Hong Kong Disneyland

Lantau, Hong Kong

“The hidden gem of Disney Parks & Resorts”

Hong Kong Disneyland. This theme park on Lantau Island has often been considered as the world’s least interesting Disney destination. Due to its small surface and the lack of signature rides, no one seemed to like this place. Luckily, things have changed dramatically over the past decades. The park added quite a few new rides, the fairy-tale castle was expanded and the most recent addition is a large Frozen-themed land. All we needed was some pixie dust (and a 1.4 billion dollar investment) to transform Hong Kong Disneyland into a world-class theme park. Let’s find out how the park was performing during our most recent visit in January 2024.

THE RESORT

Hong Kong Disneyland is connected to the city’s MTR network, which makes it easy to get there. But unlike the Disney Resorts in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo and Paris, very few external hotels are located in direct proximity to the resort. Those wishing to stay as close to the Disney magic as possible, should definitely consider staying at an official Disney hotel. I’ve had wonderful experiences at the Hollywood Hotel, but my favourite on-site hotel is definitely Disney’s Explorers Lodge. It opened in 2017 and it became the third hotel at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Explorers Lodge combines a tropical Adventureland theme with the splendour of Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The result is a very stylish place which is a perfect match with Hong Kong’s hot, humid climate. Staying here isn’t cheap, but it really adds some Disney flair to your holiday.

Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005. The fact that this is one of the youngest Disney resorts on Earth, can be clearly noticed in the park and its hotels. Disney used all the expertise from other resorts while designing this place. The result is a stunning resort area full of space, lush greenery and typical Disney magic. When staying at an official Disney hotel, try to use the walkway to the park at least once. This is just as convenient as the hotel shuttle bus and the (deserted) pathway is simply beautiful.

ROLLER COASTERS

Hong Kong Disneyland features a total of four coaster credits. The first one can be found at Grizzly Gulch, the local alternative to Frontierland. The difference between Grizzly Gulch and Frontierland isn’t that spectacular – it’s a mining town after all – but the biggest change is the area’s main attraction. Grizzly Gulch doesn’t feature a Cantonese version of Big Thunder Mountain, but they’ve got Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars instead. And I’m totally in love with this ride. Big Grizzly Mountain isn’t the most thrilling coaster ever built, but it offers a very complete ride experience. It starts with a fairly calm part, but the ride keeps getting more and more intense along the way. Especially the final part, which starts with a launch, always manages to surprise me with its decent amount of g-forces. And the best thing about this roller coaster? That’s the storytelling. Not a single element is there without a reason; every turn of this ride is explained through its theming. Disney and Vekoma managed to create a masterpiece.

Credit number two can be found at Toy Story Land. This is, by far, the least interesting land at Hong Kong Disneyland and RC Racer is everything but exceptional. Fortunately, the park’s third coaster performs on a considerably higher level. I’m talking about Hyperspace Mountain in Tomorrowland. There’s no way to avoid the Star Wars hype, even in Asia. Space Mountain was converted to this version in 2016 and I didn’t like that at first. I’ve always loved the special light effects during the lift hill and Michael Giacchino’s soundtrack was simply brilliant. Still, Hyperspace Mountain provides a great experience as well. It’s cool to climb a lift hill with the Imperial March and the effects during the ride are fantastic. The layout remained identical and the ride is just as smooth as it was before. Hyperspace Mountain is still a fantastic roller coaster, but my nonexistent love for Star Wars makes me prefer the original version.

And then there’s Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, which is part of the brand-new World of Frozen. The ride is integrated in a mountainous landscape and theming is absolutely superb. I adore the beautiful queue, the ride’s vehicles look cute and there’s a cool (but very short) dark ride scene right before the lift hill. Still, I’d recommend to keep your expectations low. Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs may be one of the world’s most beautiful kiddie coasters, but it’s also a very short one. In fact, a full ride cycle doesn’t last much longer than 60 seconds. We’ve seen wait times of up to 90 minutes for this ride and that’s obviously way too long.

DARK RIDES

There’s more to World of Frozen than Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs alone. Fortunately, the area’s second attractions offers a considerably more complete experience. And if you’ve ever ridden Frozen Ever After at Walt Disney World, you know what to expect from it. That’s because the scenes and orchestration of this version are virtually identical. However, I’d like to emphasize that Disney’s Imagineers created a greatly improved experience here in Asia. While the USA version had to be fitted into the existing Maelstrom building, the ride was built from scratch here. This allowed for more spacious scenes and the modern ride system is a real improvement over the 35-year-old hardware at EPCOT. The biggest upgrade, however, is the appearance of the audio-animatronics. In Florida, the characters’ faces are projected and this sometimes has a slightly creepy effect. At Hong Kong Disneyland, Imagineers opted for full-scale animatronics with lifelike expressions. Long story short: we were very impressed by Frozen Ever After’s wonderful atmosphere, the extraordinary animatronics and the 9-metre descent, which turned out to be steeper than we expected.

In January 2017, Hong Kong Disneyland had the honour to present the world’s first Marvel ride. Iron Man Experience can be described as Star Tours with a different theme. Both attractions are very similar: they offer a simulator-type ride with some subtle humour and a predictable story line. It’s cool that the story of Iron Man Experience takes place in Hong Kong and you even fly over Hong Kong Disneyland during the ride. Iron Man is on the same level as Star Tours, but there’s one big difference: the experience is always exactly the same. That’s why Star Tours is a better choice for repeat visitors. These changing story lines might be a good idea for an Iron Man Experience upgrade in the future?

