2024 Hong Kong Disneyland Planning Guide
This Hong Kong Disneyland planning guide will help you figure out all you need to know to prepare for your trip: park tickets, attractions, dining, transportation, hotels, and much more! Since Hong Kong only has one park and three hotels, it’s much easier to plan a visit here than just about any other Disney resort around the world. (Updated January 17, 2024.)
Even with the language barrier, a first trip to Hong Kong Disneyland is so much easier than a first trip to Walt Disney World! Various nuances of international travel can make it a little tricky, but overall, it’s a pretty simple place to visit. Since Hong Kong Disneyland is not too complicated, this guide covers more about the logistics of doing the trip and getting there, plus general info about traveling to Hong Kong in general, as opposed to specifics once you’re there.
All things considered, we view HKDL as one of the cooler destinations in Hong Kong. Even for people who are not Disney fans, it’s a fun way to spend a day, and it being located near the Tian Tan Buddha and Hong Kong International Airport makes it an easy place to visit outside of the city proper. This covers everything you need to know if you’re planning a visit to Hong Kong Disneyland in 2024 or beyond. We’ve stayed at all of the hotels at HKDL, done every attraction, and eaten at (almost) every restaurant…
As for serious Disney fans, Hong Kong Disneyland is finally a park that’s on many bucket lists, with the incredibly highly regarded Mystic Manor almost alone making Hong Kong Disneyland worth visiting. (Almost.) It’s also fun to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between it and the other parks, as well as experience other unique Hong Kong Disneyland attractions.
In addition to this guide, we recommend consulting our Hong Kong City Guide on TravelCaffeine, our non-Disney planning site, for your time downtown. We also recommend checking out Macau, which is a popular “side trip” from Hong Kong. Although we visit Hong Kong regularly, we’ve only been to Macau once. It was an interesting experience and potentially worth visiting, depending upon your interests (but a “one and done” for us).
With that said, let’s get started with the guide…
What’s New & Next in 2024 at Hong Kong Disneyland
Arendelle – World of Frozen – This new land is the biggest expansion at Hong Kong Disneyland in a decade. World of Frozen is home to two attractions, including an enhanced version of the Frozen Ever After boat ride and the all-new roller coaster, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs. World of Frozen also offers unique character experiences at the Playhouse in the Woods, plus a restaurant, retail, and other things to do.
“Momentous” Nighttime Spectacular – The new fireworks show above Castle of Magical Dreams features close to 40 classic Disney moments, nearly 150 cherished characters, and comes to life with multimedia elements, including large scale 3D projection mapping technology, choreographed fountains, illuminated water projection, lasers, theatrical lighting, pyrotechnics, and fireworks effects. What’s more, your ears will be regaled with newly-reimagined classic Disney songs. It’s a spellbinding experience that’s sure to melt hearts, warm smiles, and reawaken beloved memories.
Castle of Magical Dreams – The reimagined castle transformed the tiny Sleeping Beauty Castle into a much taller monument to 13 stories of beloved Disney Princesses and heroines. The Castle of Magical Dreams celebrates Cinderella, Tiana, Aurora, Ariel, Mulan, Snow White, Moana, Merida, Belle, Rapunzel, Pocahontas, Jasmine, plus Anna and Elsa. The central, raised stage in front of the Castle of Magical Dreams hosts a variety of daytime shows throughout the year focused on favorite Disney characters and stories through song and dance. At night, there’s the above-referenced Momentous fireworks show.
More Marvel…? – Over the course of the last several years, Marvel attractions have debuted at Hong Kong Disneyland. Tomorrowland is now home to Stark Expo, which currently includes the Iron Man Experience simulator and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! The former is a simulator very similar to Star Tours, whereas the latter is a shooter attraction that reimagined Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.
At some point in the future, a Marvel E-Ticket might be built in Tomorrowland. Although originally announced several years ago, those plans are still up in the air. Between the closures and prior financial struggles–plus Disneyland in California revisiting the E-Ticket concept–it’s unclear what, if anything, else will be built.
The Hong Kong government released a report last year indicating that only about half of the original expansion budget has been spent, but it’s unclear whether the other half will still come to fruition, or if the company and city will cut their losses. See What’s New & Coming Soon to Hong Kong Disneyland for a rundown of what else is on the horizon–and has been recently added.
