kong and China. Like others have said, it is a much smaller park. Having visited on a weekday, it was difficult to find things to do until the fireworks. If you visit on a weekday, do not bother getting the Star Pass. We only used one ticket from the Star Pass on a line that had a wait time of 15 minutes. There were virtually no lines at any of the attractions.

In my opinion, the best part of HKDL is the parade. We line up for the parade early, but there was no need to do so. Everyone in the park, more or less, had a front row spot. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but if you are in the front row, you will get wet. There are “dry” zones, if you want to avoid the water.

We also enjoyed It’s a Small World and the Golden Mickeys. For the Golden Mickeys, if you need to see the teleprompter with the English translation, try to sit towards the right hand side.

If you have any questions, just let me know.

 

[ShastaBear]

I pulled out the map to see the height requirement for Space Mountain... 102 cm... so about 40.2 inches.

 

[Luisa]

There is (for the time being at least) no Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion. People who go there expecting these things would probably be dissappointed.

I was there last October and actually, there was a haunted mansion of sorts, just not like the Disneyland and WDW ones. This one you walk through in a group and they have actors playing the roles of the ghosts etc that jump out at you. I had no idea what they were saying but I've never laughed/screamed so much in my life! I don't know if this was just for Halloween but if you look at the map you can see the building at top left of Main St USA.

I found the park to be small enough to see it all in a day, the general feeling seems to be that this one is geared more towards children and teenagers but I really enjoyed myself. The train to the park and the station are fantastic, as is the fountain as you head to the park.

 

[abc999]

Thanks you all!!! My DD is good to go, DS was 39.5 inches the last time we measured him. I just hope that if he does get on at HKDL, he can get on all the 40" rides when we get to WDW the week after that.

 

[steve76]

I was there last October and actually, there was a haunted mansion of sorts, just not like the Disneyland and WDW ones. This one you walk through in a group and they have actors playing the roles of the ghosts etc that jump out at you. I had no idea what they were saying but I've never laughed/screamed so much in my life! I don't know if this was just for Halloween but if you look at the map you can see the building at top left of Main St USA.

Yeah, I think that was part of the Halloween celebrations. It sounds like a lot of fun. They do seem to have some really good seasonal events there, such as Halloween and Chinese New Year.

They are building 'Mystic Manor' as part of the HKDL expansion, but I would assume that's a couple of years away (I think Toy Story Land is coming first).

Hi guys,

Steve - great trip report. I was actually thinking of maybe skipping Disney and just doing Ocean Park, but I will definitely do both now. Can you tell me a little more about Autopia? The last time I was in Disneyland was in 1995.

Autopia is a very simple car driving ride. There is one pedal and a steering wheel. I had heard that the queues here can be quite long if you go on a busy day, which I can believe as it is quite slow loading. When I was there the queue got up to 10-15 minutes (if I recall correctly) in the middle of the day (an eternity by HKDL standards!). As you get to the end of the queue, it splits into three just before you go down the steps onto the loading platforms. The three tracks are different. Apparently they are (from Wikipedia):

A: Longest track featuring an overpass across the UFO Zone area
B: Shortest track
C: More "difficult" to drive

But they are not marked. I did Track A each time (at the point where the queue splits, it is the one on the far right). At the start of the day, this was the only one open. The 'overpass' bit is where you go above the heads of people in tomorrowland, around the water play area.

The landscaping is good, lots of topiaries and views of Space Mountain and the surrounding hills. The tracks interweave so you never really know where you are going next.

All in all, I thought it was a fun little ride, but not one that I'd necessarily want to wait more than a few minutes for. But, I imagine kids love it.

 

[abc999]

Any places to get discount tickets?

 

[BradyBz12]

A good blog on HKDL with some great pics HERE

 

[wendylovesdisney]

Also, Chinese people have a very different idea of "personal space" then we do. They think nothing of crowding up in a que and actually touching your body by standing so close, also shoving forward is normal too. I did not get any consideration having a small child or for being a woman. People get VERRRYYYY close to you.

The Mickey head ice cream cart had lychee flavor ice cream and red bean!!

The park is smaller, but that was okay for us.

-Wendy

 

[Kath816]

My son was travelling around China with another teacher who teaches English there on break, so I got them a few nights at Hong Kong Disneyland. I was surprised to discover that the park passes came "free" with the room when you are a DVC member.

 

[Neko]

Can't help you on the HK Disney, but you HAVE to go to Stanley Market in HK!

