Twas the peak of summer heat when we arrived HK and with few hours of sleep since we arrived our hotel at 2AM in the morning – our sleepiness and exhaustion was really evident. But we still headed to our family adventure to the “Happiest Place on Earth” – Hongkong Style with all smiles, either way.

As mentioned in the main HK post – our main goal for this year’s family vacation is to visit and watch my sister as she embark her journey to return the heart to Te Fiti, yes, she is our Moana (Yep, your Moana is Proudly and Pure Pinay) #PinoyPride it is.

With that said, our schedule is focused on Moana’s schedule – we had to watch the show, Moana: A Homecoming Celebration (12:15NN/first show) and have a meet and greet (3:30PM) with her. I worked around all the other shows and parades around that chosen schedule.

TIP: So, it is important that you get a copy of HK Disneyland Times Guide and Map upon entering the park – it is located on the right side of the Mickey frontal garden (most likely there’s also one on the left side).

You can also download the HK Disneyland App for digital map, schedules of the meet & greets, show times, parade times and queue times for all the rides. You can download it at the iTunes store here.

First things first, while we ate breakfast in one of the umbrella-d areas by Main Street – Market House Bakery (It is where you will be able to buy the famous Mickey Waffles, but unfortunately, it wasn’t available when we were there, totally heartbroken here). I finalized our schedule for the shows and parades and went to Space Traders (Tomorrowland’s merchandise shop) to schedule Coco’s Jedi Training – it is important that your child is with you when you register and pick a schedule.

Here’s the schedule that we followed for your reference:
12:15NN – Moana: A Homecoming Celebration (Adventureland)
1:30PM – Flights of Fantasy (Main Street)
2:00PM – Festival of the Lion King (Adventureland)
3:30PM – Moana’s meet and greet (Adventureland)
4:30PM – Mickey and the Wondrous Book (Fantasyland)
(We skipped the Disney Friends Springtime Processional at 4:30PM)
5:30PM – Jedi Training (Tomorrowland)
7:45PM – We Love Mickey Projection Show (Main Street)
8:30PM – Disney Paint the Night Parade (Main Street)

Note that this was the schedule on May 27-Jun 2, 2018 – there may be changes whole year round, especially if there are thunderstorms. You can check the HK Disneyland App, the website or the Times Guide for most recent schedules.

Meet and Greets
Some meet & greet schedules are not in the app, so it is better ask Disney cast members for the characters next appearance. Upon entering the park, we chanced upon Goofy and Pluto.

Donald and Daisy was about to leave but posed for some photo ops while Mickey and Minnie line was extremely long so we didn’t fall in line since it was almost lunch time and we couldn’t bare the heat.It’s just sad though, it’s the first time in 6 times I’ve been to Disneyland that I don’t have a picture with Mickey. We chanced upon Buzz Light Year in Toy Storyland while waiting for our companions. Up’s Russel was about to leave when we saw him, that’s why I was only able to took this photo.

And of course, we finally met our Moana. We weren’t able to see the rest of the crew anymore as we were preoccupied with the schedule that we had to follow.

Rides
Amazed because it only took us 5 minutes to ride Hyperspace Mountain when I remember the last time we were here, it was a good 45 minutes wait and the line was super long – and we got to ride twice! Didn’t bring Coco though coz I’m not yet ready, though he has already reached required height.

The Iron Man Experience, which we also did twice, became Coco’s favorite ride right there and then. Luckily, too, there was no line.

We went to Mystic Manor, as they say it’s one of the best and it is new – but I liked Haunted Mansion better than this one. We rode the Slinky Dog Spin for Coco and it was stopped twice because someone opened her umbrella while the ride is on-going. My gosh. Coco rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh with Mama and Dad while we rode our second Hyperspace Mountain.

And of course, Disneyland ain’t complete without riding It’s A Small World.

We didn’t really ride the others especially those that were in DLR to be able to try different things – like Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mad hatter Tea Cups (Mad Tea Party) and Orbitron (Astro Orbitor).

But since we also ran out of time, we missed some like Toy Soldier Parachute Drop. Though there is an opportunity for the RC Racer, I wasn’t able to because my mom didn’t go with us in Toy Storyland, so I don’t have anywhere to leave Coco behind. So while waiting for the boys who rode it, we chanced upon Buzz Light Year there- GOOD THING because we only got to meet Woody last year. We wanted to ride the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars ride but it was closed during our visit.

Food
We ate at Star Liner in Tomorrowland – that’s the only area where we kind of like the food choices (western), also the least expensive food available. I researched for the menu of the different restaurants inside HKDL prior to arriving to know if Coco would like anything. I brought food and snacks for Coco, since he is a picky eater, none of the kids meal in HKDL is in his preference.

