Possibly heading to HK Disneyland this summer (first time) - help?

dreadpiraterose

I'd Rather Be Cruising
Joined
Jul 15, 2014
Hi all!

One of my dear friends is getting married this summer in HK, so my husband and I are seriously considering just jumping on a plane and going. We'd be there over a week, so we're hoping to fit in a day at HK Disneyland. I've never done a Disney park outside of WDW and am not really sure what to expect.

I have a few questions I was hoping to run by this board...

My understanding is that the park is quite small, and that you can do the whole thing in 1 day?

Does the park use Fast Pass? How does that work compared to WDW and Magic Bands? How far can you book them if you're not staying on property? What rides do you recommend a FP for?

Is there anything that is exclusive to Hong Kong Disneyland? I'm reading that it's similar to Paris or California, but I've never been to those two either.

What about "must have" food or souvenirs that may be exclusive to the park?

I understand that summer in HK is kinda brutal, but we don't really have a choice on timing. What about crowds? We'd likely be going on a weekday.

I'd appreciate any/all tips or maybe links to some good trip reports you've read in the past?

Thanks!
 
One of my dear friends is getting married this summer in HK, so my husband and I are seriously considering just jumping on a plane and going. We'd be there over a week, so we're hoping to fit in a day at HK Disneyland.

Congratulations to your friends and I wish you and your husband a happy visit to HK.




My understanding is that the park is quite small, and that you can do the whole thing in 1 day?

Any time you can put towards Disney is good. The park is smaller than the ones in Orlando; and technically it is possible to do a lot in 1 day. But it comes down to what you want to experience and prioritise.

I had a trip to HKDL in 2012.....and then.....I used to say that you could cover the park in 1 day; and if you had 1.5 days, you'd definitely do it all with repeats of your favourite attractions.
But I've recently returned from a trip to HKDL and there have been some additions to the park. Notably, Mystic Manor, Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Train, Ironman Experience and the stage show Mickey and the Wondrous Book. There has also been the addition of the night time Paint the Night Parade to their program. Plus, this year, Hong Kong are starting to change their decorations over every season. We were there during spring and they added the Springtime Parade and lots of cute decorations around the park. The additional Springtime parade meant that there are 2 daytime parades on offer at HKDL now. Their regular daytime parade is probably my favourite parade across a number of parks around the world.
So....with all of these additions, plus the existing attractions, I found that 2 - 3 days would probably be just about acceptable for me. But then.....I like taking pictures in dark rides and will go on them multiple times in order to get the shot I want.

You may want to take a look at the HKDL website and download the HKDL app on your smart phone. The app will give you an indication of current wait times for each attraction. It will also be useful to work out which rides to hit when you're there.

I'm sure @zanzibar138 will see your thread and stop by as well and she'll provide her perspective as well. A few of us have just come back from a Disser's vacay to Shanghai and Hong Kong.



Does the park use Fast Pass? How does that work compared to WDW and Magic Bands? How far can you book them if you're not staying on property? What rides do you recommend a FP for?

The park does have a Fast Pass system. But it's the original FP paper based system. If you've been to WDW in the days pre Magic Bands, you'll probably know the paper based system.

I don't know how many attractions are linked to the FP system anymore. It used to be Buzz Lightyear, HyperSpace Mountain and Winnie the Pooh. It is a much more limited number of rides associated with FP compared to in Orlando. Depending on crowd levels, you should be able to get a FP for most of these.

If you are staying onsite (and it is worth considering as there is a new resort opening very shortly), then you may score some good-any-time Priority Passes when you check in. Those PP also included Mystic Manor, Big Grizzly Mountain and Ironman.




Is there anything that is exclusive to Hong Kong Disneyland? I'm reading that it's similar to Paris or California, but I've never been to those two either.

I like Big Grizzly Mountain, Mystic Manor, Ironman, It's a Small World (yes it's the same; but it was the first one to put in the Disney characters overlay), Hyperspace Mountain (the smoothest Space Mountain ride I've been on), Mickey and the Wondrous Book, Flights of Fantasy Parade, Jungle River Cruise, Lion King, Tarzan Treehouse, RC Racer and a whole bunch of classic attractions.



