Best Hong Kong Disneyland Attractions & Ride Guide
Our Hong Kong Disneyland ride guide offers reviews and numerical ratings for every attraction in HKDL, located on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, China. This will help plan your visit, and provide analysis on which rides are must-dos, and what you can skip. (Last updated August 10, 2018.)
If you’re planning a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland, this is a great place to start when determining what to do and when to do it. The guide will give you a rough idea of an itinerary, and we update this regularly with our experiences from our annual visits to Hong Kong. If you’re planning a trip and want comprehensive advice for all the ins and outs, make sure to read our Hong Kong Disneyland Trip Planning Guide, too!
We’ve tried to keep this guide to Hong Kong Disneyland’s attraction as objective as possible with enough description so you’ll know whether particular attractions will appeal to your group. This Hong Kong Disneyland guide includes headliners, smaller attractions, and shows. Due to its relatively low number of attractions and limited waits at these attractions, you probably won’t want to skip much here, but we’ve still divided the list into “Top” and “The Rest” sections in case your time is limited or you’d rather enjoy the ambiance of the park or its dining.
Since its opening, Hong Kong Disneyland has developed a reputation of being an incomplete park full of clones that isn’t worth the time of an American guest who has visited Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Regardless of whether this reputation was deserved at one time, it no longer is. In the last few years, Hong Kong Disneyland has made numerous additions, with many more on the way–as well as a new castle–as Hong Kong Disney embarks upon another colossal expansion.
The newest of these major attractions is Iron Man Experience in Tomorrowland, which will soon be joined by two other Marvel rides. Prior to that, three new mini-lands open that include Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars and Mystic Manor, two of the best attractions Disney has to offer. Add to this a selection of other solid rides and a great setting, and Hong Kong Disneyland is a park that is really coming into its own.
Still, this doesn’t change the fact that it’s a one-park resort in a foreign country with a surplus of unoriginal attractions. Everyone but the biggest Disney fans or those visiting during the Halloween or Chinese New Year seasons will probably be able to finish the park in a single day. Because of these things, we do not recommend a visit to Hong Kong Disneyland solely for the park.
This shouldn’t be a problem, because Hong Kong is a culturally-rich metropolis and a visit to it is an easy stopover on most flights to Tokyo (the hotels at Hong Kong Disneyland could be considered “airport hotels” given their proximity to Hong Kong International Airport). So there’s minimal cost in spending a day or two here, besides the time, for those already visiting Hong Kong or heading on to Tokyo Disney Resort.
This guide will mention similarities and differences between attractions in Walt Disney World & Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland where pertinent. This is for those of you who have been to the U.S. parks to determine what can be safely skipped, should you so desire. Hong Kong Disneyland is a 1-day park, and most guests will be able to accomplish all they wish to see in that one day.
If you approach Hong Kong Disneyland with an attraction checklist and that’s it, you’ll certainly only need one day. This guide is written in English on a site catering to US Disney theme park enthusiasts, so it’s written from the perspective of Disney fans. If you’re not, our recommendations and ratings are still relevant, you just might not be quite as enthusiastic about some of these attractions as us.
Numerical scores are on a scale of 1 to 10, and only take into consideration overall quality relative to that specific type of attraction. Dark rides are judged against other dark rides, roller coasters are judged against other coasters, etc., to create a relatively level playing field. Attractions are rated based upon how much their target audience will enjoy them. In our ratings, we only consider how well done the attraction is, overall and within its category, when experienced by its target demographic.
Top Hong Kong Disneyland Attractions
Paint the Night Parade (9/10) – Hong Kong Disneyland’s nightly light parade, that runs so long as there is not seasonal entertainment instead (usually this happens at Halloween). If you’ve ever seen Main Street Electrical Parade, the Disneyland classic, you’ll be familiar with the idea of Paint the Night.
The main concept of the light parade is the same with Paint the Night, but the execution has been technically modernized, as has the soundtrack and the Disney characters featured. This parade is heavy on Pixar and newer characters, and is high-energy fun. Grab a spot ~30 minutes in advance.
Disney’s Flights of Fantasy Parade (8/10) – Hong Kong Disneyland’s daytime parade debuted during the park’s 5th Anniversary and is very solid for a daytime parade. There are some cool floats (the lead Mickey Mouse balloon float is very impressive and definitely the highlight) and the music is very catchy.