HK Disneyland Parades and Shows
Never ever miss the chance to watch the Festival of the Lion King show – it’s a musical re-telling of the story of Simba, Nala and Scar to The Lion King himself. There’s a lot of dancing, giant animals, dancing animals, acrobats and singing to your favorite Lion King songs. And of course, there’s Timon and Pumba. It is located in Adventureland.


Mickey’s Wondrous Book showcases a lot of your favorite Disney characters and their most famous songs. It is located in Fantasyland. Note that the dialogues are spoken in Chinese but there is an LED for subtitles.

And of course, Moana: A Homecoming Celebration, featuring our newest Disney Princess – Moana. She retells the story of her journey to return the heart to Te Fiti to her tribe in Motonui.




Throughout the day, people of all ages look forward to the different Hong Kong Disneyland parades. It is the chance to get a closer look at your favorite Disney characters as they pass by, whether they are waving at you on their float or as they dance past you. For me, during this time is when I truly feel the Disney vibe, when everyone pause and just enjoy the moment.

The “Flights of Fantasy Parade” is Hong Kong Disneyland’s regular day time parade. It opens with Dumbo – who else could it be? It is followed by Mickey and friends, Winnie the Pooh, Princesses, Lilo and Stitch, Toy Story to name a few. It happens every 1:30PM – every day along Main Street.



“Disney Friends Springtime Processional” is part of the Spring Time Carnival which happens every March – June. This is when Mickey, Minnie and friends are dressed in full bloom and is usually correlated to activities regarding Easter. (Every 4:30PM)

The Sleeping Beauty Castle is still under renovation, so “We Love Mickey!” Main Street Projector Show replaces the nightly fireworks for now. It is a showcase visual effects and lighting all over the buildings of Main Street, paying tribute to Mickey Mouse and his milestones. At the end of the show, Mickey Mouse, in all his glory will appear in a pedestal. (Every 7:45PM)

After the projector show, don’t move from where you are located, the “Disney Paint the Night” Parade is coming right up. It is kind of familiar with Disneyland Resort’s Main Street Electrical Parade. Enjoy your favorite Disney characters boarded glowing floats.



Check the website for the latest Hong Kong Disneyland parade schedule.

People start sitting down along the pavement about 15-30 minutes before the parade starts. I suggest that you find a spot in front of the shops so that you can catch the cold air that comes out when the shop door opens. Believe me, it saved us!

More tips:

“Is one day enough at HK Disneyland?” I think this depends on the age of your kids and how much of the park you want to fit in. HKDL is the smallest Disney Park, and people who went there would usually say that you can finish the park in one day. So, what are my thoughts on this? Yep, you can actually roam around the park in one day – but you can’t finish everything in one day. We have always visited in one day at both times that I went to HKDL. First, when I was in my late teens and we were a very big group of mostly tweens and teens (cousins) and the parentals. We were able to ride together and all.
But now with my son in tow, it was quite hard because he would also get tired and hungry. Both experiences are very different. I think we were able to maximize the time in HKDL better before than now, even if waiting times were super short (as is less than 5 minutes!) when we were there. I think additional factor was the weather condition when we were there. It was really hot, so at times we opt to stay indoors instead of going around. Coco didn’t nap during the time we spent in HKDL compared to when we were in DLR and we even got to finish until the end of the nighttime parade. So, if you really want a better experience, I suggest spreading your visit for two days. You can also stay at the HKDL hotels to further complete the experience.

Since HK Disneyland is the smallest among all the Disney parks, it can be very busy. If you can, visit during a weekday – we went in the park on a Tuesday. I heard that it is much better to avoid public holidays in China (usually on Chinese New Year, early May and early October) as most visitors would come from the mainland.

A must: fan, portable fan, umbrella, caps and iced water during the SUMMER!

Tickets
You can save your time from lining up for your tickets by purchasing your tickets online through the Hong Kong Disneyland website, buying from your travel agency or if DIY, you can also check Klook for discounted tickets.

Traveling to Hong Kong Disneyland
From our hotel – Harbour Plaza Resort City in Tin Shui Wai – it was 14 stops with 3 interchanges until we reached the Disneyland Resort Line. (Approximately $33.5 for adults and half for child, we travelled for almost an hour) I think it is better, faster and cheaper to use the MTR if you are coming from the city.

From Hong Kong airport to Disneyland is easy, a taxi will only take around 15 minutes. Public busses are also available; it depends on your location, just like with the MTR.

WIFI
Yes, there is WIFI in the park. I repeat, there is WIFI in the park. You can easily use the HK Disneyland app, as well as communicate with your companions using the WIFI.

Do you have any more questions, feel free to comment, I may be able to help you out!