Hong Kong Disneyland Re-Reopening
After re-closing two months ago as a precautionary measure during a mild spike in the city, Hong Kong Disneyland is reopening again on September 25, 2020. In this post, we’ll cover the details, policies, and more.
For starters, ‘spike’ is a relative term. During what was actually Hong Kong’s third wave, new cases peaked at 149 per day; on that same day, Florida had 9,956 new cases. Since late January, Hong Kong has reported 5,000 cases and 103 deaths. Given Hong Kong’s population of nearly 7.5 million people, those numbers are among the lowest in the world.
While it’s exciting that Hong Kong Disneyland will once again reopen, there’s nothing to say another closure is out of the question. Unlike the US parks, the Hong Kong Government is the majority owner of the venture, with the Walt Disney Company being a minority owner. Given the recent financial woes of Hong Kong Disneyland, it’s unlikely Disney would push to keep the park operational. Even if they did, Disney does not have power or economic influence in Hong Kong…
When Hong Kong Disneyland re-reopens on September 25, 2020, the park will not be open 7 days per week. During the initial reopening stage, Hong Kong Disneyland will be closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays, except public holidays and designated days, until further notice.
This is a shift from its previous reopening, and is somewhat concerning for Hong Kong Disneyland’s long-term viability. The park already had significant economic woes for a number of reasons, and the last ~8 months have only exacerbated those.
The majority of the park’s attractions, shopping and dining locations will resume operations. As before, this will occur with physical distancing and reduced capacity. Guests can check the availability of attractions and entertainment through the official Hong Kong Disneyland website and app.
When Hong Kong Disneyland reopens, all guests will be required to make a reservation for their visit date with their valid tickets or membership cards through the Hong Kong Disneyland Park Visit Reservation website. This includes those guests with regular tickets, Magic Access Annual Passholders, and complimentary ticket holders.
Magic Access members may make a reservation beginning eight days prior to their visit. General guests may make a reservation beginning seven days prior to their visit.
Magic Access members may reserve 1 day in advance, beginning from September 22, 2020. Reservations for other guests will begin at 12 p.m. on September 23, 2020.
Guests with reservations are required to present valid tickets or membership cards for entry. A reservation is not required for children below three years of age and they can enjoy free park admission as usual.
We’re actually mildly surprised to see HKDL use a park entry reservation system given that attendance at the park was already depressed in the last few years. Guest numbers will likely be down even further due to travel bans.
On the health safety front, Hong Kong Disneyland guests will need to make a health declaration as part of their pre-arrival reservation process. (Unlike mainland China, Hong Kong does not have a QR health code tracking system.)
Additionally, guests will undergo temperature screening procedures upon arrival and will need to wear a mask during their visit, except when enjoying food and beverage at catering premises. That’s all pretty similar to what is done at Walt Disney World.
Hong Kong Disneyland will implement social distancing in queues, restaurants, attraction vehicles and other facilities throughout the park. Character experiences requiring close interaction and close-up photos will be temporarily suspended. Other character experience opportunities that can accommodate social distancing will be available in locations throughout the park. The resort is also gradually resuming its hotel services.
The frequency of sanitization and disinfection measures in high-guest contact areas at Hong Kong Disneyland will be increased in order to augment the standards of cleanliness already in place throughout the resort, and extra hand sanitizers will be available. Further health safety measures, including granular things like A/C system cleaning, are covered here.
Even with the third wave re-closure, Hong Kong has been an incredible success story of the pandemic. This is despite never having a full lockdown. Hong Kongers spontaneously adopted near-universal masking on their own (despite a government ban on masks) and an army of volunteers tracked outbreaks.
Hong Kong’s response was a mostly grassroots movement driven by the organizational capacity and the civic infrastructure built by its prodemocracy movement. Little credit can be attributed to the city’s unpopular government, which wavered, delayed, and did its best to bungle the response.
Hong Kong’s total, cumulative caseload has been a small fraction of Florida’s daily numbers. In fairness, Florida does have triple Hong Kong’s population, but we’re still comparing nearly 5 months of cases to a single day, and Hong Kong is one of the most population-dense places in the world.
Ultimately, we would love to visit Hong Kong Disneyland at some point in 2021 if it’s feasible and safe for Americans. With each passing day that seems less likely for several different reasons, sadly. What has happened to Hong Kong is nothing short of heartbreaking.
Nevertheless, we retain a sliver of optimism that the damage done to Hong Kong’s autonomy can still be undone. We absolutely love Hong Kong, its people, and its unique character. Same goes for Hong Kong Disneyland, which is home to two of our Top 10 New Disney Attractions of the Last Decade. Then there are its hotels, which are great–and budget friendly as compared to their U.S. counterparts. Ditto its restaurants, especially the ones at the resorts.
Hong Kong Disneyland is perfect for anyone looking for a more intimate and laid back Disney theme park experience as part of a primarily non-Disney travel experience. Hong Kong Disneyland is charming and relaxed in a way that California’s Disneyland used to be–there’s a lot to love about the little park.