It has two show stops, and features a combination of more traditional floats and higher energy acrobatic performers. It’s especially popular in the hub around Sleeping Beauty Castle, so should up at least 30 minutes (more if it’s busy) in advance to stake out a spot for the parade.
Mystic Manor (10/10) – Trackless dark ride “tour” through manor/museum with displays coming alive due to enchanted music box. Mystic Manor sets the new gold standard for Disney attractions. There really aren’t enough superlatives to describe this attraction (that bears little resemblance to the Haunted Mansion attractions to which it’s often erroneously compared).
Its exterior is beautiful, the queue sets the tone for what’s to come, the pre-show introduces the attraction’s memorable characters, and then the main ride itself blows guests away with a combination of ride technology, an engaging story, details, and beautiful music. This is arguably the best attraction Disney has ever done. Mystic Manor alone is reason-enough for a stop in Hong Kong Disneyland if you’re a Disney fan visiting Asia. Despite its incredible quality, we never encounter any waits for Mystic Manor. If you visit on a busy day, it likely will have lines, and should definitely be prioritized.
Iron Man Experience (9/10) – A simulator attraction that flies guests above Hong Kong in the park’s first Marvel attraction (with a couple more to come). The concept here is that Tony Stark is hosting Stark Expo where he’s showcasing his latest inventions, which guests see up close in the queue before boarding the Iron Wing flight vehicle.
Iron Man Experience is a lot of fun, and a great addition to Hong Kong Disneyland. The queue is interesting, and the ride itself is a hoot, with a ton of detail and eye-candy. If you’ve spent at least a couple of days in the city before heading to HKDL, you’ll see many recognizable landmarks–and we think all of this detail adds to re-rideability as you’ll want to see everything you missed. One of the few rides with FastPass, and it should be utilized unless you do Iron Man Experience at the beginning or end of the day.
Jungle River Cruise (8/10) – Comedic boat ride through the jungles of the world. Jungle River Cruise has the same premise as the Jungle Cruise–the skipper is still the star of the show, with the scenery as a backdrop for their jokes. Three separate lines are available, for Cantonese, English, and Mandarin and boats.
Unfortunately, the skippers are (usually) not native English-speakers, so the dry comedy of the attraction doesn’t totally work. Comedy that’s dependent upon delivery is hard enough in your first language, so I can’t even imagine trying it in a second language. Fortunately, that ride has been enhanced with better effects and a really impressive finale. Due to having three lines for different languages, Jungle River Cruise can have long lines; we recommend doing it early in the day, after Toy Story Land if you do that.
Festival of the Lion King (8.5/10) – Acrobats, singers, and other performers in tribal attire and vibrant costumes, plus barges with Lion King characters and other creatures enact scenes from the Lion King in a very lively theatrical show. There’s a lot of stuff going on, but unlike the Animal Kingdom abstract version, this is a condensed retelling of the movie.
The performers are still the highlight of the show, and they are fantastic–and high energy. I prefer the abstract style, but this lacks the audience ‘animal sounds,’ which was nice. Regardless, an amazing show that is absolutely worth seeing. This version is in English with supplementary performers repeating some lines in Cantonese.
Tarzan’s Treehouse (8/10) – Similar to Tom Sawyer Island, this is a walk-through/play area on an island (in the center of the Jungle River Cruise) that is serviced by ferry. This is much more than just the Treehouse at Disneyland. There’s plenty to do on the island without going into the treehouse, with areas to explore, and several interactive exhibits. Tarzan’s Treehouse itself offers stunning views of the park, too.
Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars (10/10) – Themed roller coaster with Audio Animatronics and a section that goes backwards. Think of it as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad meets Expedition Everest with a slight dash of Country Bear Jamboree. The result is a great mix of thrill ride and detailed Disney attraction, with some really lovable bears.
While I have a soft spot for Space Mountain at Walt Disney World, this might be my favorite Disney coaster anywhere. This is like a milder version of Expedition Everest, although it also made Sarah nauseous the one time she did it. This had mostly short waits during our visit, but it has the potential for longer lines. We recommend doing it first thing on your way back to Toy Story Land (if you’re doing those attractions).
Animation Academy (7.5/10) – A drawing class, plus the adjacent ‘Art of Animation’ (we don’t consider that a separate/distinct attraction). For those interested in sketching a character, the drawing class is fun. The walk-through Art of Animation portion includes an awesome Toy Story Zoetrope, maquettes, storyboards, and background paintings of Disney characters.