Hong Kong Disneyland as a Destination
We’ll start by noting that the U.S. State Department issued an advisory for Hong Kong, but with a Level 2 status, recommending that American travelers “exercise increased caution.” This is one level below mainland China.
For our part, we feel perfectly safe in Hong Kong and want to support the country and its people to the extent that they have a degree of autonomy, and their own economic and administrative systems. But the degree to which that’s still the case is murky, at best. I would like to think that people being willing to visit Hong Kong but not mainland China does send a message, but that’s probably wishful thinking.
Setting aside that dilemma, Hong Kong Disneyland is not a destination resort for the average American who needs to fly 16+ hours to get there. We absolutely adore Hong Kong Disneyland, but no American should make the expensive trip to Hong Kong solely for this theme park. That would just be foolish and excessive for a park that is a 1-day park for 95% of guests and a 2-day park only for extreme Disney fans. Fortunately, there are a couple of other ways to visit Hong Kong Disneyland that do make the trip reasonable.
We’ve been to Hong Kong Disneyland a few times, and each time, that has been in conjunction with another destination. Our first two times, we did Tokyo Disney Resort after HKDL, treating it as the “Gateway to Tokyo Disney Resort.” During one visit, we went to Hong Kong after Shanghai Disneyland.
There are a few reasons for stopping in Hong Kong. First, it’s very easy to book Hong Kong as a stopover on the way to Tokyo or Shanghai, which means that it’s inexpensive to add Hong Kong to an Asia trip from an airfare perspective. (We are aware that a lot of people don’t understand how stopovers work, so you can read about that in our “How to Visit 3 Disney Destinations on 1 Airfare” post.)
Second, while Hong Kong Disneyland has come into its own as of the last couple of years in terms of being a quality Disney theme park, it still doesn’t compare to Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, or Shanghai Disneyland. You should not fly to Asia solely for Hong Kong Disneyland.
Finally, although we don’t believe there’s a substantial language barrier at Tokyo Disney Resort or Shanghai Disneyland, English is much more common in Hong Kong (a British colony until the late 1990s), making it a good way to ease into a foreign environment for those inexperienced with international travel.
If you’re also visiting the Japan or Shanghai parks, make sure to consult our Tokyo Disneyland Trip Planning Guide and our Shanghai Disneyland Trip Planning Guide. There’s a lot more you’ll need to know for those visits! Hong Kong Disneyland is far and away the easiest of the trio to visit. It’s the most charming and laid back Disney park on the planet.
Another option is to visit Hong Kong Disneyland as part of a trip to Hong Kong and Macau. Hong Kong is frequently described as where “East Meets West,” and there’s truly something for everyone. From temples and shrines to a developed metropolis, Hong Kong has it all. It’s truly one of our favorite cities in the world.
Macau is akin to Las Vegas on steroids, and is a place where you can find UNESCO World Heritage Sites mere streets away from larger than life casinos. Macau is something else–really unique and well worth seeing. Definitely not among our favorite places in the world, but we’re glad we’ve been there before, and recommend it to others if “Vegas on Steroids but with Old World Heritage” catches your curiosity.
(For those unfamiliar with Hong Kong, although technically part of China, it’s a “Special Administrative Region” on an outlying island, meaning that visiting locations in mainland China like Shanghai and Beijing requires another flight.)
Language
Much like Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland is a bit of a melting pot in terms of guest demographics. Many visitors come from Hong Kong, but it seems that just as many come from mainland China (there’s a pretty big difference between the two).
Hong Kong Disneyland also sees its fair share of Australians, guests from other countries in Asia, and a variety of guests from other English speaking countries. Cantonese, Mandarin, and English are all commonly-spoken languages by Cast Members at Hong Kong Disneyland. In fact, some attractions offer options for each of those three languages.
Some attractions and aspects of the park are not in English, but as English-speaking guests, we did not at all feel isolated or at a disadvantage. The things that aren’t in English are pretty easy to understand given their largely visual nature, or through subtitles. We do not view Hong Kong Disneyland as having any significant language barrier.
