I posted a pseudo trip report to HKDL in the Spitied Perfect Ten thread in News and Rumors as @WDW1974 asked. Here’s a bit of a rehash of that report.
This was probably my 7th or 8th visit to HKDL. First visit was around 2007. When I'm over here, I'm usually all over China, from Shanghai to Tsingtao to Zhuhai to Guangdong. There's not a lot of Downtime between business meetings, but I try to arrange my schedule so I can have personal time on Sunday and preferably in either Hong Kong or Shanghai. When in Hong Kong, I stay in Kowloon, close to the water and it's an easy cab ride to HKDL.
What's nice is there is zero planning needed. I can buy a ticket at my hotel and 20 minutes later be walking in the front gates. It's a beautiful walk from the transportation area down the esplanade(?) with gorgeous landscaping, music and that great fountain in the center. This walk really is a relaxing transition that gets you in the mood.
For anyone who hasn't been to HKDL, I will say that it is incredibly clean and well run. The landscaping is beautiful (as you might expect in the tropical climate). Lots of CMs continually cleaning. Bathrooms were the nicest I'd been in all week. (And if you’ve ever been in a mainland China public restroom, this was a nice respite).
Coming into the park, it's apparent that Duffy is continuing his infectious creep into all the parks. He was on the cover of the map guide, in s big store window display on Main Street, and there were Duffy and his lady friend (whatever her name is) figures set up in various landscaped areas. I wasn't a fan of Duffy when I first saw him at TDL. I just don't get the appeal or the logic of creating yet another plush character when you have hundreds already. But, to each his own. I'm not the target market.
Mickey and Minnie had their meet and greet in the middle of town square with a very orderly line of maybe a dozen or so families waiting for their photo-op. In the past, I've seen other characters out and about in various areas of Main Street for meet and greet, didn't see them today.
Half of the left side of Main Street was behind a scrim for refurbishment. I took a pic on my phone if anyone's really interested. One thing I also took a picture of was the curbs on main street. Yep, real 3-4" curbs. I guess people in Hong Kong know how to walk down a street without falling off the curb and twisting their ankle. Maybe the lack of strollers allows you to have curbs.
Buzz was down for refurbishment, as is the train (due to Iron Man construction). Seems like every time I've been to HKDL, there's at least one or two attractions closed for refurbishment. Iron Man construction is coming along. It's really a huge area. The construction wall has pushed farther into the park since the last time I was there. Hard to get a good view into the construction area from either Autopia or Astro Orbiters, but it looks to be coming along for its 2016 opening. and I have to say, this is probably the best Autopia in any Disney park. Long, lushly landscaped, electric cars with onboard audio futuristic sound effects.
Speaking of construction, I haven't seen a lot of buzz anywhere about what's going in behind Dumbo in Fantasyland. Apparantly this is for Princess meet & greets. Doesn't look huge and all that's there right now are pipe stubs and a few trees. Hopefully it'll help fill out Fantasyland. With only one dark ride, it is fairly week. The backside of Fantasyland has always struck me as "unfinished". Not sure why they need more meet and greet area when there is already the large Fantasy garden M&G area that is never busy.
Also saw a sign posted for "making new magic for your future enjoyment" in front of a wall between Adventureland and Grizzly Gultch. Just to the left before you go under the train tracks. Looked like some shell construction back there. Rumor has it that this is for some Frozen Summer fun area (seems like a strange location for it).
Most of the rides and show elements looked great. Space mountain is great - smooth, dark and onboard audio, although the entry and exit queues are lacking. Small World was pristine - later in the day I got a boat all to myself for a nice relaxing cruise.
For Small World, I have to say how much I enjoy seeing the Dinseyland facade outside and watching the clock chime. Great show. The flip side is how much I dislike how they shoehorned characters into the ride. Some make no sense. Especially scenes like Little Mermaid (where exactly in the world do little children live under the sea?). And why is Pocohontas in Canada? The addition of the characters signature musical strains blended in also detracts from the Small World theme (although some may find that a benefit). But the characters seem to confuse the message of the ride. Is it a message of the children of the world living in harmonious peace or a game of Where's Waldo?
Grizzly Mt. Mine ride is just a superb piece of imagineering and probably the smoothest coaster I've ever been on. I really wish they would have fleshed out this land with more than just one ride. Both Grizzly Gultch and Mystic Point are beautifully done, but very sparse "lands".
