HK does get a lot of style points for charm and feeling more like Disneyland than Disneyland but there is an argument to be made that charm doesn’t go far enough
HK’s best years came before Shanghai when it’s full first expansion was open and the park was coming into its own as a “Disneyland”, then Shanghai opened a “magic kingdom” and completely crushed HK despite have an arguably equal lineup, it seems that besides Disneyland itself people prefer magic kingdoms to disneylands
This isn't a complete smear against HKDL, I think it's actually becoming a really solid 7/10 park, but charm isn't the reason for HKDL's historically poor attendance: the answer is a weaker product.
I think it's more the fact that Shanghai at opening was an infinitely more impressive park than HKDL even after Mystic Point opened. Yes, I'm aware that Shanghai feels like EPCOT in the sense there are numerous large expansion plots creating distance between things which is even more prominent in Shanghai, but it's still
leagues better-themed throughout the park and has far more to do. I went to both resorts for 2 full days back to back in 2018, and my entire party felt the same.
Also, while on the topic of familiarity, during the COVID lockdowns I actually built most of Hong Kong Disneyland in Minecraft with some friends to perfect scale and accuracy (we were that bored!), so I'm intimately familiar with the park on a really dumb level.
Now, people are free to feel differently about what they enjoy more, but in the consistency in theming quality and ride line-ups, there is no comparison. Shanghai is likely also getting yet another headliner with Zootopia in a park that already has what I feel is the greatest ride ever made: Battle for the Sunken Treasure. That's alongside E-tickets like TRON and Roaring Rapids, a really good Peter Pan's Flight, Soarin', Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, etc.
Hong Kong's only really good E-ticket is Mystic Manor despite it not being a true headliner, and the park's original areas still suffer from weak theming, especially in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. It's even noticeable that Main Street didn't have as much money thrown at it as it should've had. It really only has 3 E-tickets: Mystic, Grizzly (isn't that well executed), and Space (I don't feel like the non-Paris/Orlando versions are all that great). I guess if you're being generous you could toss in Jungle Cruise though I feel like it's more of a D in today's world. Iron Man Experience is bad; let's not even discuss Ant-Man. I'm just thankful Small World found its way over. Both parks have wonderful shows!
Side note: in Grizzly's case, I feel like it is trying to be a tamer Expedition Everest, with an E-ticket scale that almost matches, but it's so poorly executed, from the long straight sections to the wonky pacing that I feel like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is actually the better ride despite it being shorter and more of a D-ticket in scale. HKDL reminds me of Universal Studios Florida in the sense that many of its rides besides the masterful Mystic Manor aren't as good as they should be.
3 E-tickets is nothing. Disneyland has charm but has like 11 or 12, and then also far more small-scaled rides. HKDL just doesn't have either. Even after this Frozen expansion, which looks stunning, it still won't hold a candle to any other castle park. That's its problem.
That being said, it's not bad anymore, but it also needs more to really be comparable. Hong Kong Disneyland also isn't cheap to visit when compared to SDR and TDR in ticket and food prices. I could totally see myself making a trip specifically to Shanghai Disneyland if I'm in the region at some point, but the only way I'd be inclined to go back to HKDL for a day is if I'm visiting Hong Kong itself. In Tokyo's case, it's worth traveling thousands of miles to visit it alone.
Still, I am quite pleased that there's variation in Disney's worldwide parks. It would be boring if they were all monolithic, so I love the quaintness you feel at HKDL. It's still a lovely park and one that is now finding its identity, so you combine that unique trait with an ever expanding park and its future is yet brighter than ever despite its issues.
