To Stopover or Not to Stopover

[areweindisneyyet]

I am not quite sure why it has taken me so long to come up with my diabolical scheme.

Flying to Europe for two weeks in Nov with DH (No Kiddies, thanks Grandma). We are flying via Hong Kong on the way over, why oh why didn't I think to stop a night and add a castle to my list. Now that I have thought about it, I just can't get the idea out of my head.

Should I fly out a day early. DH can't, but I can. He just laughs and rolls his eyes. I could change the flight and stay on my own or is that just too nasty to the family.

Oh wise DisBoards friends. What would you do?

 

[BecBennett]

How much time do you think you'll get to spend there? I mean I'd want to do a stop over too, but I'd want probably 3 days to make it worth it...

Work out how much the stopover would cost you, and think about whether you think it's worth it.

 

[areweindisneyyet]

I would only have 24 hours. Get to Hong Kong about 7pm on Friday night. Stay at one of the Disney Hotels. Storm the park Saturday and be back to meet DH and our original flight late Saturday night.

Just to sample and get a taste. A specific Hong Kong only trip would be quite a way down the list.

Cost wise it is not that expensive, I guess its about how much fun it would be on my own, and without the kids.

Have only ever done Disney with family or with friends. Has anyone done a Disney day on their own?

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I can see why it is a hard decision. On the one hand I think it would great to be able to check out another Disney castle for a day and explore but on the other hand, I think it would be kind of sad to be there without your family, I think you would miss them being with you.

Beats me, whatever you think, you can't go wrong either way.

 

[BecBennett]

I have no problem doing a park by myself. They can be the best days

However I'd be more worried about trying to rush through everything.

How long does it take to get from the park to the airport? I'm guessing you'd need to be there 3 hours before your flight? Will you need to carry luggage around HKDL with you?

I don't know how far HKDL is to the airport, but for eg:

Flight arrives 7pm on Friday night. It takes an hour or so to get through customs and immigration, I'm guessing you'll just go carry on and DH will bring the rest of the luggage with him? If not it will take more time to collect your luggage.

I'm guessing it's now around 8-8:30pm - catch transport to the DL Resort, not sure how long this takes, so to be safe I'm going to assume an hour

Now it's 8:30-9pm, check into the hotel and get some dinner, maybe look around the resort until bed time.

Up bright and early check out of the hotel and head into Disney before the gates open - will you already have your ticket? The hours for November aren't up yet, but I'm going to guess they're similar to October, so opening at 10:30am. Breakfast at some stage, either from the resort, or in the park.

10:30am-3pm to explore and enjoy the park completely at your own pace and get some lunch

3pm - Head back to the resort to pick up your luggage.

3-4pm - Get from the resort back to the airport

4pm - check in for your flight

4-7pm Find DH, get some dinner.

7pm - Board flight to Europe - and on to your 2nd castle!

So you've got roughly 5 hours in the park, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less Those 5 hours would cost you:

$whatever it costs to change your flight
$250 for a night at the Hollywood resort
$Transport to and from the airport
$50 for a 1 day ticket (wow, that seems cheap! )
$Dinner, lunch and breakfast

So all up this is at least $300, if not closer to $500 for 5 hours in the park. Now it's just up to you to decide whether you see the value in doing it

Personally I probably couldn't justify it, but other people might jump at just the opportunity to do it.

 

[Cocobean]

Have only ever done Disney with family or with friends. Has anyone done a Disney day on their own?

I have done five days at Disneyland by myself and while it was not as much fun as going with someone, if it came down to going by myself or not at all I’d choose to go by myself without question.
Having said that, you do need to consider how much time you will actually be able to spend in the park when deciding if it is worthwhile.

 

[ngaire01]

Hong Kong DL is the smallest in the world and a great way to spend a day (with or without family). The MTR train from DL resort station to Hong Kong International Airport takes 23 minutes and there is a luggage valet service and lockers at the park.

 

[zanzibar138]

Do it do it!

I'm doing a stopover on the way back from my Europe trip. I was only going to make it one night, but I decided I wanted to be sure to have a chance of seeing the fireworks, so I made it 2. I would still do it if I only had one night

HK Disneyland is a very small park, easy to get around, and close to the airport - only 20 minutes from the airport on the train Don't bother with a transfer as it will take longer with all the mucking around. I spent a lot of time in the park on my own (even though we were on our honeymoon ) because DH isn't a Disney nut like me and got bored with it after half a day. I was very comfortable on my own and I will be on my own again for my stopover as my parents are staying in Europe for an extra couple of weeks.

HK is a beautiful park with the mountains in the background, and I think it would be worth checking out Grizzly Gulch - which is completely unique to HK.

If it doesn't add a lot of extra cost to your trip, I think you'll be glad you made the effort