Which Disneyland Hotel? And Why?

[loladelorean]

We are just back from HK Disneyland where we spent 3 nights in the Explorers Lodge - we booked standard view but had a package that upgraded us to ocean view. We received 3 passes, one for each night of our stay, despite only holding park tickets for one day. They were good for 5 attractions - Philharmagic, Mystic Manor, Hyperspace Mountain, Runaway Mine Cars and Ironman.

Thanks, this is so helpful! I have booked 2 nights at Exploreres Lodge and got the upgrade offer. Great to know we should get an ocean view room and 2 passes. Did you get three passes per person? Thanks!

 

[CaptainCook]

Thanks, this is so helpful! I have booked 2 nights at Exploreres Lodge and got the upgrade offer. Great to know we should get an ocean view room and 2 passes. Did you get three passes per person? Thanks!

If you look at the picture you can see where they’ve written in that we are a party of 4. We received 3 passes for our party of 4. Unfortunately this means that you can’t split up and do different attractions. We used one of our passes on Runaway Mine Cars and DD didn’t want to ride, so essentially we just forfeited her pass.

Hope that helps.

 

[AngelDisney]

I stayed in Hollywood Hotel for 3 nights in 2016. I will be staying in HK Disneyland Hotel and Explorer Lodge in 3 weeks. I will take the poll after I return. Based on just my researching online, I would vote for Explorers Club.

I chose Hollywood Hotel last time since it was so much cheaper than HKDL Hotel. It’s our first visit to HKDL, so we would not be staying in the hotel much. It served the purpose of being close to the park. However, its dining options are limited. We ate dinner at Enchanted Garden so we were not eating at Chef Mickey again. Studio Lounge was expensive with a limited menu. I ate the most expensive curry beef brisket soup noodle with HK fast food quality. I am not a burger/sandwich person. We had breakfast at Hollywood and Dine on our last day and it was ok. We didn’t use any other amenities (the pool or free arcade). The decor was underwhelming. Service was attentive and up to Disney standard though.

Explorer Lodge seems better themed and more fun with 3 interesting dining venues that we plan to try them all on this trip. It’s also cheaper than HKDL Hotel. That’s why we will be spending two nights there. We have a late flight leaving Hong Kong, so we can explore the hotel a bit before heading to the airport if we can stand the heat outside.

Also, I decide to splurge on spending one night in a Kingdom Club room this time. HKDL Hotel definitely has a more elegant feel and we love Crystal Lotus. Can’t wait to try the Disney dim sum again! I justify the extra costs with having all the perks: reserved seating for Mickey and the Wondrous Book, 4 Priority admission passes and money saved on two meals, dinner and breakfast. If we were a family of 4, the Kingdom Club Room would definitely be our choice with savings on food, special character meets, closest to the park and piano in the lobby. Yet it’s only me and DD who doesn’t drink. I guess I can justify my over-drinking in the lounge as a way to get my money’s worth! We will begin our adventure with Disney dim sum for lunch and then spend the rest of our arrival day enjoying the hotel amenities. It will be a relax day without the park.

I will definitely return to report, thinking of a live report of some sort since I would be busy at work after the trip. HKDL had so much to offer. Yet there is not much info or trip report on Disboards. Hope this helps for now!

Have fun planning!!

Didn’t really get a chance to report back sooner. We were busy with touring every day and usually dropped like a log after a day of park touring.

First of all, we did use bell service to transfer our baggage from Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel to Explorer Lodge with a tiny hiccup. HKDL Hotel failed to transfer the luggage over by check-in time. Explorer Lodge couldn’t locate the baggage and then got them transferred right away. It took another 15-20 minutes and I think that’s quite efficient.

After experiencing all three HKDL Resort Hotels, if budget allows, I would stay in a Kingdom Club room again. The room is super clean and spacious with a balcony. We love the bathroom layout with separate shower and bath tub. Meeting Minnie in PJ is the highlight of the stay, and she is adorable as usual. We enjoyed our stay at Explorer Lodge too but we felt more pampered at HKDL Hotel.

 

[wellow]

I went to HKDL in Dec and stayed at all of the Resort hotels. (Well partly because of my sidejob )

Well if I have to rate all the hotels, I would go by this order:
1) Explorer's Lodge
2) Hollywood
3) Disneyland Hotel

Explorer's Lodge's theming is amazing and being a new hotel, it has this new hotel smell (which I love!) and also there's little details that you don't get elsewhere. Even my brother who is anti-Disney loves his stay so much, he keeps on talking about staying at Explorer's Lodge again just to relax. And the elevator is worth taking over and over again!!!

Hollywood is an impromptu 1 day stay on the last day. We were so reluctant to leave HKDL that we booked a last minute stay from trip.com. They have great rates for HKDL resort in general. But I am surprised I love it more than I should. I love the movie night, Goofy roaming the hallways as well as the playground (well my daughter does)!

