HKDL gets new castle, frozen land and marvel land.

waltography

waltography

Well-Known Member
Currently on day 2 of my time at HKDL, but jumping in to say what a refreshing change of pace for this Disneylander. Between World of Frozen, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, and their refreshed castle, HKDL is just so, so fun. Will try to post a more thorough trip report when I get back, but some random thoughts:
  • Hard agree with whoever said FEA is an E-ticket in HKDL and D-ticket in EPCOT, having ridden both the differences are truly night and day. The lift hill castle moment is much better, the A1000 animatronics are incredible, the whole Let It Go section is enhanced with amazing LED effects, and everything about the ride system just feels better from the backwards section to the much more intense splashdown.
  • Playhouse in the Woods is such a smart meet & greet experience. Went in with zero expectations and came out excited to see the rest of Arendelle.
  • I've been so disappointed in the lack of Albert/Mystic Manor merch while I've been here! Insane we can't get a plush of him.
  • Explorer's Club restaurant was great. The food was superb (common theme throughout the resort) and the theming carrying over from the ride and vice versa is such a treat.
  • I've completely skipped over Toy Story Land outside of photos, which is a shame. I dislike TSL as a concept but would say Hong Kong probably did it best given its natural berm + strong choice of foliage resembling grass. Would love a stronger mini-land here to complete the Grizzly Gulch/Mystic Point trifecta.
  • Stark Expo is great. The Ant-Man ride is much better in-person than videos suggest, the experience and haptic feedback is much better than Astro Blasters at Disneyland. Iron Man Experience is a great HK-exclusive to showcase the city Star Tours-style. Drone show was pretty cool, even if the conceit was pretty cheesy.
  • The Momentous pre-shows pulling from the time theme and doing projections every 5 minutes around an hour before show time is so dang smart. I think DL and MK should consider replicating that idea.
  • Momentous itself was great. I'm really happy the "-ous" shows (Luminous & Wondrous Journeys included) are killing it. Wish they were allowed to have bigger pyro as it'd really add that oomph the show needs, but the whole experience was still great.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
waltography said:
Currently on day 2 of my time at HKDL, but jumping in to say what a refreshing change of pace for this Disneylander. Between World of Frozen, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, and their refreshed castle, HKDL is just so, so fun. Will try to post a more thorough trip report when I get back, but some random thoughts:
  • Hard agree with whoever said FEA is an E-ticket in HKDL and D-ticket in EPCOT, having ridden both the differences are truly night and day. The lift hill castle moment is much better, the A1000 animatronics are incredible, the whole Let It Go section is enhanced with amazing LED effects, and everything about the ride system just feels better from the backwards section to the much more intense splashdown.
  • Playhouse in the Woods is such a smart meet & greet experience. Went in with zero expectations and came out excited to see the rest of Arendelle.
  • I've been so disappointed in the lack of Albert/Mystic Manor merch while I've been here! Insane we can't get a plush of him.
  • Explorer's Club restaurant was great. The food was superb (common theme throughout the resort) and the theming carrying over from the ride and vice versa is such a treat.
  • I've completely skipped over Toy Story Land outside of photos, which is a shame. I dislike TSL as a concept but would say Hong Kong probably did it best given its natural berm + strong choice of foliage resembling grass. Would love a stronger mini-land here to complete the Grizzly Gulch/Mystic Point trifecta.
  • Stark Expo is great. The Ant-Man ride is much better in-person than videos suggest, the experience and haptic feedback is much better than Astro Blasters at Disneyland. Iron Man Experience is a great HK-exclusive to showcase the city Star Tours-style. Drone show was pretty cool, even if the conceit was pretty cheesy.
  • The Momentous pre-shows pulling from the time theme and doing projections every 5 minutes around an hour before show time is so dang smart. I think DL and MK should consider replicating that idea.
  • Momentous itself was great. I'm really happy the "-ous" shows (Luminous & Wondrous Journeys included) are killing it. Wish they were allowed to have bigger pyro as it'd really add that oomph the show needs, but the whole experience was still great.
Click to expand...
Yes yes yes! Pretty much everything you said (we were first timers)

Ask about Albert plush in the store; we got one style and the next day a second version appeared on the shelves.
 
