Despite travelling widely, I’d never visited any of the Disneyland theme parks so when an opportunity arose to spend a day at Hong Kong Disneyland I jumped at the chance. Disney tells us all that their theme parks are where magic happens and where your dreams come true. Whilst spending a week in Hong Kong we hopped on the metro over to Lantau Island to discover for ourselves whether Disneyland lives up to its hype and is really ‘The Happiest Place’ on earth.
Getting there:
Hong Kong Disneyland is very easy to reach as the theme park is only 30 minutes from both Central and the airport by metro train, the theme park having its own dedicated station on the Hong Kong MTR. Visitors travelling to the park from the city centre should take the Tung Chung Line as far as Sunny Bay and then transfer onto the Disneyland Resort Line for the short, onward journey. As Hong Kong Disneyland is located on Lantau Island it’s also very near to the airport, making for a tempting proposition on a stopover.
The magic started straightaway as we boarded the Disneyland Resort Line as the metro trains have windows shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head and the carriages are furnished with plush blue seating arranged in a curved layout rather than the standard MTR offerings. Bronze statues of Disney characters decorate the trains with all these little touches putting passengers like us in the mood for the excitement to come.
As we stepped onto the platform at the Disneyland Resort Station we were impressed with the Victorian style architecture of the station with its ornate wrought iron canopies and station clock. We then took one of the escalators that lead out of the station and walked along the path to the park’s entrance, taking us around 10 minutes.
Tickets:
I’d recommend purchasing tickets in advance to avoid disappointment but at quieter times they can also be obtained at the entrance gates. One day adult advance purchase tickets cost HK$669 (£68.15) but do check the website for current offers. Another option is to purchase a GO-City Pass as if you plan to visit other attractions during your stay in Hong Kong this can offer better value. With Go-City passes on our phones we just needed to ‘redeem’ the attraction that morning before setting off and scan our bar codes at the entrance gates.
We’d already downloaded the Hong Kong Disneyland Mobile App to our phones which is invaluable for finding your way around the park as it provides maps and live information on wait times of the main rides.
Main Street USA
As we’d timed our arrival to just after the park’s opening time of 10.00 a.m. it was still relatively quiet. Main Street USA stretched out in front of us as we passed through the entrance barriers and I instantly fell in love with the characterful styled pastel coloured buildings lining Main Street and of the Castle of Magical Dreams in the distance. We enjoyed a wander in and out of some of the gift shops and chose one of the cute cafes to enjoy a leisurely cappuccino before exploring further.
The fairytale castle was even more beautiful than I’d anticipated and with the backdrop of Hong Kong’s mountains, it’s a memorable sight. Our visit was just a few weeks before Christmas and everywhere looked delightful as it was adorned with tasteful Disney inspired decorations and rows of poinsettia.
Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad
After our morning caffeine fix we were raring to start exploring and what better way to get an overview of the park than to take a ride on the Disneyland Railroad. We only had to wait a few minutes for a train to chug into Main Street USA station and once we’d settled down on one of the polished wooden seats we eagerly awaited the whistle to blow.
The 20 minute journey took us through the scenic park just making one stop along the way at Fantasyland where several passengers got on and off. We decided to take the round trip back to Main Street USA and set off on foot from there.
FantasyLand
Located close to the railroad station was FantasyLand so we headed there next. Neither of us could resist a ride in one of the Mad Hatter’s teacups and as the queue was very short, we were soon getting into one of the giant teacups. Once the ride started I liked the way that we could control how much our teacup rotated. We actually liked spinning round quite fast but it was good that we could slow this down whenever we wished.
Moving on, we then enjoyed a ride on the traditional carousel merry-go-round. This was Cinderella themed with Disney tunes playing as we rode round on the golden horses. Another fun ride suitable for the whole family.
World of Frozen
Continuing on our way, our next stop was to the World of Frozen. Hong Kong is the first of Disney’s theme parks to create a Frozen land and I’d already discovered that fans of Frozen come from all corners of the globe to immerse themselves in the epic world of their beloved Frozen films.
It only took around 15 minutes until it was our turn to board the boat that would transport us on a journey to the Ice Palace. The boat trip took us through villages and forests, down Troll Valley and up North Mountain. Along the way we were joined by many of the ‘Frozen’ friends with Elsa enthralling everyone with her magic.
Familiar music filled the air and I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t recognise Elsa’s rendition of ‘Let it Go’ as we approached the Ice Palace. I wondered why it was necessary to be strapped into the boat as we drifted through the water at a leisurely pace but a surprise was in store at the end as there was a sharp drop with our gentle ride turning into a log flume. Along with all the young Frozen fans I found this ride to be an enchanting experience.
We then made our way around the park enjoying more of the rides, too many in fact to document in this post but I’ve decided to concentrate on two more. The first was Mystic Manor, located in the Mystic Point section of the park. The ride journeys through the museum of Lord Henry Mystic, an adventurer and art collector. Its a haunted house type of attraction that’s designed to create an illusion of magic. We thought it was really fun with its dark rooms and scary scenes.
Across in AdventureLand we hopped on the Jungle Cruise, a riverboat ride that travels along a waterway through simulated areas of Asia, Africa and South America. We boarded the boat from a reproduction of a 1930’s British explorers’ lodge. With a live, amusing commentary introducing us to the animated exotic animals it was well executed. Tarzan’s Treehouse acts as the Jungle Cruise centrepiece and as with many of the other rides at Hong Kong Disneyland there is added excitement at the end with a dramatic finale of fire and water.
Well, what a fun day we’d had. The sun shone, it wasn’t too hot and there were plenty of places of sit down for a rest and inviting places to pop into for a bite to eat. Everywhere was spotlessly clean, gardens immaculately tendered and the other people visiting lovely, too. I was impressed that there was no queue jumping or badly behaved individuals.
We hadn’t really known what to expect but Disneyland Hong Kong’s magic appeal shone through and filled us with happiness. Would we return, you bet we would, whatever your age a day out at a Disney theme park is an uplifting experience.