Mickey and the Wondrous Book (8.5/10) – Stage show that is basically a montage musical show within the framework of Mickey Mouse getting stuck in a book and Olaf getting stuck outside of it. There are some humorous moments, and the music is very catchy. The show is in Cantonese with English subtitles, which likely cause the nuance and comedic delivery of spoken language to be lost (other guests were laughing).
Mickey’s PhilharMagic (9/10) – 3D montage film mostly from the “Disney Animation Renaissance” cleverly tied together with Donald Duck. Children of the 90s are sure to love this film, but really, anyone should enjoy it. The theater in Hong Kong was specially built for PhilharMagic, so it’s a little bit nicer of a venue than the other parks’ venues that show PhilharMagic. This show is in Cantonese.
it’s a small world (8/10) – The classic boat ride featuring the children of the world. This was the first version to feature Disney animated characters (certainly a divisive addition, but one we don’t mind), and it does the best job of integrating them. It also seems to be the longest version of the attraction, with scenes not found elsewhere. Unlike the Disneyland Paris version, this maintains the original Mary Blair style, and executes it well. Nothing tops the Disneyland version of ‘it’s a small world’ for us, but the Hong Kong Disneyland version is a close second.
Fairytale Forest (7/10) – A walk-through area with a variety of cute vignettes and photo ops themed to various Disney fairytales and princess films. This is really charming, and vaguely reminiscent of Storybook Land at Disneyland.
For what it is, it’s a nice attraction, but it’s far from ambitious (and probably would’ve been better as a boat ride). There’s never a wait, so do it whenever, but just be careful of that midday heat during the summer.
Orbitron (6.5/10) – Spinner ride similar to Dumbo; this one makes it onto our ‘top’ list because it has cool UFO ride vehicles, and offers great views of Space Mountain and the mountains behind Hong Kong Disneyland. Side by side seating is also more comfortable. Do it at dusk when the neon is coming on and the mountains are still visible.
Hyperspace Mountain (9.5/10) – Part of the Star Wars Tomorrowland Takeover, Hyperspace Mountain a dark roller coaster through outer space that encounters X-wings and other starfleet along the way. The LaunchPort queue and load area is a bit different than the Disneyland version of Hyperspace Mountain, with Star Wars props making it seem a bit like a hangar. The projections and laser effects are really cool, making Hyperspace Mountain the most popular attraction right now at Hong Kong Disneyland. Use FastPass for Hyperspace Mountain.
RC Racer (6.5/10) – Steel shutter ‘half loop’ coaster where guests strap into the RC car from Toy Story and go back and forth on the track. As guests are parallel to the ground at the top of each side of the track, this is deceptively thrilling and offers cool views of the park. Do all of the Toy Story Land attractions first thing in the morning, if at all.
Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad (6/10) – A railroad ride around the perimeter of Hong Kong Disneyland with scenic surprises along the way. Inferior to the Disneyland Railroad, but still worth doing to see parts of the park you otherwise wouldn’t.
The Rest
Slinky Dog Spin (5/10) – The tamest of the Toy Story Land attractions, a ride with Slinky Dog essentially chasing his tail as it spins in circles. Do all of the Toy Story Land attractions first thing in the morning, if at all.
Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop (6/10) – A tame, slow-moving up and down drop ride themed to Toy Story. Do all of the Toy Story Land attractions first thing in the morning, if at all.
Moana: A Homecoming Celebration (6/10) – Cute for what it is, which is a small scale stage show (say that 3 times fast!) aimed exclusively at children. The songs are nice, but the presentation and production value will bore most adults.
Jedi Training Academy: Trials of the Temple (7.5/10) — Replacing Autopia in Hong Kong Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, this small scale stage show giving kids the opportunity to become Jedi. This is an attraction that kids will absolutely love if they’re into Star Wars and are extroverted. It’s not quite as much fun for the audience, but it’s still decent.
Cinderella Carousel (5/10) – Garden variety carousel located behind Sleeping Beauty Castle. (Isn’t it odd the Cinderella has a carousel behind the castle that’s home to Sleeping Beauty?)
Dumbo (6/10) – The iconic Disney spinner attraction. The highlight of this version is that it’s behind Sleeping Beauty Castle and offers a nice view of the mountains behind Hong Kong Disneyland. Otherwise, it’s nothing special.
