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Going To HKDL!!
- Thread starter jaques21
- Start date
BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
I haven’t been to the park in a few years so someone else can probably give you a more updated take than me, but I’ll try to give some advice.
Since this is your first time ever at a Disney park you should really do as much as you can. Hong Kong has a reputation as “the small park”, and is often considered a smaller clone of Disneyland in California (although that is changing). But
there’s still enough in the park for a day. Worth noting though that HK does not have a lot of “staple” Disney attractions (no Pirates, no Haunted Mansion, no Splash Mountain etc.)
Attractions with the longest lines will be Space Mountain, Mystic Manor, Big Grizzly Mountain and the new Iron Man ride (just presuming with Iron Man, I haven’t actually experienced it yet). Mystic Manor, Big Grizzly and Iron Man are the three Hong Kong exclusive attractions that you won’t find at any other Disney park worldwide.
I also recommend the “Mickey & the Wondrous Book” show, it’s sort of an extended version of a show at Disneyland, CA.
Biggest piece of advice I would give to someone going to a park for the first time is to just understand how the FastPass system works and make good use of it. A lot of people go to the parks and have no clue about FP (they think you have to pay for it or they don’t realize you can have more than one at a time etc.). FP is not as big of a deal in HK though because only 3 attractions in the park use it. Just always have a plan for what you’re doing next if you want to get stuff done, don’t waste time and don’t get in long standby lines if they have a chance of getting better later in the day. Granted, for the last point you need some experience to know what a decent time is for a specific attraction, but generally speaking I try to avoid waiting for anything with a 40-45 min wait and up.
Lastly, you should take a look at this site: https://tdrexplorer.com/best-hong-kong-disneyland-trip-planning-articles/
As the name suggests, it is a site mainly focused on Tokyo Disney, but it has “guides” for the other Asian parks as well.
Since this is your first time ever at a Disney park you should really do as much as you can. Hong Kong has a reputation as “the small park”, and is often considered a smaller clone of Disneyland in California (although that is changing). But
there’s still enough in the park for a day. Worth noting though that HK does not have a lot of “staple” Disney attractions (no Pirates, no Haunted Mansion, no Splash Mountain etc.)
Attractions with the longest lines will be Space Mountain, Mystic Manor, Big Grizzly Mountain and the new Iron Man ride (just presuming with Iron Man, I haven’t actually experienced it yet). Mystic Manor, Big Grizzly and Iron Man are the three Hong Kong exclusive attractions that you won’t find at any other Disney park worldwide.
I also recommend the “Mickey & the Wondrous Book” show, it’s sort of an extended version of a show at Disneyland, CA.
Biggest piece of advice I would give to someone going to a park for the first time is to just understand how the FastPass system works and make good use of it. A lot of people go to the parks and have no clue about FP (they think you have to pay for it or they don’t realize you can have more than one at a time etc.). FP is not as big of a deal in HK though because only 3 attractions in the park use it. Just always have a plan for what you’re doing next if you want to get stuff done, don’t waste time and don’t get in long standby lines if they have a chance of getting better later in the day. Granted, for the last point you need some experience to know what a decent time is for a specific attraction, but generally speaking I try to avoid waiting for anything with a 40-45 min wait and up.
Lastly, you should take a look at this site: https://tdrexplorer.com/best-hong-kong-disneyland-trip-planning-articles/
As the name suggests, it is a site mainly focused on Tokyo Disney, but it has “guides” for the other Asian parks as well.
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JohnyKaz2078
Well-Known Member
Hong Kong Disneyland is a good park. It might be small and sometimes considered a "clone" of Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom but it's really good for "first ever disney park".
Don't stay on property. HKDL has three hotels and they are expensive. They offer some activities (character interaction) and priveledges (reserved seating for shows or Priority Pass for some attractions) but the park isn't usually crowded anyway and they aren't good if you want to experience the rest of Hong Kong (quite a long shot away and they don't offer an efficient mode of transportation to the city)
Hong Kong Disneyland isn't usually crowded. Even on the most crowded days don't expect to wait above 60 minutes for anything. The attractions that attract the longest lines are typically Space Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, the Iron Man Experience and the Toy Story Playland rides along with Mystic Manor. Those rides can surpass 30-40 minutes on busy days. Everything aside from Fantasyland and Tomorrowland is better experienced early since the most popular attractions here don't have Fastpass and can get long lines (especially Toy Story Playland). Fastpasses typically go quicker for Space Mountain followed by Iron Man and Winnie the Pooh.