How Long to Visit
We sort of touched upon this in the section above, but unless you’re a really serious Disney fan, we recommend one day at Hong Kong Disneyland. Contrary to popular lore, Hong Kong Disneyland is not a half day park. It’s also probably not a two day park, though. If you do opt for two days, that gives you time to slow down and do just about everything, plus repeat favorites, have a table service meal or two, and soak up the ambiance. That much time is not necessary (except perhaps on national holidays?), though.
You can hit the highlights in a single day, and if you’re traveling all the way to Hong Kong, you might want to allocate any additional time to exploring the city. If you are in any way crunched for time, (e.g. visiting both Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland or Tokyo), don’t spend more than 1 of your theme park days at Hong Kong Disneyland; spend the rest of your time at Shanghai Disneyland and/or Tokyo Disney Resort.
When to Visit
Hong Kong Disneyland is the international park at which we’ve spent the least time, having visited only a half-dozen times–mostly around Halloween and Christmas. We’ve researched it more, and have learned the following.
Basically, you want to avoid three times: 1) the summer tourist season (not only are crowds high, but so is humidity–the area around Hong Kong Disneyland might technically be a jungle), 2) weekends, and 3) holidays, especially the Chinese New Year.
We’ve heard that crowds can be very high during these times. During our weekday off-season Christmas visit, the park seemed empty by US standards. There were several times in the middle of the day when Mystic Manor was a walk-on, and only a handful of popular, low-capacity rides had prohibitive waits.
When we returned in the summer, the humidity was killer. We will never go back to Hong Kong Disneyland between May and September ever again because the humidity is simply too brutal to have a pleasant time.
Halloween season is another time of year that Hong Kong Disneyland, but whether you should avoid it or go because of this is a good question. We went during Halloween a couple of years ago, and it was amazing. Take a look at our photos and thoughts on the elaborate (and genuinely scary!) Halloween entertainment offerings at Hong Kong Disneyland.
The one downside was that it was still pretty humid, but not nearly as bad. We wouldn’t hesitate to go back at Halloween-time, simply because the entertainment is so awesome. Crowds are a bit higher, but it’s totally worth it.
What to Pack
As always, we think the items on our Unique Disney Packing List will be helpful in any of the Disney theme parks. Specific to Hong Kong, we note that since it is a jungle (or jungle-like, at the very least) environment, plan for hot weather. Things like Frogg Togg Chilly Pads will come in handy, as will moisture wicking clothing.
In general, we would caution against overpacking. This is especially true in terms of toiletries if you’re staying at one of the on-site hotels. Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel provided a large set of toiletries in our room (large enough that it was themed to the Seven Dwarfs and there was a different item for each Dwarf!). Remember, Hong Kong is a world city, and you can purchase just about anything in Hong Kong that you’d be able to purchase at a convenience store in Orlando.
If you are going to be staying in multiple hotels in Asia, we highly recommend packing cubes or compression bags (I prefer the cubes) for organization. You can read more of our “carry-on philosophy” and which types of bags we use here.
Getting There
Compared to Tokyo, getting to Hong Kong from the United States is super easy. Well, minus that whole 12-16 hour flight. Once you land in Hong Kong, if you’re going directly to Hong Kong Disneyland, you’re going to take a taxi there. Yes, you can take the MTR, but that will require two transfers and significantly more time than just taking a taxi. Both Hong Kong Disneyland hotels are basically “airport hotels,” and they are only about a 10-15 minute taxi ride that will cost around $20. You will certainly save a little money taking the MTR, but the time and headache savings more than justify taking a taxi.
If you are also visiting Hong Kong as part of your trip, we recommend doing the city itself before Hong Kong Disneyland, in which case taking the MTR into Hong Kong is the way to go. Our rationale for doing the city first is because it puts you at Hong Kong Disneyland right before your flight leaving Hong Kong, and you presumably will be on more of a strict schedule (since you flight has a set departure time) on the way out than you are on the way in, and it’s easier to bank on the 10-15 minute taxi ride to the airport than it is on the 30 minute to an hour long MTR ride from downtown Hong Kong to the airport.
The MTR is very reliable–it’s the best public transportation we’ve encountered anywhere in the world–but it’s still more predictable/safer to rely on a short taxi ride to the airport than a longer train ride, which means you won’t need to build as much of a time cushion into your return airport trip.
