Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland is actually the smallest of the parks worldwide. However, with the addition and expansion in the last few years, this park now has quite a lot to offer. We visited in May which is the rainy season in Hong Kong. You’ll notice it was pouring rain the entire day. While that made it less than perfect conditions, it also meant the lines were very short so we were able to ride almost every ride except for outdoors. Here’s everything we did, sorted by the lands we visited.

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World of Frozen is the newest area in Hong Kong Disneyland. It was opened at the end of 2023, making it one of the newest Disney additions in the world, and it really shows. The atmosphere here is incredible. As always, Disney does an amazing job transporting you into the land of Arendelle, and especially at night the castle on the lake as well as the ice castle in the mountains look unreal.

Unfortunately due to the rain, we were not able to ride Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Seighs. In the past Hong Kong Disneyland has been seen as the smallest and least important Disney park, but this addition certainly seems to make it a much more attractive visit.

Frozen Ever After 

It’s a dark ride with a boat that has two rows for 4-6 people. The animatronics looked so realistic, and we were in awe in every part of the ride. Be prepared, you may get wet and there are a few drops. Overall, it’s one of the most “magical” rides at the park and is sure to be a favorite.

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Of all the areas in Hong Kong Disneyland, Tomorrowland is the most similar to its American counterpart. There are two large rides, two small rides, a cafe, a diner, and gift shops. Much like California’s Disneyland, Tomorrowland here feels like it’s lagging behind without the new Tron ride or other iconic attractions like the Peoplemover. You can expect to spend less time in this area, especially if the line for Hyperspace Mountain isn’t long. That being said, this is the part of the park that really brings out the nostalgia, and the Hong Kong exclusive rides fit the theme well.

Hyperspace Mountain 

We headed to Hyperspace Mountain as the queue can be very long. Either because of the pouring rain or off-season, we only waited 5 minutes to board. I thought this would be a clone of Space Mountain, but it was more intense. Of course, it has a Star Wars theme outside, but honestly, the theming was weak. There were a few characters and some images, but the interior did not strike me as being very “Star Wars-y”. There were a few scenes with various ships, but because it’s so dark there’s not much to look at. That being said, the thrill of the ride still holds up, and it’s one of the more intense rides in the park.

Iron Man Experience 

The ride isn’t too intense, but as always the motion simulator does a great job. Because the sights of Hong Kong are real places, this feels like a unique twist on the Star Tours or Body Wars rides. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought it would, and the wait wasn’t too long.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle

Right next to Iron Man Experience is a simple on-rails shooting ride based on Ant-Man. You are shrunken down and must fend off HYDRA from some shenanigans. This ride is replacing Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and is essentially the same experience. It’s a simple target shooting ride, which is essentially a glorified game of lazer tag.

Since the wait was only 5 minutes it was worth it to get out of the rain. It’s a great ride for kids and as per usual Paul Rudd is a great actor, although he only makes voiceover appearances. There were a few cool effects but otherwise, it’s a very simple ride.

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The center of the park is always the first place everyone checks out. Of course, it resembles other parks, but we really enjoyed this variation as the mountains in the backdrop look amazing with the castle, and it’s a great central location with this park’s compact layout.

It’s a Small World

Okay, I know this is an unpopular opinion. My favorite ride at Disney is It’s a Small World. Why? Childhood nostalgia. I love seeing all the different countries, languages, and scenery. Honestly, the song isn’t an earworm for me so I quite enjoy listening to it. I had a blast riding in the boat and seeing the small world that we are in. Michael on the other hand doesn’t like the song at all, but once again the wait was short and it was nice to visit.

Mad Hatter Tea Cups

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Castle of Magical Dreams

This is a very interesting and beautiful castle. If you didn’t know, the park opened with a replica of Sleeping Beauty’s castle from Anaheim. In 2021 along with other expansions, the park opened with The Castle of Magical Dreams, a castle unique to this park that more than doubled its height to bring it on par with the newer Disney castles. It is narrow and tall with much richer colors than the other castles, and in my opinion, has the most ambitious design. I also love that the old Sleeping Beauty castle was not totally demolished, and you can still see it’s silhouette at the base of the new beautiful building.