Also make sure: to see shows like Mickey's Philharmagic and the Festival of the Lion King since they are really good, check the Fantasy Gardens and dress appropriately for the weather of Hong Kong.
sorry I have been to WDW, I edited my original post thanks for all the advice. do you guys recommend staying close to the park or commute using the rail?
JohnyKaz2078
Well-Known Member
Commute using rail. Like I said very expensive and not many worthy benefits.
hopemax
Well-Known Member
I am going to be the contrarian. Stay on-site!
We went to HKDL in May (13-17) . We stayed 4 nights at the Explorer's Lodge in a Sea View room (most expensive category). As part of the stay we received 1 priority admission to Festival of the Lion King (you pick the day and show time you want, DLH guests got Wondrous Book) and 3 priority admissions per night of our stay, so 15 in total. These are good not only on the 3 Fastpass rides but a list of other rides, including 2 of the Toy Story Land Rides. There is a priority security line, and priority entrance for hotel guests. The cost of these 4 nights was the equivalent of $985 USD or $246 a night. Now, I am positive you can find cheaper accommodations than that in Hong Kong, our other hotel on our trip was $125 USD equivalent a night.
But that's not the point.
Where else can you do Disney Deluxe, best category room for $250 a night? Simply, by clicking through the website, not having to know about a specific deal or have CM connections. If you're ever going to go Disney Deluxe do it here. Plus, the parks open late and can close early so you probably will find yourself in your room a bit more than WDW.
What is expensive at HKDL is the food. And most of it isn't very good. We took the TDR Explorer recommendation to use Klook to purchase our admission tickets and dining vouchers. It was really easy to use. You take your QR code for your tickets right to the turnstyle. To get the meal voucher the online reviews said you had to go to guest services, but they had updated their procedure in the instructions we received, and they had a setup right inside the park, at the right end of the turnstyle row.
Wondrous Book was closed while we were there, but Lion King was amazing. I was expecting everything to be identical to the AK show and while they are certainly similar, all the different things the HKDL show had made it a different experience. The longest lines we saw were 40 min for the Toy Story Land rides (which is why we were happy we had the passes given from the hotel) and Dumbo which was 30 minutes and Jungle Cruise was 30 minutes. Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor we never saw get more than 15-20. Hyperspace Mountain was a walk-on. So uncrowded that I confused the CMs by getting a paper FP. Once I explained it was for a souvenir then they relaxed.
Day parades are a lot different than the US parks. We lined up near the start of the parade route, near Space Mountain / Wondrous Book Theater area, about 25 minutes ahead of time. This was only so my husband could sit on a bench in the shade. If we just wanted to see the parade you could wait until 5 minutes before and still find curbside space. Paint the Night and the Projection show they are doing on Main Street while the Castle is under construction was a bit more typical to US parks in terms of when it filled in. So if you want a good spot, I would give it 45 minutes waiting.
We really loved our 2 days at HKDL and since I'm a Disney nut and try to be a photographer, I am glad we had two days. I could have even used 3. But it was such a laid back experience compared to the current state of US parks. It reminded me of my childhood trips to Disneyland where you could just pick a direction and work your way through the park. None of this running back and forth for Fastpass times or to beat the crowds. And while I can see why the park acquired the reputation it had when it opened, with the light slate of attractions it opened with. Every expansion attraction has been a positive improvement. Not as big of a fan of the IronMan ride as some of the other attractions, but it's serviceable.
Oh, one other thing is to keep an eye out for what closes early and make sure you get those things done during the day. I knew about the different hours for Grizzly Gulch/Mystic Manor/Toy Story Land but I didn't realize the trails in Fantasyland also closed early, and the train. We never got to ride the train and we breezed through those trails so fast we couldn't really appreciate them.