Mad Hatter Tea Cups (5/10) – The spinning teacups at every castle park in the world.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (6.5/10) – Fantasyland dark ride through the world of Winnie the Pooh. Due to its otherwise complete lack of Fantasyland dark rides, this one is very popular. As best we could tell, this was a near-identical clone of the Walt Disney World version. If you do this, use FastPass. We went on slow days, and it was the second-longest wait in the park.
This leaves out some additional photo ops (which are listed as attractions on the map!), small play areas (in abundance in Hong Kong Disneyland), entertainment, and character meet & greets, but it’s all of the significant, year-round attractions. You should have the time to do virtually everything on this list in a single day. Make sure to take time to enjoy the park’s dining (including afternoon tea!), too.
For the rest of your planning needs, consult our Hong Kong Disneyland Trip Planning Guide. It covers everything you need to know for a visit to HKDL, including reviews, strategy, packing, and more. If you’re visiting the city as well, please consult our Hong Kong City Guide on TravelCaffeine, our non-Disney planning site.
Your Thoughts…
Which of these attractions interest you the most? If you’ve been to Hong Kong Disneyland, what are your favorite attractions? With which of our ratings do you agree and disagree? Anything else to add? Hearing from you is half the fun, so please share your questions and thoughts in the comments!
Hi, Is the bag able to bring in to the ride or do we need deposit our bag in the locker first? As I will be bringing DSLR camera.
For anyone else wondering, you can take on most rides, a few (mostly the oens in Toy Story Land) have small cubbies where you put your stuff while you ride.
Space Mountain has pouches in the cars just like DL
I went to HK Disneyland in October of 2010. I must respectfully disagree with your opinion about riding the English version of the Jungle River Cruise. Yes it seemed like our skipper was not a native English speaker, but we still enjoyed it. It almost seemed like he was flippant about delivering the jokes; we got a “I’m one of the only ones who can do this in English, so what are they gonna do, fire me?” attitude from him. That might not be the best “Disney” way to do one’s job, but it was incredibly entertaining.
Hi,
We plan to visit Hong Kong Disneyland on 1st December. Will it be crowded? We went there in august and we had horrible experience there, over crowded, cutting queue etc.
Is early Dec ok to visit there?
Thanks.
Early December will be much less crowded (especially weekdays) than the summer.
Thanks Tom!
We are heading to Disney HK tonight, and spending a four day weekend. The Halloween festivities started Oct. 1 and continue all night, with a special “night ticket” available for purchase, for park hours 7-11 pm. The night ticket is around 34 US dollars, which we think is very reasonable. Will report back! We did Disney Paris two summers ago and it was perfect for our then 3 and 7 year old children. We are super excited to see Halloween at Disney!
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Really useful the post is. I think I got a good headstart to my own Disneyland visit!!
This is an epic guide, you did a great job taking those photos as well. I noticed most of them are taken at night, Would you recommend to go there late at night or morning? Is it hot in Hong Kong? Yikes that’s too many question now haha, anyway We will go visit Hong Kong in December and I cannot wait to go there this guide surely help. Thanks a ton.
If you want night photos, definitely go in the evening.
It can be incredibly hot and humid in the summer, but in the fall through spring it’s quite pleasant. Have a good trip! 🙂
Hi, I am also a Disney Fan from HK, and I’m so glad that you enjoyed HKDL too! Halloween is one of the best time of HKDL! Decorations, Halloween parade, Haunted Houses etc, all play a significant role! However, there is a rumor that HKDL will diminish or even cancel whole Halloween event. You may better keep checking it. I don’t want you to be disappointed.
Hope to see you real soon in HKDL!
Thank you for the heads up about the Halloween event at Hong Kong Disneyland. I really hope it isn’t cancelled or reduced!
Hi, I’m a Disney fans from HK, also a annual pass holder of HKDL. I’m so happy that seeing you enjoyed the trip in HKDL. Actually I agree to most of your opinions and I would want to point out some of my views here. I don’t really like the attitude of the skipper on JRC, they always sound like bored and they sound like scripted. For the part of Stitch Encounter, I’ve never tried the English version but I would say people speak in English MUST go for the English version or they would not be enjoyed in this ride. There are quite a lot of gags and interactions with the audiences especially kids (and girls). However, their timetable varies and won’t show on web or on the times guide, so people wants to attend the English version should check it earlier in front of the ride entrance. Your marks given to PhilharMagic surprised me since I think it starts to getting old and the non-HD projection makes me sick. The last thing I would like to say is the Fastpass service for Buzz Lightyear AstroBlaster has been stopped until 2016 due to the construction work of the Ironman Experience, I think you should mention it so that people have read your blog could have a better plan on it.
