Hong Kong Disneyland officially opened on September 12, 2005.

I'd love to report that Hong Kong Disneyland is so great that you should hop on the next plane and check it out, but it will probably be a disappointment if you are already familiar with the Disney theme parks in the US, France or Japan. If you're going to be in Hong Kong anyway, my impression is that it might be worth visiting as a novelty. (Note: this is the only Disney theme park worldwide that we have not yet visited.)

Obviously this latest theme park is aimed at a whole new audience with a completely different set of expectations. Since the vast majority of Chinese people have never visited a Disney theme park and land is very precious in Hong Kong, Disney decided to offer a sort of "Disneyland Lite" -- a tiny theme park with only a few attractions. The only attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland that is at all unique is Stitch Encounter (which is basically a Stitch version of Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot).

Hong Kong Disneyland has not proved as popular as Disney hoped, so it is usually fairly uncrowded, particularly on weekdays. Naturally it's best to avoid official holidays if you want to avoid crowds.

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Overview

Hong Kong Disneyland currently consists of Main Street plus only three lands: Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. In addition, it has two hotels.

A lot of the focus at Hong Kong Disneyland is on atmosphere, shopping (9 shops in the park), dining (9 restaurants and cafes in the park, many of them full-service) and special events (the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel hosts elaborate weddings).

Main Street, U.S.A.

Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad
Main Street Vehicles
City Hall

Adventureland

Festival of the Lion King
Rafts to Tarzan's Treehouse
Tarzan's Treehouse
Jungle River Cruise
Liki Tikis

Fantasyland

Sleeping Beauty Castle
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Cinderella Carousel
Fantasyland Train Station
Fantasy Gardens
Mad Hatter Tea Cups
The Golden Mickeys
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Snow White Grotto

Tomorrowland

Space Mountain
Orbitron
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Autopia
UFO Zone
Stitch Encounter

In addition, there is a daily parade (quite a nice one, from what I hear) and fireworks in the evening.

Coming Summer 2007: Mickey's WaterWorks parade and Animation Academy (learn to draw Disney characters)

Coming 2008: "it's a small world"

Attractions?

The list of attractions above is the "official" list, but if you look closely at the list, quite a few things are not really "attractions" as most Americans would understand the term:

• City Hall certainly isn't a source of much interest to most people.
• The rafts are primarily an access route to Tarzan's Treehouse, but may have some amusement value.
• Liki Tikis and UFO Zone are fountain play areas.
• The Castle at Hong Kong Disneyland has no attractions inside.
• The train stations are listed as separate "attractions" though really there's just one railroad with two stations.
• Fantasy Gardens is a character meet-and-greet area.
• Snow White Grotto is... well, a nice thing to look at for five minutes, like the one at Disneyland in California.

Hotels

The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel (a Victorian-style hotel modeled on Disney's Grand Floridian at Walt Disney World) has 400 rooms, with rates starting at $205.

Disney's Hollywood Hotel (an Art Deco design similar to the Ambassador at Tokyo Disney Resort) has 600 rooms, with rates starting at $128.

Be sure to visit the official Hong Kong Disneyland web site to check for any current deals and offers.

To book hotel reservations, call the Hong Kong Disneyland Reservation Center at 852-1-830-830.

Other Resources

• A writer for Frommers.com says she and her 4-year-old twins enjoyed Hong Kong Disneyland, and she offers some useful tips.

• The HKDL Source is an English-language fan site devoted to Hong Kong Disneyland, with frequent updates.

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