Solo Adventures in Asia Nov 2025 - First Timer's Travels to Hong Kong & Shanghai

[clappyclaps]

Hello everyone

I'm just on my way back from a solo trip to Hong Kong and Shanghai. Once I'm home in the next few days, I'll post a full report on my adventures but for now here's a bit about me and my trip in general.

About Me
My name is Sarah and I'm 38 from Greater Manchester in the UK. I'm single and don't have any friends who like Disney parks quite as much as me, hence why I'm travelling solo. This is my second solo Disney trip, after travelling to LA and Anaheim in March this year.

I love rides, I love films and like many my life growing up seemed to revolve around Disney films. I go to Disney mostly for the rides, but also for the general theming and atmosphere. Oh and the food and drink too as I'm a bit of a foodie. I'll admit that I'm not usually one for the parades, meeting characters etc unless I happen to be in the right place at the right time. And I'm not one for posing for photos either as it makes me a bit uncomfortable, so the best I can do is some rubbish selfies - like the one below of me in front of ToT on my last WDW trip:



About my trip
This trip was a split trip between Hong Kong and Shanghai. I flew direct from Manchester, UK to Hong Kong for 4 nights, staying at Disney's Hollywood Hotel. My plan was to spend 2 full days in HKDL and then the 2 other days sightseeing

After this, I flew to Shanghai to spend 4 nights at the Disneyland Toy Story Hotel. The intention was to spend 2 full days at the park, 1 full day sightseeing then the final day before my flight at the park again, however this didn't quite go to plan! (More on that later).

I'm writing this from Shanghai airport, where I'm shortly due to catch my first flight into Dubai, where I'll then get a connecting flight back into Manchester. A total of just over 20 hours travelling...

Watch this space and I'll post full updates on my trip very soon when I get back.

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more .

 

[DianaMB333]

Following.. Im on my way to HK!
Will stay first 5d in DL

 

[clappyclaps]

Following.. Im on my way to HK!
Will stay first 5d in DL

Hope you have a fabulous time! Would love to hear how you get on

 

[clappyclaps]

Morning all,

After arriving home at around 1pm yesterday and sleeping for nearly 15 hours (!), I think I've finally recovered enough from my jetlag to post my first update. One final thing to add that I didn't include in my initial post is that I have used AI to enhance some of my photos - to remove people from them as it makes them look so much better! AI isn't something I generally use but I would say the ability to edit photos like this is definitely something I'm down for and a really useful feature, but wanted to be open about it's use. And so, onto my report:

Day 1 - Hong Kong
I flew from Manchester, UK direct to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. My flight left the UK at 10:25am and was around 12.5 hours, landing in HK just before 7am their time. The flight was uneventful and actually gave me an opportunity to catch up on a few films I hadn't seen at the cinema (Superman, The Naked Gun, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Final Destination: Bloodlines). I usually find long haul flights unbearable, but these films made it fly by!

We landed in HK on time and my luggage arrived surprisingly promptly. The airport was well signposted and I easily found my way to the taxi ranks - there were separate ranks depending on your destination, and the one for Lantau Island and Disneyland was super easy to find. There was no queue and I jumped into the first taxi - I had a pre-printed card with my hotel address in Mandarin, but didn't need it as the driver spoke enough english to understand. After a pleasant 15 minute(ish) ride, we arrived at my home for the next 4 nights, Disney's Hollywood Hotel:






My first impression of this hotel is that it is absoutely stunning, and definitely fits that old school Hollywood theming.

I'd made it to the hotel by around 8am, only around an hour after landing - so efficient! Check in time wasn't until 3pm, however the hotel allows you to 'pre-check in' at any time - they give you your room keys etc, and tell you that they will notify you by email/text when your room is ready so you can head straight there. You can also drop your baggage off and they'll bring it straight to your room once ready.



I'd bought park tickets for today and tomorrow, but hadn't planned any further as I hadn't known for sure exactly what time I'd arrive at the resort. As I was checked in by 8:15am, I decided to purchase the early entry pass (priced at around £20) which would allow me to get into the park an hour earlier at 9:30am rather than the standard opening time of 10:30am.

And seen as the weather in HK was absolutely glorious (sunny and 21 degrees celsius at 8am), I decided to follow the promenade walk that led from the hotel all the way to the park. The promenade walk is located at the back of the hotel on the water, so I made my way through the hotel grounds, obviously taking some photos as I went!



The theming in the hotel grounds is so well done, and the scenery is stunning. And the view from the back of the hotel and the promenad walk is incredible:


The promenade walk takes you behind all 3 hotels, with the Hollywood Hotel being the furthest away, and then up to the park grounds and transportation hub. It really is a beautiful walk, taking around 25 minutes to reach the park itself with some stunning views:


I ambled my way along, until I finally reached the famous HKDL sign:




Next up, I'll go though my first day at HKDL and show you my room at the hotel.