Hi Tom, your HKDL guide is so detailed and makes me want to book our tickets now. Thanks so much for writing this review and I hope I can provide a review as well written as yours. Im excited to bring my kids (teens) in HKDL and for them to have a “awesome disney” experience compared to my first “disney” experience more than 30 years ago in Los Angeles Disneyland. cj
Thanks for the kind words–have a great visit to Hong Kong Disneyland!
Thank you soooooo much for writing this up! I’ve been trying to read up as many Disneyland Hong Kong guides as possible as I’m visiting Disneyland Hong Kong in about another two weeks time. I’m so thrilled!
I wonder if not knowing Cantonese/Chinese will be a barrier to having a fun time there. Some of my friends from Hong Kong told me that most of the cast members are mainly Chinese and that Disneyland Hong Kong caters mostly to Chinese crowd. Is it easy to, say, ask the cast members for directions or to help take some photos?
I also read up your other post on the PhotoPass. Is that available in Disneyland Hong Kong?
I can’t say that we encountered any significant problems as a result of the language barrier. Hong Kong was under British rule until 1997, and it’s still very much a world city with many English speakers. Some people won’t be able to speak English well, but not enough that it should be problematic.
I have an AP for HKDL (just renewed yesterday actually) as I stop over in HK a LOT.
You will have zero problems communicating in the park. 99% speak English, the only ones I’ve ever encountered who don’t were toilet attendants or janitorial, but they know the basics.
The Park has its own charm and I agree that Mystic Manor is the absolute crowining jewel of this park. I cant get enough of Albert! He’s so adorable. The elements of this ride are incredible and I never get tired of it.
The cars also take slightly different routes so you get to see slightly different version each time. Also ask the CM for stickers, they love to give out stickers and there’s loads to collect!
At the moment (until mid Sept 2015) they have a special ‘Frozen Village’ similar to the Frozen Fun event at WDW, with the indoor snow etc… FP is required to meet Anna & Elsa due to popularity. They had Kristoff when I was there 8 weeks ago, but I don’t know if her was there yesterday.
The Annual pass is around 900HKD (so less than 2 single entry tickets) and gives 250-something days per year access. I have never been in HK when there was a blackout day (lucky me!)
HK was also the first to get the Paint the Night parade which is super cute.
My favourite float in the Festival of Fantasy would be the Swan that the princesses ride. it’s gorgeous!
Misc: Currently Ariel, Jasmine and Merida do not meet at this park. Ariel appears in the daytime parade only.
Thanks for your helpful info. We just spent 4 days at Hong Kong Disneyland with our 4-yr old in Feb had a great time! Fun and relaxing without the hysteria and anxiety of our previous Disney Parks visits of too much to see, do and not enough time. And now returning next year is our new goal. We did upgrade to a Magic Pass once we realized we could easily spend more than 2 days there. Who knew the smallest Disney park could so captivate? Everyday we do multiple rides on Small World, WTPHH, Buzz and Teacups and eat at the Plaza Inn and Banquet Hall. Lovely food. Once in a while when there is no queue we do the adult rides. Highly recommend it for families whose kids who love to read the same stories a million times over and husbands who really don’t care what they do as long as the kids are happy. Definitely has more Character photo ops than any other Disney PArk I’ve been to. Had pics with Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz and Woody! Fantastic!
We also had great food at Hong Kong Disneyland. What did you think of Plaza Inn? I went inside and looked around, and it looked really nice, but we didn’t have the time to eat there. Strongly considering it next time, though!
Hi! I have never been to HKDL, but since you asked people who have seen the DCL version of the Golden Mickeys to weigh in, that’s what I’m doing. The Golden Mickeys show was my favorite stage show of the 3 that I saw on the Disney Wonder. I loved it. I’d be interested to see what you think of it compared to the Hong Kong version if you go on another cruise and they’re showing it. The plot (of the English version, at least) involves the host of the awards show not showing up (or something like that; I don’t really remember) and they have to replace her with a backstage worker who is at first really nervous but then becomes confident in herself by the end of the show. It’s really cute and fun and (from your description) sounds very different from the Hong Kong version.