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
What do you think of Hong Kong Disneyland’s reopening? Would you like to visit sometime this year or next to see the Castle of Magical Dreams? Are you hesitant to visit Hong Kong going forward? If you’ve visited the park, what do you like most about Hong Kong Disneyland? If you’ve never been to Hong Kong, what interests you most about the park? Anything else to add? Any questions? Hearing from you is half the fun, so please share your questions and thoughts in the comments!
You neglected to mention that for seniors, you can get a two day HKD ticket for under $20!!!
As a HK follower of your blog, thank you very much for addressing and recognising our community efforts in fighting the virus and democratic movement. Your tips and guides helped me through trips to all Disney parks around the world. Seeing your attention and wish to our social movement made this blog even more valuable to me. Wish you great health.
Hi, I am Hong Konger. Thanks for update of HK Disneyland. I love DIsney so much and I just went to Walt Disney World last year. Can’t imagine situations around the world are so bad right now! Most HK people are very smart and cautious for this becuase we experienced SARS in 2003. We realized HK government is useless and not helping us now. Wearing mask and keep wasking hand are acceptable measures for us. We didn’t underrate COVID-19 since it only records 10 deaths. It will kill lots of people if we only treated it as flu. So please wear mask and tolerate everyone! It saves you and your family!
Bottom line is Disney needs to reopen and stay open . With all the money that has been spent on the parks in the recent years , Disney fans need to do the math . BANKRUPTCY will be right around the corner if they cant operate . A company this size needs that stream of revenue . The show must go on !
I’m confused about one thing regarding the HKDL closure. Perhaps I misread what Tom wrote but from my understanding he said since January Hong Kong has had 1500 cases with 8 deaths. Doing the math (8/1500) leaves us with a mortality rate of .005%. Without trying to sound cynical, that ain’t bad considering viruses in general are everywhere and people can get sick from and die from something other than covid. Now, I’m not saying they need to wait till they get numbers like those in the US. However, when it comes to viruses, it’s impossible to save everyone, including the 8 that unfortunately perished. It sounds like Hong Kong was already being very diligent and proactive towards staving off the virus.
Ronald, some folks just need to look for things to be scared of. Yes, I’ve had one family member die from Cove complications and my aunt tested positive with mild symptoms only. Harold had severe COPD and needed a lung transplant several years ago, so he was a super high risk case. SO yes, it’s dangerous for a small fraction of people, and a small fraction of those who get infected will not survive. That is why we are trying to slow (cannot stop) the spread, but it’s not worth bankrupting millions of small businesses and people. Opening back up with sensible measures is necessary. I’ll wear a mask and take precautions to make sure I can’t carry it to others just because.
what a stark contrast. double digit cases and they shut everything back down to contain spread. meanwhile, the US continues to flounder with no plan in place, other than continue reopening and send kids to school. florida in and of itself has the 4th most cases worldwide.
So those in HK are most likely actual cases of sick people, not positive tests, antibody tests, or worse, double-counted. In other words, actually sick people, not just a theoretical issue.
One thing to keep in mind about the numbers being reported in the US is they count positive retests as a new case. I work in the medical field and at first we joked about this fact saying they just want to increase numbers, but now after seeing the madness and hysteria of some of the patients we have, it’s clearly very misleading. If someone has covid and they test positive 5 times, they will count that as 5 cases when clearly it is limited to one. It’s misleading and dishonest but most people aren’t aware of this.
I’d love to go check out Hong Kong, and the DL park there. Not sure that’s in the cards though, the way things are going. Also want to see Shanghai DL, and Tokyo parks! Who wouldn’t? Finally got over to DLP in March, and it was awesome!
Hey Nico!
Long time no chat. Glad you loved DLP! How did you like Phantom Manor? And isn’t Big Thunder fantastic there?!? What was your favourite part of the DLP experience? I really hope you get to visit all the other parks, they all have their special something. Where to next? 😉
Hey, it’s been a while, eh? Sorry, couldn’t resist… Hope all is well up there. Phantom Manor is cool, similar but different. DLP has the best versions of Pirates, Big Thunder, and Space that I’ve seen! I love that park. It was chilly in March and a little moist, so low crowds. We stayed at Hotel Santa Fe. Being from actual New Mexico and having been to Santa Fe numerous times, we seriously laughed at some of the kitschy theming but it was nice. The Route 66 and Cars tie-ins were great.
High points were the better attractions, even the little Indiana Jones coaster was cool and unexpected. Treehouse was very cool. The level of detail though is insane! Almost every building, especially Fantasyland and the castle.
Low point, the food. It’s like they took US carnival food and dropped it down five notches into some kind of caricature of the stuff we eat. Even at the Disney Village places. We figured maybe they didn’t want to offend the French sense of pride with better food like at WDW?