Royal Banquet 

As you continue to explore Fantasyland stop to take a bite at the Royal Banquet. It offers International cuisine, entrées royale, and a grill. Honestly, Disney cafeteria food rarely impresses me, so I was skeptical. We heard that the baked pork chop with rice combo was amazing so we had to try. It’s served in one tray and it’s covered in cheese.

As you dip through the cheese you can get a great bite of the soft porkchop with the savory rice. It is very filling for one person and can be split into two if you want to eat light. Thankfully it was super delicious, and this was the best thing we ate at the park.

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Mystic Point is perhaps the oddest area in the park. Between Toy Story Land and Grizzly Gulch is this area with only one attraction, one food court, and one stall. There is a garden and a train stop as well, but it is interesting how remote this area is. We found it to be the most relaxing and least busy area of the park throughout the day. 

This is a good point to mention that we didn’t get to visit much in either Toy Story Land or Grizzly Gulch, as essentially all of their attractions were shut down all day due to the heavy rainfall.

Mystic Manor

Mystic Manor is a dark ride replacing, the haunted mansion in other parks. However, it is truly a standalone ride. The storyline follows an eccentric explorer who, with his pet monkey, finds many artifacts all throughout the world. One such artifact is a magical music box that the monkey proceeds to open. Chaos ensues as the mansion comes to life and you are whipped through the halls while a variety of statues and objects fly towards and around you.

Some of the effects of this ride were amazing, and the movement of the vehicle was great as well. This was a surprisingly high-ranking ride for us.

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The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is about a 15-minute walk from the park or a shuttle bus ride away. You may leave the park and re-enter later, but you must tell an employee you are doing so as you leave to make sure you can re-enter. We do recommend the walk because the park grounds outside the gate are quite beautiful and empty in the middle of the day, and it is easy to take the shuttle back if you wish. The hotel itself is quite stunning, overlooking the ocean with serene surroundings. As far as Disney hotels go it is one of the nicer ones we have seen, although we did not experience staying there overnight.

Crystal Lotus

This Chinese restaurant is known for its Disney character dim sum. If you would like to eat character dim sum at this restaurant you have to make a reservation at least 2 in advance. There is a way to reserve online, but at the time it was only in Chinese. We decided to call and reserve instead. The hotel staff was very kind and helpful and had English available. After making a reservation they will send you a form via email to place your order, and we arrived about 15 minutes before our reservation to be seated.

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In this park Adventureland is quite a bit different, spread around a corner and with fewer attractions than usual. Jungle River Cruise and Theater in the Wild are the only two main attractions here. There is also Tarzan’s Treehouse on the island, however it was closed due to heavy rain. There is more seating in this area and lots of shade, making it a good place to rest and hang out during the middle of the day.

Jungle River Cruise

On the spur of the moment, we decided to do the Jungle River Cruise. If you don’t want to get wet I recommend sitting in the middle of the boat. The ride is narrated in Cantonese and English, and the skippers did a great job. It was really cute seeing the “animals in the wild” enjoy their habitat. Michael has been on this ride in Disney Orlando and said the skippers are hilarious, but here the jokes are just okay because it’s hard to speak both languages at once. Still, we enjoyed resting our feet from all the walking and being able to cross another ride off of our list.

Festival of the Lion King

There are several showings of The Lion King every day so check the park app to see which time is the most convenient for you. We waited outside for the show about an hour before the showing time, but the line was already huge when we got there. I suggested getting there early because the seats filled up quickly.

It was really fun to sing along to the soundtrack we grew up with. It was a great twist of the Lion King story with some extra performances and more. The performance is conducted mostly in English with a few translations in Cantonese. 

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I always loved seeing Main Street USA in other countries. It reminds me how exaggerated this conception of the US is out of context. There is a Starbucks, bakeries, plenty of shopping and restaurants, and many of the character meet and greets take place here. We did not spend much time here as there isn’t a lot to see, however, many people hung around all day waiting for the rain to let up.

Main Street Bakery

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