I wouldn’t say it’s very different (maybe it is!), but it does sound a bit different. Sarah just saw Golden Mickeys on the Disney Dream and seemed to enjoy it. Hopefully she does a report on the cruise soon!
OK. Well, I definitely hope you can persuade her to do a trip report! I’d love to hear her opinion of the newer ships (I’ve never been on the dream or fantasy but have read mixed reviews of them.)
Wow awesome photos I am guessing you’re a pro photographer
The night shots quality specially makes me think you may have mastered Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO and other camera technicalities. I was wondering if you maybe able to tell the type of camera (model and brand) plus the lens you used to shoot.
The first picture, why are there no people at the castle area.
When we visited there are no times that no people nearby taking pictures or passing by.
Tom, I would like to ask your opinion as I think you could give some great advice.
This year will be our first time in both Hong Kong and Tokyo Disneyland resorts. Currently we are scheduled to spend 3 nights and 2 days in Hong Kong Disneyland before spending four days in Tokyo Disneyland.
Do you think this sounds like a good division of time? Or do you think 1 day (2 nights) in Hong Kong and five days in Tokyo (an extra day) would be better to give us more time to explore the Japanese resort? I have heard Hong Kong is a ‘one day park’ but I also like to just sit and take in the atmosphere and relax so more time wouldn’t bother me. If you had six days to spend between both resorts, how would you spend your time?
Thanks for your assistance!
I would absolutely do 1 day at Hong Kong Disneyland and 5 days at Tokyo Disney Resort. If you like to sit and take in the atmosphere, there is no better park in the world than Tokyo DisneySea.
Regardless of how you do it, you need to make sure you’re in Tokyo for weekdays and in Hong Kong for the weekend. Do not make the mistake of doing Tokyo Disney Resort over the weekend unless you don’t mind huge crowds.
Thanks Tom.
That’s exactly how we’ve scheduled it. We’ve planned this trip around a particularly quiet week in Disneyland/DisneySea out of only a couple they have per year! This is why we wanted to take full advantage of it.
Thanks for your assistance!
I absolutely agree with your assessment on Mystic Manor. The music, the effects and the characters are simply awesome. It shows what imagineering can do when they are given the free reign to design something from the ground up with all original material. I think if they brought this to the states it would be a huge hit and they would sell a ton of Albert merchandise.
I also thught that Big Grizzly was a great reimagining of Big Thunder Mountain. I especially like how you called it a merging of BTM, EE and Country bears. I had not thought of it that way but now that you mention it that is quite accurate.
Regarding Stitch, I did sit through the English version of it. It is cute, funny, and very similar to TT with Crush. It is the cute, nice version of Stitch as opposed to the “Bad” version Disney has used in US based attractions.
Thanks for the info on Stitch. From what I’ve heard, it sounds a lot like Turtle Talk, except with Stitch. I’m guessing it’s a fairly enjoyable attraction.
We visited HKDL in February, 2011, before the opening of Mystic Point, Toy Story, and their Frontierland, and I was not too impressed. Luckily, we were already in Hong Kong and made a trip to DL- we didn’t plan a trip around it.
We arrived to the park around 1:00pm on a weekday in the off-season and were done by 5:00pm, having felt we got our money’s worth. We rode Space Mountain (walk-on) about 5 times, rode Jungle Cruise in Cantonese, even rode Autopia (which we’d never done stateside, but the attraction count was so low and lines so short that we decided to try it). We had planned to stay for fireworks, but couldn’t fathom waiting around another 2-3 hours for them after having done most everything already so decided to call it a day. (We didn’t see shows, but we rode nearly every ride, shopped, even did some character greetings- it would have been 1.5 days worth do stuff at MK- in 4 hours!)
I was also hoping to find some cool HKDL merchandise (to wear around the US parks for street cred) but I was not impressed there either. Designs were very plain and almost all in English. I was hoping for a shirt with Cantonese letters that looked completely foreign, but they looked like the generic “Mickey Florida” shirts that can be had for $8 on I-Drive.