Phone/Internet
There are lots of options available for phones and internet in Hong Kong, but from what we could gather, very few reasonably priced options that would allow us to use our iPhones. Unlike Japan, where MiFi is an easy and relatively inexpensive option, it seemed that Hong Kong was more geared towards phone and SIM card rental.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to spend too much time researching this, as we quickly learned that Hong Kong has an impressive, free-for-visitors WiFi network. Rather than paying for anything, we have just used the free public WiFi when visiting Hong Kong.
Free WiFi is now available in Hong Kong Disneyland. However, it’s very spotty, meaning that you won’t have internet access at all in some lands. When this has happened, we just did without internet for an hour or so.
If you will literally die if you don’t post to Instagram for an hour, check out rental options. We wouldn’t want to be responsible for a headline in USA Today reading, “American Abroad Dies From Snapchat Withdrawal.” 😉
Money
We strongly recommend having a credit card with no foreign transaction fees for any international travel and also carrying cash for emergencies (plus small merchants and taxis that may not accept credit cards), but we didn’t find ourselves using credit cards or cash much in Hong Kong. Instead, we used what’s called the Octopus card. You think Walt Disney World’s MagicBands are cool? The entire island of Hong Kong has had the tap-to-pay system down since 1997.
The Octopus card is a reloadable tap-to-pay card that can be used at a multitude of locations, from 7-11 to the trains. It’s super easy to use, and how we paid for probably 75%+ of our transactions in Hong Kong.
Hotels
Hong Kong Disneyland has two official hotels, Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, both of which are walking distance to HDKL. (There’s also a shuttle if you’d prefer.) We’ve stayed at each of these hotels, and will give you a quick synopsis of each, along with links to our reviews.
- Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is the flagship, Grand Floridian-esque hotel, and it’s slightly closer to the park. We loved Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.
- Disney’s Hollywood Hotel is a Deluxe-caliber hotel that is Art Deco stylized, cheaper, and about 5 minutes farther away from the park. We also had a great stay at Hollywood Hotel, and found it to be a solid value.
- Explorers Lodge is the newest, and best, hotel at Hong Kong Disneyland. As you can read in our full Explorers Lodge Review, this is our favorite hotel at HKDL.
If you’re on a tighter budget, there are also some nearby hotels that you can find on the usual suspects of booking sites. We’ve stayed at a couple of those, and would recommend the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel. It’s basically a business class airport hotel. Really nice (and you earn points!).
In terms of perks, there’s no real benefit to staying on-site. Hong Kong Disneyland does not have Extra Magic Hours, an airport shuttle, etc. The train ride in from the Sunny Bay Station is really nice, so we don’t see the harm. The biggest benefit of staying on-site is the convenience of walking between your hotel and the park, and also being enveloped in the Disney ambiance.
We do not recommend booking a hotel in downtown Hong Kong for the entirety of your stay. If you visit downtown Hong Kong, you should do a split stay, changing hotels for the Hong Kong Disneyland leg of the trip. Much like Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland is a decent train ride from downtown, and you’ll spend a couple of hours per day in transit if you make downtown your home base for the duration of the trip.
Park Tickets
Park tickets for Hong Kong Disneyland are super cheap as compared to the US parks. You can save money on Hong Kong Disneyland tickets by purchasing from Klook, which will also allow you to instantly print your ticket. You can also use the coupon to purchase a discounted meal voucher for Hong Kong Disneyland.
One thing to strong consider if you’re going for two or three days and plan to stay on-site is to have one person in your party purchase an Annual Pass. Currently, the breakeven point is 3 days in the park for an AP. Given that most people won’t be visiting for 3 days and the fact that the lowest tier of Annual Pass has 100+ blockout dates, it’s not going to be a good option for most people. (However, Annual Passes offer a variety of discounts, including on hotels for select dates.)
Dining
Dining at Hong Kong Disneyland is pretty simple, too. The restaurants are generally good, have a diverse selection of options (among them), and cater to a variety of dietary needs (including a couple of places that are Halal Certified). Think of it as sort of comparable to dining in the World Showcase in Epcot at Walt Disney World.