MatheusPG

MatheusPG

Well-Known Member
waltography said:
Currently on day 2 of my time at HKDL, but jumping in to say what a refreshing change of pace for this Disneylander. Between World of Frozen, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, and their refreshed castle, HKDL is just so, so fun. Will try to post a more thorough trip report when I get back, but some random thoughts:
  • Hard agree with whoever said FEA is an E-ticket in HKDL and D-ticket in EPCOT, having ridden both the differences are truly night and day. The lift hill castle moment is much better, the A1000 animatronics are incredible, the whole Let It Go section is enhanced with amazing LED effects, and everything about the ride system just feels better from the backwards section to the much more intense splashdown.
  • Playhouse in the Woods is such a smart meet & greet experience. Went in with zero expectations and came out excited to see the rest of Arendelle.
  • I've been so disappointed in the lack of Albert/Mystic Manor merch while I've been here! Insane we can't get a plush of him.
  • Explorer's Club restaurant was great. The food was superb (common theme throughout the resort) and the theming carrying over from the ride and vice versa is such a treat.
  • I've completely skipped over Toy Story Land outside of photos, which is a shame. I dislike TSL as a concept but would say Hong Kong probably did it best given its natural berm + strong choice of foliage resembling grass. Would love a stronger mini-land here to complete the Grizzly Gulch/Mystic Point trifecta.
  • Stark Expo is great. The Ant-Man ride is much better in-person than videos suggest, the experience and haptic feedback is much better than Astro Blasters at Disneyland. Iron Man Experience is a great HK-exclusive to showcase the city Star Tours-style. Drone show was pretty cool, even if the conceit was pretty cheesy.
  • The Momentous pre-shows pulling from the time theme and doing projections every 5 minutes around an hour before show time is so dang smart. I think DL and MK should consider replicating that idea.
  • Momentous itself was great. I'm really happy the "-ous" shows (Luminous & Wondrous Journeys included) are killing it. Wish they were allowed to have bigger pyro as it'd really add that oomph the show needs, but the whole experience was still great.
Click to expand...
HKs and WDSP Toy Story Lands are only missing a Midway Mania to be strong lands.
 
M

Mark_E

Active Member
Just been today. Park was really busy, compared to what looked to be a very quiet day for the holiday yesterday.
Agree on Explorer's Club - definitely the best value option ur gonna get with a good selection of food. Was all I needed to buy in terms of food all day.
World of Frozen is a great addition. A shame that Oaken’s isn’t a bit longer. FEA is much better than the EPCOT version.
Midway Mania in Toy Story Land would be very welcome. That land just feels really poor without a proper anchor.
 
waltography

waltography

Well-Known Member
Mark_E said:
Just been today. Park was really busy, compared to what looked to be a very quiet day for the holiday yesterday.
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I noticed the same yesterday. Wait times were approaching the 2 hour mark across the board when normally the only 2 hour wait in the park is to meet LinaBell.
 
M

Mark_E

Active Member
Ye I went yessterday on the back of it having been quiet Weds but oh well, still managed to get a fair bit done.

Oh and another thing - they’ve scrapped the separate language jungle cruises it would seem. We had all 3 languages in one boat. Didn’t work well unfortunately.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Mark_E said:
.

Oh and another thing - they’ve scrapped the separate language jungle cruises it would seem. We had all 3 languages in one boat. Didn’t work well unfortunately.
Click to expand...
We had that in October. I assumed it was just off peak. The 3 queues and signs were still there with the signs blanked out.
 
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waltography

waltography

Well-Known Member
Mark_E said:
Oh and another thing - they’ve scrapped the separate language jungle cruises it would seem. We had all 3 languages in one boat. Didn’t work well unfortunately.
Click to expand...
It was an experience for sure; couldn’t make out anything except when she’d say words like “zebra” or “monkey.” The finale was also hilarious on our go—we didn’t expect the explosive finale (could feel the heat from the fire on our skin) and our skipper, bless her heart, yelled the most half-hearted “oh no fire” I’d heard which undercut the moment perfectly. 😂
 
22031029

22031029

Member
Mark_E said:
Ye I went yessterday on the back of it having been quiet Weds but oh well, still managed to get a fair bit done.

Oh and another thing - they’ve scrapped the separate language jungle cruises it would seem. We had all 3 languages in one boat. Didn’t work well unfortunately.
Click to expand...
same thing last time i visited with the languages. wonder if they plan to scrap the language options permanently to improve capacity?
 
PiratesMansion

PiratesMansion

Well-Known Member
cjkeating said:
Annoying.
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To a point, but I also never felt like I got a masterclass skipper on the English side of things.

I feel like the original setup was probably the best one considering the multilingual nature of HKDL's visitors, but it never felt like they were able to deliver a great English-language experience. And the three queues for one attraction setup was odd and made the line slow. So on some level I understand the consolidation.
 
IMDREW

IMDREW

Well-Known Member
PiratesMansion said:
To a point, but I also never felt like I got a masterclass skipper on the English side of things.

I feel like the original setup was probably the best one considering the multilingual nature of HKDL's visitors, but it never felt like they were able to deliver a great English-language experience. And the three queues for one attraction setup was odd and made the line slow. So on some level I understand the consolidation.
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I loved the uniqueness of it
 
PiratesMansion

PiratesMansion

Well-Known Member
IMDREW said:
I loved the uniqueness of it
Click to expand...
And I get that. I just think the idea was better than the execution.

I 100% understand why the other Disney Resorts just run the attraction in one language. Much easier to maintain a consistent experience that way, and it seems like more English speakers than not have reported an inconsistent experience with the HK Jungle Cruise as it was operated before.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
PiratesMansion said:
more English speakers than not have reported an inconsistent experience with the HK Jungle Cruise as it was operated before.
Click to expand...
We had inconsistencies, but for the same reasons as the American versions; enthusiasm and style. We had one CM who couldn’t wait for his break, and also one who was possibly one of the best skippers we’ve had anywhere.
 
BrianLo

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
I'd say the Avengers attraction seems pretty likely to feature at D23 (because it features at every D23). Disney may also convince them for another cycle of investment, particularly with how well the resort seems to be received these days. Though that will never be a D23 announcement. It will air out publicly with Legco.
 

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