Granted, Mystic Manor has completely changed the equation, and going at a busier time of year would have added lines, but I still wouldn’t plan a trip around the world (we had a 16 hour direct flight from NYC) just for this park. If a Tokyo stopover is an option, that makes more sense, but don’t go to Hong Kong for Disney- go for Hong Kong!!
One plus to the park- the castle view was gorgeous! It’s a clone of the Disneyland castle, but instead of having the Matterhorn as a backdrop, it has real mountains! That was very disorienting and totally cool all at once.
The new areas have definitely changed the equation, and with the Iron Man Experience and additional expansion coming, Hong Kong Disneyland will only continue to improve on a yearly basis. I’m really excited about its upside.
As for merchandise, funny that you mention it, but we thought it had the best merchandise of any international park by a wide margin. A big part of that was the merchandise for Mystic Manor and Grizzly Gulch, but there was some other good merchandise around the park, too.
One thing I would like to recommend to anyone going during the Halloween event are the Haunted Houses…The Main Street Hotel was particularly good. A fair amount of detail in the sets, and they reminded me a bit of the Haunted Mansion, which was a plus. I may be overselling it, but I was thrilled with the novelty of them. Plus, they were actually SCARY, not what I sometimes call “Disney Scary” (i.e. Haunted Mansion). If you enjoy Haunted Houses, they’re worth checking out.
I’m so happy I got to visit Tokyo and Hong Kong about two weeks apart. Even after Tokyo, Hong Kong Disneyland was absolutely worth it (and dare I say it, if we’re only comparing cities, I actually liked Hong Kong better). The park was immaculate and much prettier than Tokyo Disneyland. Other thoughts:
-I prefer the Stitch Encounter to Turtle Talk. Stitch is more mischevious which I think makes the experience more fun!
-Odd to hear that they switched PhilharMagic to Cantonese, it was in English in 2010 at least.
-Hong Kong’s Space Mountain is the only one in the world with a Single Rider Line!
Whoa…there are haunted houses for Halloween?!
Other than the near-universal sentiment that “it’s awesome” (and scary), I know very little about what they actually do for Halloween. I’m really excited!
Tom, there are several walkthrough Haunted attractions during Halloween. The Mainstreet Hotel above was replaced with Grave Academy. There is a place near Plaza Inn where they can organise the seasonal event (they also did a Mickey Christmas’s House there). Last year, there were Grave Academy, Revenge of the Headless Horseman, and Sideshow Carnival Extraordinaire… They used to have the Cruised Jungle as well. They also used to have Nightmare in the Sky fireworks but only for 1 year… At night there is a small show with zoombie dancing and roaming around Mainstreet using Haunted Mansion soundtrack with creepy lights and effects.
I really like what have HKDL done for Halloween and upset for Christmas!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Disneyland
Look at the wiki link, they have the list of celebration events and you can see how popular HKDL is in Halloween and how worse it is Christmas…
Will and I actually went together, and I second everything he said (the haunted houses were surprisingly scary!!). I also remember PhilharMagic being in English, and the Stitch Encounter was exactly the same as Turtle Talk (except for the differences that come with that character of course). I also loved the zombies roaming Main Street!
I absolutely agree with your reviews of the attractions! I absolutely love Hong Kong Disneyland. It may be small, but it’s definitely grown. Mystic Manor and the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars are two of my favorite attractions at any Disney Park and I much prefer its version of Festival of the Lion King to Disney’s Animal Kingdom (and I love DAK’s version). I definitely fall then into the biggest Disney fan category because one day is not enough for me!
I agree on two days–then again, I like to slow down, dine in the restaurants, and do some things multiple times. I think our next visit will be for Halloween, and we’re debating going for 2.5 days!
Oh, so jealous! I hear that Hong Kong Disneyland is AMAZING during Halloween. I am hoping to go one day to experience it!
Hi Tom! Thanks so much for making this. I am planning on taking a trip to Tokyo Disneyland this summer, and I am wondering if it is worth it to make a stop at Hong Kong Disneyland either on the way there or the way back. Would you recommend doing this? Thanks!
If you’re already going to Tokyo and you have the time, absolutely.
Most airlines will only charge a nominal amount ($50-100) or nothing for a stopover in Hong Kong. Just make sure you book a multi-stop ticket. Pretty easy to do.
did you find rides were scaled to smaller sized people?
They were comparable with the ones in Orlando:)
Ps I’m 1.7m:)