We’ve only reviewed a few Hong Kong Disneyland restaurants thus far; to read those make sure to check out our Disney Restaurant Reviews Index. We also have a Top 10 Hong Kong Disneyland Restaurants post, which is more to the point about where you should–and should not–dine.
As with Tokyo, make sure to sample Hong Kong Disneyland’s snacks. There aren’t nearly as many, but there are some good ones. These include the specialty drinks, seasonal donuts, Korean squid, turkey legs, and even Marvel-themed snacks in Tomorrowland.
Also, we highly recommend doing the dim sum meal at Crystal Lotus in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. This needs to be booked in advance, so stop in here the first night of your trip, or call in advance. If you are interested in character dining, our favorite option is the breakfast in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. As we wrote in our Enchanted Garden Restaurant Review, this buffet is one of the best character meals in the world!
Another thing worth trying is the afternoon high tea. As mentioned above, Hong Kong is a former British colony, so this isn’t out of place like it might seem. We have done high tea at both River View Cafe and Corner Cafe on Main Street, but we noticed that it was also available at a couple of other restaurants.
There’s also a Victorian high tea in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. The presentation of our desserts was excellent, and we felt it was well worth the money for the experience. This seemed fairly popular, so consider booking day-of reservations.
That’s really the bulk of our recommendations. You can find what type of cuisine each Hong Kong Disneyland restaurant serves here. You’ll notice not many burger places, so if you’re a picky eater, your options are limited. We avoided the burgers, and found the other options to be excellent and not so exotic that anyone should be scared away from trying them.
What to Do?
We’ve already written an extensive attraction guide for Hong Kong Disneyland, so there’s no point in reinventing the wheel here, just read that. It contains strategy as well as reviews of the attractions. There is also now an official Hong Kong Disneyland mobile app that offers wait times, among other things.
In our experience, Hong Kong Disneyland did not see massive crowds right at park opening like Tokyo. Rather, the attendance builds throughout the day, with the busiest time being in the late afternoon. We’re not advocating sleeping in (especially with the park’s short operating hours), but if you do, it’s probably not the end of the world.
There’s a lot more we could include in this guide, but Hong Kong Disneyland really doesn’t need to be “over-thought,” so let’s cut it off there. We will definitely add to this based on common questions, and I’m more than happy to offer assistance and advice in the comments if you have questions.
Your Thoughts
I know this just begins to scratch the surface of planning for a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland. If you have additional questions, please leave them in the comments. If you’ve been to Hong Kong Disneyland and have tips of your own, please add them in the comments—I might just borrow them for the guide itself!
Excellent overview. We are going there next weekend just from Thursday to Monday. It is a 3 hr flight from Brunei And we want to surprise our 5 yr old daughter for halloween We Are big Disney fans and have been to Florida and California many times. You mentioned a day trip to Macau. Any suggestions on the best day to go and logistics of getting there. Thanks so much. Charlene
We are visiting Hong Kong disney on Christmas Day this year!! What is your advise about purchasing tickets…. We have 4 adults 2 children and 2 seniors..
We can’t wait!!
I want to go here also.
Me too.
Very nice article Tom.. I will be visitng disneyland on 2nd Dec 2014.. I am very excited. . Could you tell me the weather at that time of year.. that will help me in packing.. I will be travelling from India..
Thanks
I would second using HKDL as a gateway for going to the Tokyo Disney Resorts. We went to both DisneySea and HKDL a few weeks ago, and comparatively, HKDL was kind of a letdown. First of all, I want to preface this by saying we went to HKDL on a day when there was some torrential rains, so to some extent perhaps my view will be slightly skewed. At the ticket booths they warned us that a good number of the rides may be closed due to the rains. Seeing as we had already made the MTR trip, and we didn’t really have any other free days, we decided we’d make the most of it regardless of the ride statuses.
Some negatives:
– Upon entering the park and strolling down main street, I noticed a lot of building’s facades were incomplete, and instead had these huge wood boards with the buildings face painted on it. I wasn’t entirely sure if these were simply under construction, or just that way since there weren’t any signs explaining the appearance.
– Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger spin was a bit disappointing. When you get on the ride it pretty much smarts immediately after you turn the first corner outside the loading zone. I guess I’m a little more use to the WDW version where there’s a little bit of a lead up before you start shooting. The ride itself broke at least 20 times during our two rides, and one of the cars had a broken gun. Just luck of the draw, but it did effect the experience since it’s one of our favorite rides.
– The food at Plaza Inn wasn’t bad, but when we noticed there were 5 birds flying around pooping on things, and not a cast member in sight trying to deal with the issue, it kind of put a damper on lunch.
– I would say about 90% of the patrons to HKDL are from mainland China. Not to make too many generalizations, but for the most part they are known to be rude and impatient. This was evident in the queues where they would crowd the lines and try to push their way to the front.
– Maybe it’s just me, but I was hoping for more snacky foods that were unique to HKDL. At DisneySea they had all sorts of stuff like Gyoza dogs, mochi shaped like the little green aliens, tiramisu ice cream sandwich, flavored popcorn carts, etc. I didn’t really see much at HKDL aside from some fish ball skewers.
Positives:
– I was able to get free tickets to HKDL using AsiaMiles since I’ve been back to HK so many times in the past few years (have family in HK).
– Space Mountain is spot on and fun… the rocket carts sit two people side by side which is fine, though in general I prefer the individual seats at WDW. For quick access, go to the single rider line which gets you on the ride in less than 5 minutes (assuming you don’t mind riding with a random).
– Toy Story Land was pretty cool. I’m a big Toy Story fan, and they did a great job of recreating the feel of the movies in that section of the park. The RC ride and Paratrooper drop looked fun, but I didn’t feel like waiting in line in the rain.
– Big Grizzly Mine Car ride was excellent. I was expecting something like Big Thunder railroad, and it’s kind of similar but with some extra surprises. Someone said Big Thunder mixed with Everest which seems somewhat accurate. I would say it’s in the top 5 of my favorite Disney rides.
– The pins, oh the pins! If you’re a pin trader, this is worth the price of admission alone.
– 10% off everything at the Disney stores before noon. Had never heard of that at any other parks before.
Recommendations:
– Don’t go when it’s raining, it’s pretty much a cluster f*. Everyone ends up hiding in the stores because there’s nowhere else to go. It ends up getting really crowded and messy.
– Have lunch/dinner/whatever at Crystal Lotus in the Disneyland Hotel. I recall going there about 5 years ago (?) and it was excellent. The quality of food and environment was spot on.
– Just go with the flow in regards to the other tourists. They’re going to be pushy and a little rude, but don’t let them ruin your time.
– Bring your pins if you’re into that
– Go here before you go to Tokyo Disney otherwise you might be disappointed
Overall:
In the end I had fun despite the rain and the crowd. In terms of quality, the park itself felt a little unfinished… like they just tried to open it as quickly as possible. Having gone to the fantastic DisneySea the week prior, going to HKDL seemed a bit anticlimactic. I kept wanting it to be like DisneySea and unfortunately it wasn’t going to live up to those expectations. Anyways, that’s my two cents.
A few comments in response to your points:
-The buildings on Main Street are being refurbished, which is why the scrims are up with the painted facades on them. That’s how every Disney park does its MSUSA refurbs.
-The Buzz Lightyear attraction in HKDL is the same version as in Paris, Tokyo, and Disneyland. It’s generally regarded as superior to the WDW version by most fans (WDW was the prototype and modifications/enhancements were made to all subsequent versions). Sorry to hear it broke down so much, though.
-You’re right about snacks, they are FAR better in Tokyo. Still, HKDL does have some good, unique stuff.
Otherwise, I can’t really disagree with your points. Sorry to hear about the rain, I’m sure that didn’t help things. What did you think of Mystic Manor???
Ahh ok, thanks for the info regarding the refurbs. I thought that was possibly the case, but wasn’t entirely sure.
Mystic Manor was pretty fun… that silly monkey… he shouldn’t have opened the box! I realized halfway through the ride that it was trackless, which added to the cool factor. It was also nice the ride voiceovers were in english (though I do speak Cantonese). I recall in TokyoSea most (?) of the rides were only in Japanese. Not that it matters really… sometimes it’s fun making up your own backstory :).