Hong Kong Disneyland’s latest Marvel ride opened in 2019. I’m talking about Ant-Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle. This attraction reuses the Omnimover system of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, a dark ride that has been part of Hong Kong Disneyland for only 12 years. It’s a shame that this ride was closed, but the result of the transformation looks convincing. During the ride, a watchful eye can discover some similarities with the predecessor. Still, it doesn’t look like a simple overlay. Vehicles now turn automatically towards the right side (great, because I never liked the joystick) and the laser game was modernised a bit. Nano Battle is certainly not the most powerful attraction Disney ever created, but it fits perfectly in Hong Kong Disneyland’s mini Marvel land.

At Fantasyland, it’s easy to notice that Hong Kong Disneyland opened with a limited number of attractions. Even today, the area only features two classic dark rides: The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh and It’s a Small World. I mentioned it in my previous reports and I’d like to repeat it: I’m a fan of It’s a Small World. I like its cartoony facade, the cute puppets and the eternal-lasting song. This feeling is even stronger at Hong Kong Disneyland, since this park got the most beautiful version. The scenes look modern and a number of subtly integrated Disney characters create extra recognisability.

Although I call myself a Roller Coaster Traveller, the term Dark Ride Traveller might suit me better. Ten laps on an excellent B&M just can’t match the feeling Disney’s best dark rides create. You might already know where I’m going: Mystic Manor, Hong Kong Disneyland’s most stunning attraction. This trackless dark ride consists of extraordinary scenes, brilliant music and an extremely cute protagonist. One of Mystic Manor’s other strengths is its intimacy. Many of Disney’s famous dark rides feature huge scenes, but Mystic Manor is different. Thanks to these small-scaled scenes, it’s easier to admire all the fine details and special effects. Surprisingly, most effects in Mystic Manor aren’t even that unusual, but they’re combined in a fantastic way. Especially the last scene, in which both the visual spectacle and the music reach a climax, is monumental. This ride actually made me realise that Disney’s Imagineers really are the best theme park designers on Earth. This attraction alone was worth the 12-hour flight to Hong Kong.

THE CLASSICS

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but Hong Kong Disneyland features a few classic Disney attractions. Dumbo The Flying Elephant, Mickey’s PhilharMagic and Mad Hatter Tea Cups are present at Fantasyland and Adventureland is home to Jungle River Cruise, a modern version of Disney’s famous Jungle Cruise. The main components remained the same: there are wildlife animatronics and there’s a Skipper that provides live narration. The ride’s big finale is different, but you’ll recognise most elements if you’re used to Jungle Cruise in Anaheim, Orlando or Tokyo.

Storybook Land is another classic that has made its way to Hong Kong. It was presented in a modified version, though. Unlike the Storybook Land rides at Disneyland Anaheim and Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland’s Fairy Tale Forest is just a walk-through. I’d prefer a boat ride over this, but selfie-addicted visitors really don’t seem to care. Besides, I must admit that the scenery and the dioramas look absolutely stunning.

ENTERTAINMENT

Fantasyland is the place to be for the world’s best theatre show inside an amusement park. The name of this gem is Mickey and the Wondrous Book and it can be found at the Storybook Theater. Disney created pure magic. The performance features a great story, the live singing is fabulous and the sets are beautiful. Even the bilingualism (the dialogues are in Cantonese, while the songs are performed in English) doesn’t feel unnatural. The best moments are the princesses’ medley and a great rendition of Princess and the Frog. It’s unusual to visit a show twice during one visit, but Mickey and the Wondrous Book was just so good that we needed to see it again.

At the opposite side of the park, you’ll find Theater in the Wild. This is the place where you can watch a second awesome stage show: Festival of the Lion King. This musical is a loose (and quite speedy) interpretation of the film of the same name. The circular theatre suggest that it’s identical to the version at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but thank goodness it’s not. I’ve always found the American version a bit awkward because of the public interaction and the acrobatics that just don’t fit within a Lion King story. I’m very happy that these elements were dropped in Hong Kong. The result is a wonderful 30-minute performance with great music and good actors. The nearby Moana show, however, was the biggest disappointment of our visit. Moana – A Homecoming Celebration takes place in a cute outdoor theatre, but the presentation had a very childish atmosphere.

Hong Kong Disneyland is possibly the world’s best Disney park when it comes to entertainment. The park doesn’t only offer two world-class stage shows, but the fireworks are also incredibly good. Momentous contains all the elements you would expect from a nighttime spectacular these days. Disney uses projections, fountains, lighting effects, fireworks and a whole lot of immortal Disney songs. This doesn’t sound very unusual, but Momentous’ unique selling point is the storytelling. Whereas many of Disney’s projection shows feel like a random compilation of movie scenes, Hong Kong Disneyland treats us to a real story about our lives with the catchphrase “Live the moment and love the memory”. And honestly, Momentous is one of the very best fireworks shows I have ever attended at any Disney theme park. Perfect way to end our day at Hong Kong Disneyland!

WORTH A VISIT?

Some people may say that Hong Kong Disneyland is a one-day destination and that is partially true. You’re perfectly able to see the park and its highlights in a single day. However, I do appreciate the value of a second day. This allowed us to fully discover the park and to revisit all the attractions we liked the most. Big Grizzly Mountain, Frozen Ever After and Space Mountain all deserved a re-ride, we were happy to see Mickey and the Wondrous Book twice and… you can never ride Mystic Manor too many times, right? Hong Kong Disneyland obviously isn’t the world’s biggest theme park, but the overall quality is impressive. The park offers extraordinary entertainment, excellent food options, a perfect nighttime spectacular and some fantastic rides. Besides, the theming and the park’s atmosphere are brilliant.

Am I the only one who loves Hong Kong Disneyland? Is Mystic Manor the world’s greatest dark ride? Is it a good thing that Hong Kong Disneyland expanded its castle? Share your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this page.