A few critical show elements not working. The worst was on Mystic Mansion. The timing for the finale was messed up. Both times I rode, I only got half the scene before being whisked out to the music box room. The first time, we entered the room halfway through the scene when the wall was already blown out. The second time, we caught the first part of the scene, but were out before the big effects started. Very poor show and really confuses the ending. Second thing I noticed was at the end of Philharmagic, the rear curtains open and - no Donald AA. The audio plays, but I could see confused looks on some people around me.
In my opinion, the biggest negative in the park is Toy Story land. Especially if you come out of Mystic Point, it's a jarring transition. I'd say it's the Chester and Hester of the park. It looks like what it is. Re skinned carnival rides plopped down in a parking lot. Even the landscaping appears to have been an afterthought simply to screen the view with bamboo. I'm sorry, maybe some people like it, but it turns me cold. Some of the elements are cute in how they've combined different toys to make fences and benches (oh yeah, benches. Forgot to mention the benches everywhere). The whole area reeks of "cheaply done".
Spent some time seeing the shows this time. The Golden Mickeys is really a well done show and Festival of the Lion King is fantastic. Saw the Paint the Night parade for the first time. The floats are jaw dropping, but the parade is a bit short. Could use a few more. The flights of Fantasy parade was rained out. I've seen it before and it is great. Superb floats. I ended up trapped in Tarzan's treehouse during the parade, which was actually kind of cool to look out over the park from atop the tree during the rain.
On merchandise. There are some few land specific items, mostly in Mystic Point, but in general the same homogenization of product exists where you'll find Lightning McQueen in the Space Mountain gift shop, Iron Man toys in Fantasyland, and princesses in Adventureland. In January, I did buy a very cool replica Mystic Manor music box for what amounts to about US $30. Very well done and plays the nice Danny Elfman theme when opened. I use it to keep my cuff links and studs in.
Food in general is very good. No problem walking up to any restaurant at any time and getting sat at table service, or short waits at QS. But if you want western food, the choices are slim. If you want Dim Sum or curry prawns or bento box, there are lots of choices. I've eaten at a lot of the different place in the park. This time I had a nice Cornish game hen with Haricot verts at the Corner Cafe on Main Street. Service was a bit spotty as they forgot the mushroom truffle cream soup, and I had to remind them. It was excellent though.
But overall, the park is filled with happy people just enjoying a well themed, clean and well run park. Language is never really a barrier.
This was probably my 7th or 8th visit to HKDL. First visit was around 2007. When I'm over here, I'm usually all over China, from Shanghai to Tsingtao to Zhuhai to Guangdong. There's not a lot of Downtime between business meetings, but I try to arrange my schedule so I can have personal time on Sunday and preferably in either Hong Kong or Shanghai. When in Hong Kong, I stay in Kowloon, close to the water and it's an easy cab ride to HKDL.
What's nice is there is zero planning needed. I can buy a ticket at my hotel and 20 minutes later be walking in the front gates. It's a beautiful walk from the transportation area down the esplanade(?) with gorgeous landscaping, music and that great fountain in the center. This walk really is a relaxing transition that gets you in the mood.
For anyone who hasn't been to HKDL, I will say that it is incredibly clean and well run. The landscaping is beautiful (as you might expect in the tropical climate). Lots of CMs continually cleaning. Bathrooms were the nicest I'd been in all week. (And if you’ve ever been in a mainland China public restroom, this was a nice respite).
Coming into the park, it's apparent that Duffy is continuing his infectious creep into all the parks. He was on the cover of the map guide, in s big store window display on Main Street, and there were Duffy and his lady friend (whatever her name is) figures set up in various landscaped areas. I wasn't a fan of Duffy when I first saw him at TDL. I just don't get the appeal or the logic of creating yet another plush character when you have hundreds already. But, to each his own. I'm not the target market.
Mickey and Minnie had their meet and greet in the middle of town square with a very orderly line of maybe a dozen or so families waiting for their photo-op. In the past, I've seen other characters out and about in various areas of Main Street for meet and greet, didn't see them today.
Half of the left side of Main Street was behind a scrim for refurbishment. I took a pic on my phone if anyone's really interested. One thing I also took a picture of was the curbs on main street. Yep, real 3-4" curbs. I guess people in Hong Kong know how to walk down a street without falling off the curb and twisting their ankle. Maybe the lack of strollers allows you to have curbs.