Hi we will be in Hong Kong from 29th Nov until 7th Dec I have been to Disneyland before at that time but I can’t remember are all the christmas stuff out then or not I am taking my sister so she can see Disneyland at Christmas thanks
is bringing a toddler (<2yrs) advisable?
My twin boys have been going since they were 10 months old and at least once a year. They went on their second birthday just last year. The great thing is that most rides are available to toddlers over 81cm. Only the roller coasters are out for them (Space Mountain, Grizzly Bear Run, RC Coaster). Also it’s the only Disney Park that gives stickers for free, which my boys love.
Hi Tom
Thanks so much for the amazing information and the beautiful photos you share.
We are off to HK Disneyland in 7 weeks so I have found that information especially useful.
We are also going to WDW and Disneyland in December/January so I am still organising that trip. (We are from Perth, Western Australia) so it is more than just a quick flight to organise
My husband is a keen photographer and he especially loves some of the photos you have shared – quite stunning.
Thanks again
Tracy
Hi – love reading your blog here – I am off to Hong Kong in a couple of weeks and am staying at the HK Disney Hotel – I am a bit of a wimp when going on rides and wondered if Mystic Manor was like a roller coaster or more on one level – I have been on the Haunted Mansion in Florida so is it similar – many thanks
Mystic Manor is very tame. It’s a classic dark ride with an innovative ride system. Many people consider it Hong Kong Disneyland’s version of the Haunted Mansion, and in terms of ‘intensity’ they are similar.
Hey Tom,
Great guide! How simple was it traveling from Hong Kong to Tokyo to visit both parks? When we go we’ll also include Shanghai DL so might be Hong Kong -> Shanghai -> Tokyo
It was incredibly simple. HKDL is really close to the airport, and is very efficient, with English as its dominant language. Shanghai in the mix might make things a little trickier, as you’d have to fly from there to Hong Kong to start, and I doubt Shanghai is as English-friendly.
Hi tom!!!
Love the blog…it’s helped me out heaps on my bucket list item of getting to every disney in the world. So far I’ve done Hong Kong (last year as a stop over) and WDW this year.
Just wanted to let you know that really good accomodation was Novotel Citigate Hong Kong. It had really reasonable rates, really large rooms with great views and EVERYONE was so friendly and knew me by name. Also it was only a short train ride away to Disney. (1 train from our hotel and another to get into DL…took us no longer than 25 mins because everything runs so efficiently) and the transport to and from the hotel from the airport was great.
Funny that you mention an off-site hotel. We’re currently planning a return trip to HKDL, and it’s looking like we will be staying off-site. I’ll have to check out the Novotel Citigate to see how their rates are. Thanks!
We stayed at the Sky City Marriott because we have status there and thought it was great. Nice rooms nice staff, Very easy to get to Disneyland with the shuttle.
We recently went to Disneyland Paris, it was small compared to DW and DL, but we had a great time. I was very interested in your blog about hong Kong and Tokyo. We maybe visiting Tokyo and I was thinking we needed 2 days. Is that about right?
Thanks and looking forward to more info’s.
I would recommend spending significantly more time in Tokyo Disney Resort than 2 days. Check out our Tokyo Disney Resort Trip Planning Guide for more info on how long to visit: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/tokyo-disney-trip-planning-guide/
Hi! I am a new follower on your blog and am loving all the tips and info! We’re planning a trip to HK disneyland in 2015 for end nov/early December. We are hoping to be there for the christmas festivities and decorations etc. Are you able to advise when they commence their christmas celebrations?
Thanks
We were there in mid-November, and everything Christmas-related had started. While I don’t have exact dates, it’s fairly similar to the US parks in start-time for Christmas.
Just be warned, Hong Kong Disneyland doesn’t do a whole lot for Christmas.
Thanks 🙂
What were the crowds like when you were there mid November?
I know that you are DVC members from your other blogs; can you or did you use DVC points when going to Hong Kong?
One of the things I’m doing now is determining if it’s worth having DVC for the “other than WDW” experiences. We’d love to go to Hong Kong Disney–its definitely on our bucket list to see the other Disneylands. We want to be able to use DVC points and then also use the trip as a portal to see the Hong Kong area. Same with Tokyo, France, etc.