 

[CriminyCrafft]

I went to HK Disneyland in January 2009. I enjoyed it but it is very different than other Disneys I've been to (I've been to WDW, Disneyland CA, and Tokyo Disney). The castle is tiny and there aren't many rides/attractions. I found the food to be pretty repulsive (i.e., octopus tentacles and fish balls wrapped in cellophane at snack carts) but that probably just shows my Western bias. They do have Mickey Ear bars tho! Interestingly, the shop employees followed me around like vultures and were very, very pushy. They were nice but it was awkward - I didn't want to be rude but I wasn't sure how to deflect super aggressive salespeople. I didn't do a very good job because I ended up buying Mickey earrings and a necklace that were waaaaay too expensive.

Another interesting tidbit - you can buy a set of fastpasses for the main attractions at the ticket counters. I did this but I didn't really need it.

The guests and CMs were all courteous. All the CMs spoke English and they have English names.

I very much enjoyed the shows and parade.

Unfortch I didn't make it to Ocean Park. I LOVED Hong Kong though! You'll have a great time. My favorite things in HK were the mid levels escalators, the symphony of lights, and Chungking Mansions (which is sketchy but very cool, I thought).

Feel free to message me with questions.

 

[CriminyCrafft]

Should have also mentioned - Festival of the Lion King at HK Disneyland is different than at WDW and I enjoyed it very much. Also, it was funny and cute watching people my age (34) or older (including a 65 year old Chinese woman beside me) oooh-ing and aaah-ing and grabbing at the 3D jewels and pie in Mickey's Philharmagic.

In case you ever make it back to that side of the globe, Tokyo Disney Resort is amazing in every way and is such fun to visit. I've been twice now and cannot wait to go back.

 

[steve76]

Any places to get discount tickets?

I don't know if you can get discounted tickets anywhere, but Disney do seem to do quite a lot of special offers. I was watching the HKDL website for several months before my visit, and they seemed to have quite a few different offers on (stay at a Disney hotel, get an extra day at the park for free etc.).

Unfortch I didn't make it to Ocean Park. I LOVED Hong Kong though! You'll have a great time. My favorite things in HK were the mid levels escalators, the symphony of lights, and Chungking Mansions (which is sketchy but very cool, I thought).

I agree with you 100% on the mid-level escalators. It's a silly thing really, but great fun, and a great way to see parts of the city that you might not otherwise see.

 

[Zeebs]

We visited Hong Kong on our way through from the UK to New Zealand, we struggled to find reasonably priced nice accommodation in Hong Kong that would accommodated 4 in the end we spent 5 nights at Disney's Hollywood Hotel. If you purchase a Annual pass for a fraction more than a 1 day ticket you get a discount on your accommodation, I think the weekdays I got 35% and 20% on the Saturday night. The annual pass I got had black outs but because I checked for our trip they didn't apply to us.

The hotel was great and they had random visits from some of the characters which was great as we didn't do a character meal.

Getting into Hong Kong was easy from the Hotel and pain free (our kids were 3 and 17 months) The trains are easy to use and reliable.

We really enjoyed the open top bus tour of Hong Kong totally touristy but enjoyable.

Disneyland is small as others have said. And some of the things they list on their map as attractions are debatable but we had a lot of fun.

We spent 1 and a half days the first day we did a few rides with the kids and then had something to eat while waiting for the parade, which we really enjoyed. We didn't stay for the fireworks, but did watch them from our room one night (we were upgraded to park view because it was my birthday I think) But because we were out and about in Hong Kong most nights we missed them. The park didn't open until 10.00 although you could get through the turnstills into the main park and mainstreet before that you go stopped at a rope to the rest of the park.

Space Mountain is the only thrill ride but it is fun. And we really enjoyed the Jungle Cruise in my opinion the best out of the three parks I have visited.

We had the star pass and used all the things except for the Golden Mickey Show we didn't think the kids would sit through another show, which was a shame as everyone says it is great nevermind maybe another time.

We probably didn't need the star pass but it got us front row seats in the Lion King show.

We have two blondie boys and the Chinese loved them. I lost count of the amount of photos that were taken of them. I think that because they were blonde, boys and two of them they were quite a novelty. Most people asked but others did not. It doesn't worry me but if you don't like your children touched and photographed you might not like it.

Disneyland Hollywood Hotel

Swimming Pool and Slide

Random Games they play around the park playing for stickers. They also hand out stickers with frequency we have so many, in the end I wasn't letting the kids put them on their tshirts if it was one we didn't have.

Cullen waiting for the train

Inside the train

A Hong Kong Street, taken from the open top bus tour

Crowd around Bruce Lee Statue taking photos of the Master

Crowd around my boys taking their photos.

Fountain at the gates of Disneyland

Me and Asian Captain Jack.

I also don't think you need to get a travel agent involved with tours Hong Kong is very easy to get around and most people speak English which helps also.

Kirsten

 

[TLinden16]

We have a brand new board for Hong Kong Disneyland, so I'm going to move it there now.