What about "must have" food or souvenirs that may be exclusive to the park?

Hmm. I'm not sure. I'm probably not the right person to respond to this question.



I understand that summer in HK is kinda brutal, but we don't really have a choice on timing. What about crowds? We'd likely be going on a weekday.

It depends on when. I'd avoid public holidays and school holidays.

http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/hong_kong/


Seems like July is school hols in HK.

https://mygsis.gsis.edu.hk/school-life/news/school-holidays/



I'd appreciate any/all tips or maybe links to some good trip reports you've read in the past?

If you sorted the threads on the HK section by views or replies, you'll find that the larger threads will be PTR/TRs. Zanzibar has written a few and I have one rather large one there from 2012; and there will be others from the MaxRobo and Belle (I can't remember the numbers).
(It will also be remiss of me not to point out that I'm also currently writing a TR on the Shanghai and Hong Kong thread. You'll find it under Other Lands.)

If you also do a google search, there are a few people that have written best rides or best attractions for Hong Kong Disneyland. I think the Dis prefers that we don't crosslink to other similar sites anymore.
 
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I agree with much of what PIO has responded with. A few years ago, I would have also suggested that 1 day should be enough time for HKDL, but now I would probably recommend 2.

I believe FPs are currently available for Winnie the Pooh, Hyperspace Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and perhaps Ironman. As PIO has mentioned, if you are staying onsite you should also receive priority passes. If you are used to planning for WDW, you will find HKDL is COMPLETELY different. There is no need to plan anything in advance except for booking your hotel. Just rock up on the day with a simple plan and go for it! I have rarely had the need to use FPs at all at HKDL.

You'll really want to experience Grizzly Mountain and Mystic Manor. As PIO says, there is also Toy Story Land (although it's not really my thing), and Hyperspace Mountain is definitely my favourite version of Space Mountain. Ironman isn't really my thing (not into Marvel, and simulators give me motion sickness), but is worth checking out just for the fun local storyline.

On our last trip, we all agreed that the Explorer's Club restaurant in Mystic Point was probably the best place for a meal. There are all sorts of delicious looking meals available there. You will mostly find Asian style food available, but if you're not into that there are some good western options at Grizzly Gulch (their fish and chips was quite good on a previous trip) or possibly the Royal Banquet Hall (the western food I've had there hasn't been consistently good). There are some nice looking treats available at the bakery, but my very favourite that I must have on every trip is one of the strawberry and mango Minnie ice-cream bars.

There is a lot of cute merchandise available. It really depends on what you're into whether any of it is a must-have. Do leave plenty of time for browsing though, and have a poke through the sales tables for some good bargains.

My trips have always been in March, which is a traditionally fairly quiet time of year. On this last trip we seemed to coincide our stay with the beginning of the springtime festival and also grad nights, which saw the crowds increase quite a lot in the evening. During the day, I've never had to wait more than about 20 minutes for any ride (and often even the most popular ones are a walk-on for the first couple of hours), even on a Saturday. You will have to allow some time for shows though. They are very popular and seemed to reach capacity around half an hour before show time, so make sure you factor that in.

Definitely make sure you see the day time parade. It is my all-time favourite. Saw it every day on our last trip - 3 times - and could have seen it some more! It's so fun and magical and upbeat!

Feel free to check out any of the HKDL TRs in my signature for more detail on everything. I'll be working on uploading one from my most recent trip too, but not sure when I'll get to it (still working on my previous TR!).
 


Hi @dreadpiraterose! I just returned from a trip to HKDL for 1 day (April) but the prior trip was in July for 3 days. 1 day would be fine if you are in HK for 1 week only. It's very easy on the MTR (underground railroad). It was relaxing and more luxurious to stay on the Disneyland property when we went for 3 days and the restaurants at the hotels were top notch. However, I only had 1 day this trip and took my sister and her husband who were first timers along with my husband and kids. Wifi was spotty and mainly available near shops and restaurants so I was only able to check the wait time every so often. So watch for that. When I was there in July it rained a bit so I was happy to be staying on property went back to activities at the hotel. The lines were for sure longer when I went in July. If you skip some of the shows (there are 3) and parades (2 parades plus fireworks at night), you can definitely hit the major rides. Have a great time!
 