We did not use Disney Vacation Club points for our stay at Hong Kong Disneyland, as it is a poor use of points. Same goes for the hotels in Tokyo Disney Resort and Disneyland Paris. We only use our DVC points at the DVC resorts.
For more info on good and bad uses of Disney Vacation Club points, read this: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/best-use-disney-vacation-club-points/
I really appreciate your posts on the international parks, especially the Asian parks! Looking forward to the dedicated post on how to book a stopover in Hong Kong. I know these international posts may not be as popular as some of the other topics but they are one of the reasons I am an avid fan of your blog, thank you!
Thanks, Mary. Glad you’re enjoying them! 🙂
This is great as I’d like to get there maybe in 2015. Thanks so much!!
No problem. Hope you have a great trip!
Hi! Am a new follower to your blog and it’s now one of my top sites! So glad that I came across it as I haven’t found anything else regarding HKDL and that’s where we are travelling this year 🙂
Your blog is well presented and very positive – it is making me more excited to travel there! Even though this will be the 2nd Disney Park I will be visiting (Have been to DL in Anaheim) I am still excited to be going! That will be 2 parks down, 3 to go!! 😀
Glad you’re enjoying the blog! Let us know if you have any questions! 🙂
I do have a few questions regarding photography – I noticed that you have tsken many at night with a relatively empty park. Was this easy to come by?
You just have to stay until the end of the night, and it’s not difficult. Good luck!
All good points Tom! Great post. I was pleasantly surprised at how well someone that speaks no Chinese like myself could navigate the park and enjoy all of the attractions and shows.
Not 100% of the cast members can speak English, but one that can is usually not far if you need help.
I’m amazed you were able to get the picture on Dumbo. When I was there, (on every ride except the train) Cast Members would not allow me to have my DSLR out. When wandering the park (and after closing) Cast Members never gave me a problem about shooting night shots with the tripod.
For fireworks, they had initially roped off an area for tripod shooters. But when I was there (early spring) the crowds were really low and they dropped the ropes when they realized that there weren’t that many people campling out for the show.
Agreed that I wouldn’t make HKDLR a destination in and of itself, but if you are in the area it is definitely worth the trip.
The Hollywood Hotel is great but don’t bother paying the small up charge for “Theme Park View” There really isn’t a theme park view from the hotel. You can see the tops of RC Racer and you can in general see the fireworks. But due to the dense trees, you can’t see the castle.
I remember you mentioning that tripod zone, but there was nothing like that in November. I saw a few other people with tripods, all fairly spread out.
I cannot believe Hollywood Hotel has a theme park review. It’s so far from the park! I assume you can see the back of Mystic Manor, too?
Thanks for yet another fabulous planning article, Tom! 😀 I can’t wait to go to the Disney parks in Asia someday…… (^__^) o o {Wistfully dreaming of future vacations}
As a rather recent follower of your blog (I LOVE IT SO MUCH, BTW!!!!!), I would be really interested in reading a detailed article about how you and Sarah have been able to afford these awesome overseas trips. The one thing keeping me from going that far is the daunting prospect of expenses, both in and out of the parks. 🙂
Looking forward to whenever you begin posting the trip report for this most recent adventure! 😛
Thank you so much for filling my days with incredible photos, fun stories, and Disney magic! Your blog is the best!!
~ Sophia (^__0)
PS– I, for one, would love to see a picture of that set of Seven Dwarfs toiletries in your trip report… They sound so cute!
Stay tuned for a post on doing the international parks on a budget. They’re still not cheap no matter how you do them, but they can be cheapER.
Wow! I’m ready to go. Navigation in a foreign country would be my biggest concern. You mentioned three languages; how difficult was it to find English-speaking Cast Members?
Not difficult at all. There are Cast Members EVERYWHERE in the Asia parks, so even if you encounter one CM with poor English, another is always nearby who can speak and understand English.
This seems to be a common question, and I always have to stop and think about it before answering. Honestly, we don’t really interact with Cast Members all that often besides when we buy things. If you don’t ask a lot of questions in the US parks, you probably won’t ask a lot of questions in the foreign ones. They’re pretty easy to navigate.