Buzz was down for refurbishment, as is the train (due to Iron Man construction). Seems like every time I've been to HKDL, there's at least one or two attractions closed for refurbishment. Iron Man construction is coming along. It's really a huge area. The construction wall has pushed farther into the park since the last time I was there. Hard to get a good view into the construction area from either Autopia or Astro Orbiters, but it looks to be coming along for its 2016 opening. and I have to say, this is probably the best Autopia in any Disney park. Long, lushly landscaped, electric cars with onboard audio futuristic sound effects.
Speaking of construction, I haven't seen a lot of buzz anywhere about what's going in behind Dumbo in Fantasyland. Apparantly this is for Princess meet & greets. Doesn't look huge and all that's there right now are pipe stubs and a few trees. Hopefully it'll help fill out Fantasyland. With only one dark ride, it is fairly week. The backside of Fantasyland has always struck me as "unfinished". Not sure why they need more meet and greet area when there is already the large Fantasy garden M&G area that is never busy.
Also saw a sign posted for "making new magic for your future enjoyment" in front of a wall between Adventureland and Grizzly Gultch. Just to the left before you go under the train tracks. Looked like some shell construction back there. Rumor has it that this is for some Frozen Summer fun area (seems like a strange location for it).
Most of the rides and show elements looked great. Space mountain is great - smooth, dark and onboard audio, although the entry and exit queues are lacking. Small World was pristine - later in the day I got a boat all to myself for a nice relaxing cruise.
For Small World, I have to say how much I enjoy seeing the Dinseyland facade outside and watching the clock chime. Great show. The flip side is how much I dislike how they shoehorned characters into the ride. Some make no sense. Especially scenes like Little Mermaid (where exactly in the world do little children live under the sea?). And why is Pocohontas in Canada? The addition of the characters signature musical strains blended in also detracts from the Small World theme (although some may find that a benefit). But the characters seem to confuse the message of the ride. Is it a message of the children of the world living in harmonious peace or a game of Where's Waldo?
Grizzly Mt. Mine ride is just a superb piece of imagineering and probably the smoothest coaster I've ever been on. I really wish they would have fleshed out this land with more than just one ride. Both Grizzly Gultch and Mystic Point are beautifully done, but very sparse "lands".
A few critical show elements not working. The worst was on Mystic Mansion. The timing for the finale was messed up. Both times I rode, I only got half the scene before being whisked out to the music box room. The first time, we entered the room halfway through the scene when the wall was already blown out. The second time, we caught the first part of the scene, but were out before the big effects started. Very poor show and really confuses the ending. Second thing I noticed was at the end of Philharmagic, the rear curtains open and - no Donald AA. The audio plays, but I could see confused looks on some people around me.
In my opinion, the biggest negative in the park is Toy Story land. Especially if you come out of Mystic Point, it's a jarring transition. I'd say it's the Chester and Hester of the park. It looks like what it is. Re skinned carnival rides plopped down in a parking lot. Even the landscaping appears to have been an afterthought simply to screen the view with bamboo. I'm sorry, maybe some people like it, but it turns me cold. Some of the elements are cute in how they've combined different toys to make fences and benches (oh yeah, benches. Forgot to mention the benches everywhere). The whole area reeks of "cheaply done".
Spent some time seeing the shows this time. The Golden Mickeys is really a well done show and Festival of the Lion King is fantastic. Saw the Paint the Night parade for the first time. The floats are jaw dropping, but the parade is a bit short. Could use a few more. The flights of Fantasy parade was rained out. I've seen it before and it is great. Superb floats. I ended up trapped in Tarzan's treehouse during the parade, which was actually kind of cool to look out over the park from atop the tree during the rain.
On merchandise. There are some few land specific items, mostly in Mystic Point, but in general the same homogenization of product exists where you'll find Lightning McQueen in the Space Mountain gift shop, Iron Man toys in Fantasyland, and princesses in Adventureland. In January, I did buy a very cool replica Mystic Manor music box for what amounts to about US $30. Very well done and plays the nice Danny Elfman theme when opened. I use it to keep my cuff links and studs in.
Food in general is very good. No problem walking up to any restaurant at any time and getting sat at table service, or short waits at QS. But if you want western food, the choices are slim. If you want Dim Sum or curry prawns or bento box, there are lots of choices. I've eaten at a lot of the different place in the park. This time I had a nice Cornish game hen with Haricot verts at the Corner Cafe on Main Street. Service was a bit spotty as they forgot the mushroom truffle cream soup, and I had to remind them. It was excellent though.
But overall, the park is filled with happy people just enjoying a well themed, clean and well run park. Language is never really a barrier.
