Hong Kong Disneyland

We flew up to HK for a few days and spent one night at the HK Disneyland Hotel, in our continued quest to visit all the Disney properties around the world. The hotel looks just like the Grand Floridian at Disney World.



This is the newest of the Disney parks and faced a barrage of criticism when it opened that there was not enough to do. While we completely enjoyed the park, it was probably about 3/4 the size of Disneyland in Anaheim and had about 50% of the attractions. There was a noticeable absence of "E ticket" rides - no Pirates, no Haunted Mansion, one single Mountain (Space).

Still, our expectations had been set by reading some of the reviews beforehand and we had a great time. The one downside was that it was searingly hot - probably around 38 celsius (~ 100 F), and that really sapped our energy (HK had a bit of a heat wave while we were there - lucky us!)

Highlights included a Small World ride with an expanded Asia section and the incorporation of various Disney characters, and the lines were all very short.





It was the first time I had the option of snacking on Korean squid in a Disney park - and I had a really good blackcurrant jelly ice cream bar.






And the Chinese restaurant in the Disneyland Hotel (Crystal Lotus) was just phenomenal - check out the dim sum (this is known as "woo guo" - or crispy taro balls - first time ever presented as swans!)

If you're in HK with kids and have a day to spare, this is a worthy stop. But I wouldn't make a special trip here. As we left, my daughter asked, "Are we going to Tokyo Disneyland next year then?" Yikes!