Hong Kong Disneyland — A Guide, Two Visits Later
This was my fourth Disneyland park, after growing up at the original in Anaheim. I've been told I'm spoiled when it comes to these parks, but every one of them has managed to feel uniquely its own. Known as one of the smaller parks in the Disney family, Hong Kong Disneyland gave us two genuinely full days of fun on our first visit, and a quick, easy return trip a year later. (Update, we went again in 2019...it's just that easy! So you'll see some additional photos here where the kids look older!)
Getting There
Public transportation in Hong Kong is excellent, and Disneyland, out on Lantau Island, is no exception. From the other islands, take the Tung Chung line to Sunny Bay station, then hop the Disney train to Disneyland Resort Station itself. The train starts the magic early, mouse-shaped windows, Disney statues inside, even Mickey-shaped hand holders.
Staying There
We normally stay off-site at any Disneyland park, but my husband splurged and booked us into Disney's Hollywood Hotel on one of our visits (see my other Hong Kong posts for Airbnbs we've stayed in). This retro, Hollywood-styled property was the perfect place to land after two full park days, complete with a piano-shaped pool, expansive gardens dotted with vintage cars and landmarks, and views over the bay. Posing with the Hollywood sign and sharing a Mickey breakfast were easy highlights.
Get There Early, for Two Reasons (Three Reasons...Update!)
Have you ever arrived at Disneyland right at opening, only to find yourself let onto Main Street, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony still to come before the rest of the park opens? Watching a completely empty park wait to come alive was genuinely cool. The other reason to arrive early back then was the mad dash for same-day reservation tickets to meet Anna and Elsa, first come, first served, gone the moment they ran out. (Update, in 2019, we had the fortune of being selected from the early morning crowd to open Disneyland! An absolutely emotionally overwhelming moment for us.)
You'll find plenty of overlap with Anaheim, but it's the differences that made my kids light up. Fewer Fantasyland rides, but Toy Story Land more than makes up for the lack of Toon Town. In Grizzly Gulch, the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars echoes Big Thunder Mountain, with a genuine surprise partway through. No New Orleans Square or Haunted Mansion here, but Mystic Point's Mystic Manor earned a second ride from us on the spot.
Beating the Lines
I'm not convinced there's a truly "good" time to visit and dodge lines entirely. Summer draws huge global crowds in serious heat, Christmas break is cool but still peak holiday traffic. My honest conclusion: if you get that giddy "we're really doing this today" feeling, any time works, you just have to accept some waiting. Our lines ran 60-70 minutes on the Monday after Christmas, dropping to 20-30 minutes by Tuesday. Line etiquette wasn't really a cultural norm we noticed here, plenty of people pushed their way forward. Our tried-and-true trick after many visits: ride the popular attractions during parades and nighttime fireworks, when everyone else is watching the show instead. We picked off Space Mountain, Autopia, and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters this way.
Finding American Food (or a Churro)
My kids sought out American food specifically, since so much of the park's dining leans Asian-inspired and they were craving something familiar, living in Asia full time. Lucky Nugget Saloon delivered fish and chips, shrimp and chips, or nuggets and chips with a fruit cup. Royal Banquet Hall, similar to Village Haus back in Anaheim, had a solid burger and corn on the cob. And the real prize, the one we all savor with genuine giddiness? The churro, found in Toy Story Land at Jessie's Snack Roundup.
A Quick Return Visit
We came back the following year, in 1015, and this time, one day was plenty. Arriving on a Monday, we found nearly every ride a walk-on, or a 20-minute wait at most. Our kids had aged out of much of Fantasyland by then, which typically ran closer to 45-minute waits, so we skipped most of it in favor of everything else, which made for an easy, relaxed day with plenty of repeat rides.
I hope you reconnect with your own Disney spirit at Hong Kong Disneyland the way we did. No matter where Disney builds a park, people show up ready for a little magic.
Coming back to update: quite a bit has changed since these visits. FastPass no longer exists here (or at any Disney park worldwide), it's been replaced by a paid skip-the-line system called Disney Premier Access. The old mad-dash reservation tickets to meet Anna and Elsa are gone too, replaced in November 2023 by an entire new immersive land, World of Frozen, with its own rides, Frozen Ever After and Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleighs. Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, and Toy Story Land are all still open and still considered park highlights, and Disney's Hollywood Hotel is still running, piano-shaped pool included.