I think Disneyland Hotel is overrated. I stayed in the Club level and the CL room even feels outdated. The Club Lounge is small. Food keeps on running out. It's just not worth it. I actually preferred to be back at Explorer's Lodge by that time.

Also, staying at any of the Disney resorts mean you can take advantage of the other resort's activities. So you can resort hop actually and use other pools and amenities.

My suggestion is for you to stay at the Explorer's Lodge then hop on to the other resorts if there's anything you would like to do there. I would definitely do that the next time I go to Hongkong.

 

[Shiella]

Didn’t really get a chance to report back sooner. We were busy with touring every day and usually dropped like a log after a day of park touring.

First of all, we did use bell service to transfer our baggage from Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel to Explorer Lodge with a tiny hiccup. HKDL Hotel failed to transfer the luggage over by check-in time. Explorer Lodge couldn’t locate the baggage and then got them transferred right away. It took another 15-20 minutes and I think that’s quite efficient.

After experiencing all three HKDL Resort Hotels, if budget allows, I would stay in a Kingdom Club room again. The room is super clean and spacious with a balcony. We love the bathroom layout with separate shower and bath tub. Meeting Minnie in PJ is the highlight of the stay, and she is adorable as usual. We enjoyed our stay at Explorer Lodge too but we felt more pampered at HKDL Hotel.

@AngelDisney we have 3 kids and an infant with us...if we are to do both Exlporer's Lodge and Kingdom club...which do you suggest we do first?...and how much did you pay for your luggage transfer??....

 

[AngelDisney]

@AngelDisney we have 3 kids and an infant with us...if we are to do both Exlporer's Lodge and Kingdom club...which do you suggest we do first?...and how much did you pay for your luggage transfer??....

Luggage transfer is free. How many days are you visiting the park? I chose Kingdom Club first because we were not going to the park on arrival day. We arrived at 11:50 am for our 12 pm Disney Dim Sum lunch. We left our luggage with the hotel storage area at the entrance. Then we checked in after lunch. Room was ready at that time. We could have enjoyed other hotel amenities or activities before happy hour time in the lounge but we went to Citigate Outlet Mall until 7 pm.

If you are to take advantage of the Kingdom Club perks, it’s hard to stay late at the park for the night time activities. We had light dinner in the lounge from 7-8 pm. Unlike what others experienced, the food items kept refilled and even replaced with new food items. I also enjoy the wine and drink options. We lined up at 8 pm to meet with Minnie in her pyjamas. We didn’t stay for the story time. We had breakfast at Enchanted Garden with a discounted offer at $160pp the next morning. We also checked out the lounge breakfast offerings. I would have enjoyed having breakfast in the lounge and saved $320. We did Tai Chi with Master Goofy at 9 am. Then left for the park at 9:20 am via hotel shuttle.

I checked out before breakfast and told the CM to transfer our luggage to Explorer Lodge. There could be some misunderstanding and our luggage was not transferred as expected. When I checked in at Explorer Lodge around 3 pm that day, Bell Service first couldn’t locate our luggage then found out they were still at HKDL Hotel and got them transferred right away. It took about 20 minutes. There was no charge for transferring luggage between the three Disney hotels.

I would stay at the Kingdom Club on a non-park day in order to enjoy what it has to offer. I don’t think the hotel is dated. The decor is its style. I felt pampered and really missed the perks after moving to Explorer Lodge. If you are not planning to go to the park on your last day of stay, I would stay at Kingdom Club last to spend a full day enjoying all the amenities without rushing back and forth to the park. Dropping by the lounge any time to get goodies and drinks would be a hit for the kids. The Disney character shaped cookies are super cute.

Either way you would have a magical time!

 

[Shiella]

Thank @AngelDisney We'll be arriving at the HK airport 8:40am...not planning on going to the park on the first day...thinking of booking the dimsum lunch and exploring the hotel...we'll be staying for 4 nights....

I've read a lot of good review re the Explorer's Lodge...I originally wanted to stay on just one hotel and then hotel hop since we are a big group with kids...but Explorer's Lodge seem to have a lot of fun stuff...definitely want to experience Kingdom Club too though...especially the lounge....

This trip is getting so expensive (LOL)...in my estimate...it's over 500k in our money...so trying to squeeze everything there is to it without sacrificing too much convenience for the kids and the seniors' sake....

Doing Kingdom Club on the first day sounds good @AngelDisney ...we can do dimsum lunch and then enjoy the Lounge...do you think we can have dinner there too?...i'm torn on having then experience kingdom club at the beginning or the end of the trip...like which would leave better memories for them....

 

[AngelDisney]

Thank @AngelDisney We'll be arriving at the HK airport 8:40am...not planning on going to the park on the first day...thinking of booking the dimsum lunch and exploring the hotel...we'll be staying for 4 nights....

I've read a lot of good review re the Explorer's Lodge...I originally wanted to stay on just one hotel and then hotel hop since we are a big group with kids...but Explorer's Lodge seem to have a lot of fun stuff...definitely want to experience Kingdom Club too though...especially the lounge....