Hi Tom! Does your statement still apply following the passing of the National Security Law: ‘Suffice to say, we’re very excited to go back to Hong Kong.’? I truly believe (and am exceedingly saddened) that the HK we fell in love with will no longer exist… I’m no political expert but, as a Canadian, I really don’t feel safe going back given the blank slate of what can be interpreted as a threat to the CCP (what if I follow HK Free Press on Insta and actively comment?!?). With the ongoing Meng situation, our fates (US and Canada) are kinda intertwined… and the Canadian government has given a clear warning that we could face an increased risk of arbitrary detention in Hong Kong and possible extradition to mainland China. I’m hoping you’ll be the voice of reason and tell me I’m overreacting here… I value your legal knowledge and your informed opinion.
I’ve optimistically (perhaps foolishly?) held out hope that the West would push back hard against China’s National Security Law for Hong Kong, resulting in China backing down. Thus far, the exact opposite has happened.
It seems increasingly likely that China and the West will enter a new Cold War at this point, in which case visiting Hong Kong would not be advisable.
“Throughout the entire outbreak, Hong Kong has had fewer total cases than Central Florida did in a single day today, so clearly the standards are different.”
Clearly the leadership is vastly different.
Clearly the people are different. (Most of Hong Kong’s success is in spite of its government, not because of it.)
Responsible citizens don’t need leaders to babysit them. They do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.
Do you mean that it’s closing July 15th? Not June 15th?
Yes, sorry about that. (And thanks for point it out.)
Happy to see HKDL reopening! Fell in love with the park and the city when I went in September 2018.
Can’t wait to get back out there and see the new castle; hoping the park still retains the charm it boasts above nearly all over Disney Parks!
I cannot recommend the park enough to anyone that hasn’t been or is potentially underestimating it due to its size (as I did before I went). It is potentially the most *pleasant* and low stress Disney parks experiences I’ve ever had and is home to two of my top 10 Disney attractions in the world – Mystic Manor and Big Grizzly Mountain!
Tom, I was just in HK in November, and the protests were BAD. I’ll preface this by saying I totally support their movement, but the tourist experience was completely derailed. I’d been there at the beginning of the Umbrella Movement as well, and that was nothing compared to how these most recent riots have been. We stayed near Mong Kok train station for most of the 10-day visit, and the protests/riots took place on the street below us. We watched from our window each night as the police brought in trucks of tear gas and shot rubber bullets at the protesters. One night, we saw the protesters busting up the storefront windows of the 7/11 across the street. Most of Mong Kok’s restaurants/shops closed before dinner time on days when protests started earlier in the day. Throughout the day, the protesters shut down the roads and public transportation so that it was impossible to navigate normally.
We got up early and took a taxi to Disney property for the last few days of our trip, and shortly after we arrived early that morning, protesters cut off transportation to Lantau Island so that many of the Cast Members weren’t able to get to work, and many of the attractions weren’t able to operate. Our stay definitely coincided with one of the worse weeks of the protests, but before we’d headed there (and on the first 3 days of our trip), there had been nothing to indicate we were in any danger until a police brutality event that spurred more violent rioting.
Just a word of caution since you said the protests wouldn’t deter you from going back. To be honest, I’m so in love with Hong Kong that even after that trip, I would still probably go back despite protests, but I would add extra time because so many of our days ended up leading nowhere if we weren’t able to get out of Kowloon or if attractions were closed, and we ended up only doing about half of the things we wanted to.
Nobody wants to become under full control of China and their CCP goons. The agreement for HK to remain separate should’ve been made for thousand years at least.
Wow, I hadn’t actually predicted they would extend only by the number of *active* days available on the pass. They’re not removing blackout dates from the extended period, so I’m not sure that’s fair. These things are always best illustrated with extremes, so assume an annual pass that allowed access on one day a month, a new expiration date of existing plus five days would be obviously unfair.
That said, I guess that’s what the additional 30 days are for – it’s not a huge difference, just interesting. Now I’ve just got to hope I’ll be allowed to enter Hong Kong before May 2021!
Great to see HKDL reopening. Can’t wait to get back there again. Mystic Manor alone makes this park worth the trip!
I am loving reading about all the different park reopenings. So fascinating from a geeky point of view! Also I had been fairly dismissive of HKDL, thinking we should focus on the Tokyo or Shanghai parks for future travel goals. Now I am more I intrigued by HKDL especially since we have been to Hong Kong once and loved the city.
Oops sorry for the double typing there!
I am concerned about the short reservation window being used in HKDL. You can only make a reservation for park attendance 7 days before your planned visit?! At the top of the post, you stated that HKDL usually mirrors the American Parks. I have a trip planned to Disney World for my bachelorette weekend during Labor Day weekend. We are staying off site and had not purchased tickets yet. I am hoping Disney World will have a 60 day reservation window rather than one week! What are your thoughts on this?
Good question! I’d expect a longer window for Walt Disney World since it’s tourist-driven. That’s not the case at HKDL, where the vast majority of guests are taking the MTR in from the city, likely only planning their visits a few days in advance.
(I’ve updated the post to clarify this point, too.)