We went to HKDL in May (13-17) . We stayed 4 nights at the Explorer's Lodge in a Sea View room (most expensive category). As part of the stay we received 1 priority admission to Festival of the Lion King (you pick the day and show time you want, DLH guests got Wondrous Book) and 3 priority admissions per night of our stay, so 15 in total. These are good not only on the 3 Fastpass rides but a list of other rides, including 2 of the Toy Story Land Rides. There is a priority security line, and priority entrance for hotel guests. The cost of these 4 nights was the equivalent of $985 USD or $246 a night. Now, I am positive you can find cheaper accommodations than that in Hong Kong, our other hotel on our trip was $125 USD equivalent a night.
But that's not the point.
Where else can you do Disney Deluxe, best category room for $250 a night? Simply, by clicking through the website, not having to know about a specific deal or have CM connections. If you're ever going to go Disney Deluxe do it here. Plus, the parks open late and can close early so you probably will find yourself in your room a bit more than WDW.
What is expensive at HKDL is the food. And most of it isn't very good. We took the TDR Explorer recommendation to use Klook to purchase our admission tickets and dining vouchers. It was really easy to use. You take your QR code for your tickets right to the turnstyle. To get the meal voucher the online reviews said you had to go to guest services, but they had updated their procedure in the instructions we received, and they had a setup right inside the park, at the right end of the turnstyle row.
Wondrous Book was closed while we were there, but Lion King was amazing. I was expecting everything to be identical to the AK show and while they are certainly similar, all the different things the HKDL show had made it a different experience. The longest lines we saw were 40 min for the Toy Story Land rides (which is why we were happy we had the passes given from the hotel) and Dumbo which was 30 minutes and Jungle Cruise was 30 minutes. Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor we never saw get more than 15-20. Hyperspace Mountain was a walk-on. So uncrowded that I confused the CMs by getting a paper FP. Once I explained it was for a souvenir then they relaxed.
Day parades are a lot different than the US parks. We lined up near the start of the parade route, near Space Mountain / Wondrous Book Theater area, about 25 minutes ahead of time. This was only so my husband could sit on a bench in the shade. If we just wanted to see the parade you could wait until 5 minutes before and still find curbside space. Paint the Night and the Projection show they are doing on Main Street while the Castle is under construction was a bit more typical to US parks in terms of when it filled in. So if you want a good spot, I would give it 45 minutes waiting.
We really loved our 2 days at HKDL and since I'm a Disney nut and try to be a photographer, I am glad we had two days. I could have even used 3. But it was such a laid back experience compared to the current state of US parks. It reminded me of my childhood trips to Disneyland where you could just pick a direction and work your way through the park. None of this running back and forth for Fastpass times or to beat the crowds. And while I can see why the park acquired the reputation it had when it opened, with the light slate of attractions it opened with. Every expansion attraction has been a positive improvement. Not as big of a fan of the IronMan ride as some of the other attractions, but it's serviceable.
Oh, one other thing is to keep an eye out for what closes early and make sure you get those things done during the day. I knew about the different hours for Grizzly Gulch/Mystic Manor/Toy Story Land but I didn't realize the trails in Fantasyland also closed early, and the train. We never got to ride the train and we breezed through those trails so fast we couldn't really appreciate them.
ChiGuy4Now
Member
Solid advice above! Getting to HKDL from the city is so easy that you're better served to stay in HK proper than to stay at the resort. However, Explorers Lodge is worth a visit to check out.
My favorite meal at HKDL is at the Explorer's Club in Mystic Point. Only, avoid the outdoor area as the birds are usually on the prowl!!
The Mystic Manor cast members were so incredibly lovely on our last visit in April they let us re-ride a few times without walking the entire queue.
Have fun!
My favorite meal at HKDL is at the Explorer's Club in Mystic Point. Only, avoid the outdoor area as the birds are usually on the prowl!!
The Mystic Manor cast members were so incredibly lovely on our last visit in April they let us re-ride a few times without walking the entire queue.
Have fun!
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