This trip is getting so expensive (LOL)...in my estimate...it's over 500k in our money...so trying to squeeze everything there is to it without sacrificing too much convenience for the kids and the seniors' sake....

Doing Kingdom Club on the first day sounds good @AngelDisney ...we can do dimsum lunch and then enjoy the Lounge...do you think we can have dinner there too?...i'm torn on having then experience kingdom club at the beginning or the end of the trip...like which would leave better memories for them....

If you have a big dim sum lunch like we did, then you can treat the appetizers in the lounge as dinner since you will have breakfast early the next morning. Here are some food and drink items during happy hours:



We stayed and ate for one hour and they kept refilling the food until 8 pm. Hope this helps!

 

[Shiella]

If you have a big dim sum lunch like we did, then you can treat the appetizers in the lounge as dinner since you will have breakfast early the next morning. Here are some food and drink items during happy hours:

View attachment 348225 View attachment 348226 View attachment 348227 View attachment 348231 View attachment 348232 View attachment 348230 View attachment 348228 View attachment 348229View attachment 348233

We stayed and ate for one hour and they kept refilling the food until 8 pm. Hope this helps!

Thanks @AngelDisney !!!...did you take a taxi from the airport to the hotel?...since we are a big group...thinking of getting those private car service from klook...some suggest just taking the taxi though....

 

[AngelDisney]

Thanks @AngelDisney !!!...did you take a taxi from the airport to the hotel?...since we are a big group...thinking of getting those private car service from klook...some suggest just taking the taxi though....

I took a taxi from Explorer Lodge to airport, but I can’t remember how much I paid for taxi fare. I told the CM at the hotel entrance that I wanted a taxi to the airport and he got one for me within a minute. I think private car costs more and taxi is very convenient in HK. Taxi line up in the airport is very organized. I took a taxi from airport to Ovolo Southside Hotel and there was an airport staff directing us to the right line. If you have a big group, getting a big van might be more economical. We were only a party of 2.

 

[Shiella]

I took a taxi from Explorer Lodge to airport, but I can’t remember how much I paid for taxi fare. I told the CM at the hotel entrance that I wanted a taxi to the airport and he got one for me within a minute. I think private car costs more and taxi is very convenient in HK. Taxi line up in the airport is very organized. I took a taxi from airport to Ovolo Southside Hotel and there was an airport staff directing us to the right line. If you have a big group, getting a big van might be more economical. We were only a party of 2.

we're a party of 7 adults...3 kids and 1 infant...so by private car...that's still 2 rides since max capacity of 1 is only 6 pax...we'll be getting 3 taxis if ever..i'll ask for the fare when i call in for reservations and compare....

we'll be doing 2nights at the explorer and 2 nights at kingdom club...2 days at the park...first day will be hotel exploring (Explorer's Lodge and Hollywood Hotel)...i think i read about a certain activity for kids at the Lodge...2nd day would be at the park...3rd will be the bibbidi bobbidii boutique experience then the park...4th day will be Disneyland hotel exploring...our flight is early morning on the 5th day so that dorsn't really count in on our disney experience....

will be booking our airline tickets and hotel this week...tuesday at the latest...is there any truth to the saying that it's cheapest to buy on a tuesday? =)....

 

[AngelDisney]

we're a party of 7 adults...3 kids and 1 infant...so by private car...that's still 2 rides since max capacity of 1 is only 6 pax...we'll be getting 3 taxis if ever..i'll ask for the fare when i call in for reservations and compare....

we'll be doing 2nights at the explorer and 2 nights at kingdom club...2 days at the park...first day will be hotel exploring (Explorer's Lodge and Hollywood Hotel)...i think i read about a certain activity for kids at the Lodge...2nd day would be at the park...3rd will be the bibbidi bobbidii boutique experience then the park...4th day will be Disneyland hotel exploring...our flight is early morning on the 5th day so that dorsn't really count in on our disney experience....

will be booking our airline tickets and hotel this week...tuesday at the latest...is there any truth to the saying that it's cheapest to buy on a tuesday? =)....

From my experience, it’s not true. It really depends on your travel dates. My travel dates are fixed. Flights on Friday to Monday usually do not have discounts. Sometimes booking when flights are first available gets the cheapest deal but this is not true for Air Canada.

 

[MouseOfCards]

If you have a big dim sum lunch like we did, then you can treat the appetizers in the lounge as dinner since you will have breakfast early the next morning. Here are some food and drink items during happy hours:

View attachment 348225 View attachment 348226 View attachment 348227 View attachment 348231 View attachment 348232 View attachment 348230 View attachment 348228 View attachment 348229View attachment 348233

We stayed and ate for one hour and they kept refilling the food until 8 pm. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the great pics. Suddenly hungry! Really looking forward to trying the Club lounge on our upcoming trip.