Here's a trip report by Where's Sharon. They traveled with kids but you can see their photos and tips.
 
We are making our first trip to HKDL next month and are staying at the Disneyland Hotel for two days...there is a good deal on the HKDL website for a two day ticket (HK $629 = US $81.77). Since we are staying on property we will get a priority pass for Iron Man, but are basically winging it both days. We definitely want to do Mystic Point and the Grizzly Gulch coaster, PTN and the daytime parade. Everything else will be a bonus! Explorer's Club for a meal and Jungle Cruise are also things we want to do. From what I've read online here on the DIS and other sites two days is plenty to see everything and to ride favorite attractions multiple times....now if we could do something about the humidity! LOL!
 


We are making our first trip to HKDL next month and are staying at the Disneyland Hotel for two days...there is a good deal on the HKDL website for a two day ticket (HK $629 = US $81.77). Since we are staying on property we will get a priority pass for Iron Man, but are basically winging it both days. We definitely want to do Mystic Point and the Grizzly Gulch coaster, PTN and the daytime parade. Everything else will be a bonus! Explorer's Club for a meal and Jungle Cruise are also things we want to do. From what I've read online here on the DIS and other sites two days is plenty to see everything and to ride favorite attractions multiple times....now if we could do something about the humidity! LOL!


Congrats on having a trip in the works. Looks like you'll have an amazing time.

If you like live performance/stage shows, I'd also put Mickey and the Wondrous Book on your list as well. If nothing else, it'll get you out of the humidity. ;)
 
Hong Kong is beautiful and one of my favourite places, I wish we'd spent more time there! i want to go back already!!

HKDL can definitely be done in one day, you might skip some stuff that's similar/the same as parks you've been to. We did 2 days, and managed to do everything twice, though we were there in November and crowds were practically non-existent.

Fast passes are like the OLD ones in WDW, you put your ticket in, and it pops a return time stamped on a ticket out, you can usually pull another one 20-30mins prior to the time stamped on your fp for that attraction(it will say this on the fp). We didn't use FP once in HKDL, and I know there wasn't a lot that had fast passes.

YES!! HKDL first off, has Mystic Manor & Grizzly Gulch rides! THEY ARE BOTH SO FREAKING INCREDIBLE, and completely original/exclusive. Mystic is their version of haunted mansion, and grizzly is closest to big thunder, but WAY better.
-Mickey and the Wondrous Book: a live theatre show that goes through the story of a missing snowman & finding his way back to his own story through other Disney classics, it's in my top 5 favourite shows across all 6 parks!
-Festival of the Lion King: again, incredible. It has similar music to the one in WDW, but there's actually a plot and they retell the story of the Lion King, it's amazing, and the staging and choreography is incredible and it's different, so it's a must see IMO
-Meet & greet with Gelatoni & Stella Lou (along with Duffy & Shellie May) They're so cute!!
-Iron Man attraction/area: opened right after we left, but pics look amazing

-Paint the Night, evening parade, same as California with some minor changes in some units. If you haven't seen it, watch it, it's awesome! Super cool light effects, lots of energy and characters.
-Flights of Fantasy: cute daytime parade, if it's not crowded and you can find a decent spot to watch right as it starts, may as well, right? (unless you have somewhere you'd rather be)

Exclusive Souvenirs: check out the tsum tsums if you're into those! They have plenty that you can't find in the states/have been discontinued, and a bunch of exclusive ones

ETA: FOOD ON PROPERTY IS INSANELY EXPENSIVE!!!! Even the QS stuff is more pricey than WDW, we're talking, one night I spent the equivalent of $30 on some pasta with a breadstick and a beer.... We stayed on property & were unaware of this til we were already in the parks and didn't have time to head back to the city to buy some snacks, water bottles & breakfast items (food in the city, suuuuuper cheap). If we went back, we'd definitely be bringing those items with us!


You can check out the TR in my link for more pics and ideas on what to do!
 

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