One of my dear friends is getting married this summer in HK, so my husband and I are seriously considering just jumping on a plane and going. We'd be there over a week, so we're hoping to fit in a day at HK
Disneyland.
Congratulations to your friends and I wish you and your husband a happy visit to HK.
My understanding is that the park is quite small, and that you can do the whole thing in 1 day?
Any time you can put towards Disney is good. The park is smaller than the ones in Orlando; and technically it is possible to do a lot in 1 day. But it comes down to what you want to experience and prioritise.
I had a trip to HKDL in 2012.....and then.....I used to say that you could cover the park in 1 day; and if you had 1.5 days, you'd definitely do it all with repeats of your favourite attractions.
But I've recently returned from a trip to HKDL and there have been some additions to the park. Notably, Mystic Manor, Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Train, Ironman Experience and the stage show Mickey and the Wondrous Book. There has also been the addition of the night time Paint the Night Parade to their program. Plus, this year, Hong Kong are starting to change their decorations over every season. We were there during spring and they added the Springtime Parade and lots of cute decorations around the park. The additional Springtime parade meant that there are 2 daytime parades on offer at HKDL now. Their regular daytime parade is probably my favourite parade across a number of parks around the world.
So....with all of these additions, plus the existing attractions, I found that 2 - 3 days would probably be just about acceptable for me. But then.....I like taking pictures in dark rides and will go on them multiple times in order to get the shot I want.
You may want to take a look at the HKDL website and download the HKDL app on your smart phone. The app will give you an indication of current wait times for each attraction. It will also be useful to work out which rides to hit when you're there.
I'm sure
@zanzibar138 will see your thread and stop by as well and she'll provide her perspective as well. A few of us have just come back from a Disser's vacay to Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Does the park use Fast Pass? How does that work compared to WDW and Magic Bands? How far can you book them if you're not staying on property? What rides do you recommend a FP for?
The park does have a Fast Pass system. But it's the original FP paper based system. If you've been to WDW in the days pre Magic Bands, you'll probably know the paper based system.
I don't know how many attractions are linked to the FP system anymore. It used to be Buzz Lightyear, HyperSpace Mountain and Winnie the Pooh. It is a much more limited number of rides associated with FP compared to in Orlando. Depending on crowd levels, you should be able to get a FP for most of these.
If you are staying onsite (and it is worth considering as there is a new resort opening very shortly), then you may score some good-any-time Priority Passes when you check in. Those PP also included Mystic Manor, Big Grizzly Mountain and Ironman.
Is there anything that is exclusive to Hong Kong Disneyland? I'm reading that it's similar to Paris or California, but I've never been to those two either.
I like Big Grizzly Mountain, Mystic Manor, Ironman, It's a Small World (yes it's the same; but it was the first one to put in the Disney characters overlay), Hyperspace Mountain (the smoothest Space Mountain ride I've been on), Mickey and the Wondrous Book, Flights of Fantasy Parade, Jungle River Cruise, Lion King, Tarzan Treehouse, RC Racer and a whole bunch of classic attractions.
What about "must have" food or souvenirs that may be exclusive to the park?
Hmm. I'm not sure. I'm probably not the right person to respond to this question.
I understand that summer in HK is kinda brutal, but we don't really have a choice on timing. What about crowds? We'd likely be going on a weekday.
It depends on when. I'd avoid public holidays and school holidays.
http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/hong_kong/
Seems like July is school hols in HK.
https://mygsis.gsis.edu.hk/school-life/news/school-holidays/
I'd appreciate any/all tips or maybe links to some good trip reports you've read in the past?
If you sorted the threads on the HK section by views or replies, you'll find that the larger threads will be PTR/TRs. Zanzibar has written a few and I have one rather large one there from 2012; and there will be others from the MaxRobo and Belle (I can't remember the numbers).
(It will also be remiss of me not to point out that I'm also currently writing a TR on the Shanghai and Hong Kong thread. You'll find it under Other Lands.)
If you also do a google search, there are a few people that have written best rides or best attractions for Hong Kong Disneyland. I think the Dis prefers that we don't crosslink to other similar sites anymore.