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When speaking to someone and realize you have things in common, you sometimes say, “its a small world!”
Well, I kind of felt that way when I found out their was a Disney park in Hong Kong.
Paris, Tokyo, California, Orlando, Yes….Hong Kong?
As well traveled as I am, how did this escape me?
When my children were younger, we made many trips to Disneyworld in Orlando. Or…as my youngest likes to tell me…we made many trips with our two older children. He claims that as the youngest, he didn’t have the number of trips that they experienced.
Frankly, I think he just doesn’t remember.
Anyway, when he found out that a Disneyland was located in Hong Kong, I think that he insisted that he wanted to visit that he could “one-up” his brothers!
We already knew the way, since we had passed through the MTR station on our way to see the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery, and we got an early start to make the most of our day in the park.
As we arrived into the Sunny Bay station, we crossed over to the Disneyland Resort Line which is timed to meet the incoming MTR train. The train cars are appropriately Disney-themed with mouse-eared shaped windows and mouse-eared shaped handholds.
I have to admit, walking under the massive Hong Kong Disneyland Resort sign, I was a bit excited and a bit more for my son. This was something he was looking forward to and I hoped that it was all that he wanted it to be.
Paying our admission, we were greeted by the same Main Street promenade that had always greeted us in Orlando’s Disneyworld, however, as we made our way down the street, there seemed to be something lacking. Where we would normally see a large grey and blue castle, the iconic Cinderella’s Castle, there was a shorter castle-like pink building. Where was the rest of it?
The structure, christened Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, was walled off as construction was in progress, however, it was disconcerting to find it not quite as grand as what we were accustomed to. Maybe the renovations would be adding a few taller turrets?
Checking our map, we headed in the direction of the attractions that we wanted to enjoy first. Starting with the Big Grizzly Mountain, we were able to savor the wind in our hair on the thrilling roller-coaster ride without much of a wait. It was such a rush and a great start to the day! Mystic Manor followed with it’s ghostly apparitions popping out at every corner and then the Jungle Cruise, much like the one in Disneyworld, complete with wild animals and hostile cannibals. Although we boarded the English speaking boat, it was a bit difficult to understand our guide and her stories, one of the unique features of this attraction.
Moving on, we found ourselves in one of my favorite parts of the park, Toy Story Land, where everything in its existence brought back fond memories of the five children’s movies we had enjoyed when our children were younger. Giant Christmas lightbulbs criss-crossed the pathways, a giant Mr. Potato Head greeted visitors, tinkertoys littered the area and Popsicle stick benches offered a reprieve to tired park visitors. We enjoyed the Slinky Dog Spin, RC Racer, Barrel of Fun rides, but especially loved the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop, which lifted us high into the sky and dropped us down to the ground at varying speeds.
Fantasyland was next with rides on Dumbo, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Cinderella Carousel and Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups. Mickey’s Philarmagic gave us a chance to cool off in the air conditioned theater and rest our feet for a while as we enjoyed the animated feature.
After a quick lunch in Fantasyland, we headed over to one of the rides that I think everyone recalls fondly when they remember their trips to one of the Disney parks, Its A Small World. After a 30 minute wait, we finally boarded one of the boats and glided through the waters of the exhibit, while admiring the multicultural dolls singing their signature song.
Leaving the building with the memorable song stuck in our heads, we finally made our way to Tomorrowland and The Orbitron, Ironman Experience and Hyperspace Mountain. Since my son had only heard about the pitch black space-themed ride, as he was too young when we had last visited, he was most excited to experience it and we actually braved the line twice.
The Hong Kong Disneyland park was a complete about-face from my activities on my recent far-flung vacations, but it was something special that I was able to share with my son. We were quite impressed with the friendly staff, the cleanliness of the park and the attractions unique to this particular park. After a long day in the Hong Kong heat, waiting in longer-than-usual lines (thanks to a local holiday) it was time to head back to Kowloon.
A cool hotel room, hot shower and a soft bed were waiting so that we could prepare for our long journey home the next day. But guess what? As we were departing, we ran into a flight attendant, from my company, and her daughter also enjoying a day at Disney…it really is a small world!
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Hong Kong Disneyland
- https://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/
- Address: Lantau Island, Hong Kong
- Hours: 1030-2030, daily, hours may vary with certain events
- Admission: Adults, HK $619 (about US$79), Children ages 3-11 years, HK $458 (about US$58).
- Getting There: Take MTR to Sunny Bay station on Lantau Island. Transfer to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort line.