Has anyone been to both? Which is nicer looking? Which is less crowded? Are there mobs of PRC Chinese at the HK Disney? Are they as loud, pushy and rude as I imagine they would be? Any English spoken or written on the signs at the Tokyo Disney?
Did anyone stay at the hotels on site at either of these places?
Any information would be helpful.
I’ve been to the one in Japan. It was smaller than what you’d find in the States. They also have a thing for clearly marked exit signs everywhere (must be a safety regulation), so it is weird being in the haunted house or other attractions with these bright exit signs everywhere.
If you are in Japan and want to see something really weird and unique, try Huis Ten Bosch, the fake Dutch village.
HK Disneyland seems to have gotten good reviews on Tripadvisor:
Hobart, your name always throws me. I see it and I automatically presume you’re Australian, but I vaguely recall you are American, so i also presume you have been to Disneyland, erh, cos all Americans have been to Disneyland, right?
I’ve been to HK Disney, but that was like 18 months ago. Crowds were light, and indeed I hear they are extremely light these days as the mainland folks basically prefer the far better Ocean Park - the website seems to be down just ow, but it is a vast area and includes a cool aquarium, better rides, etc.
I was deeply disappointed in HK Disney. I mean all those years as a kid wishing they had a Disney in Australia and when I finally get there find it’s just one huge and tacky marketing exercise to get you to buy their shitty branded products.
I went with a then five year old girl, and although she loved having her photo taken with Snoopy and the crowd, she prefers Ocean Park hands down. In fact, I’m willing to bet that anything other than a four year old girl would prefer Ocean Park - Disney has that narrow a focus, if you get my drift.
There’s nothing much out near the hotel at HK Disney; it’s just one long, miserable and expensive cab ride to anywhere. I imagine the place is struggling, or would be if it wasn’t propped up by the HK government - 40 year no interest loan, but that 40 years only kicks in while it turns a profit. It’s a frigging neat, neat scam!
Do yourself a favour, if you choose HK, go to Ocean Park instead. You could also look at some of the wacky but amazingly vast theme parks they have in Shenzhen, which is in China, a wacky theme park all of its own. There’s oodles. Do a search.
Then again, Japan might be a wacky non-Chinese change of air?
HG
I’ve been to Tokyo Disneyland last summer.
Everywhere is crowded and long queue.
But the show is not bad.
I went to HK Disneyacre with my cousin last Jan. Our theme for it was it sucks to be you. The rides are for kids. And it’s like HCG said. Ocean park is good.
I’ve heard the Tokyo is good and has real rides. I’d go there.
Hey Namahottie and HCG: Would HK Disney be good for a 3 year old? I mean even better than Ocean park because the rides are for little kids like MsHottie says? I would hate he goes to Ocean Park and and they all have a sign that is just a little taller than he is and he can’t ride anything.
Haven’t been to Disney World since I was 7 years old, but I will have to go the next time I make it back to the USA. What about the Disney World Florida versus the Disney Land in LA? Is one much better than the other?
Yeah I suppose Disney might be fun for a three year old, because he will be able to get on almost all the rides. Having said that, Ocean Park has rides for the little tots and there are also real live animals. The seals and so on are a blast. It sort of depends if the ween is more into stuffed walking animals that he recognises from cartoons or what not - remember, that is the draw, seeing Mickey, Donald, Cinderrella, etc, or real animals, like pandas dolphins and sharks.
[quote]Ocean Park features a Giant panda exhibit, a butterfly garden, a shark tank, and a three-storey aquarium, as well as numerous rides. The park also has its own cable car system, which takes visitors from one side of the park to the other (the two parts are separated from each other by hills). The official mascot of Ocean Park is “Whiskers”—a waving sealion.
Besides being an amusement park, Ocean Park Hong Kong also includes observatories, well developed laboratories, an education department and a Whales And Dolphins Fund.[/quote]
If I were you, I’d be warding off the tendencies in his environment and seek out the real animals. Avoid Disney and it’s hard sell. You are constanmtly funnelled past expensive gift shops. It’s an awful con job. Ocean Park feels like a park, it’s roomier, and vast. I reckon mum dad and the little one will enjoy it more.
Take him to Disney when he;s old enough to know about it, by which I mean he;s got a head full of cartoon characters he’s itching to see. Ocean Park is also much cheaper - though I can;t remember by how much. People here with kids by season passes to Ocean Park. it’s that good.
Pity that Ocean Park website is down, but here is the wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Park,_Hong_Kong
Cheers.
HG
My kids overwhelmingly prefer Ocean Park to Disneyland HKG, despite the fact it can be overrun with PRC Chinese. If you can avoid the weekend, it is better.
just hit hong kong disney on wednesday, was nice if your kids are disney fans, crowds were very light. it’s pretty small, and as said above it’s not anything that can’t be missed, but considering the light crowds on a weekday it was fun. easy enough to walk past the shops, and easily reached by subway.
HCG is right again. If money isn’t a concern, then I’d go to Ocean park and Disneyreclaim. Disney is perfect for a 3 year old, especially if mom and dad aren’t vested in partaking in any fun. And mom and dad don’t mind shop after shop after shop.
Ocean park is really a family park. Something for everyone.
I would say that Walt Disney World (WDW) in Florida is much better than Disneyland in California.
WDW is a lot bigger, as well, with much more to do–Animal Kingdom, Disney MGM Studio, Epcot, and a bunch of other things (water parks, ESPN Sports center, and so on).
In fact, I would say that WDW is probably the best of all the various Disney parks around the world, though I have never been to Tokyo Disneyland nor to HK Disneyland.
Staying at the hotels in WDW can also be fun, and convenient, if you have kids.
Have fun, and let us know about your trip, wherever you end up choosing to go.
I went to HK Disneyland. I had a blast… and I’m 25. 
The lack of crowds (I went on a Monday in November) made it easy to do things like ride space mountain 4 times in a row, which is impossible in the US. The only line was at the Autotopia. Disneyland without lines made up for the small park.
Like HGC, I’ve always assumed that U’re Australian and gee, this is kinda weird, to be telling u about Disney when u’re American.Well, basically, I’ve been to Tokyo Disney twice, Walt Disney World then HK Disney in that chronological order.Our kids were 3 and 4.5 y/o on our first trip and although my little one was around 110 cm WITH SHOES then, she did not make it to alot of rides and it broke my heart to see her consoling herself with that ‘at least I have that extra sticker that David didn’t get’ line.it was v tough for a three year old to not make it to most of the rides that really mattered.And controversial to what many forumers have come to believe, Disney is not really targeted to the very young,it’s more suited to older children and young teens.Don’t take it wrong though, my little one had a blast of a time that first trip too as there were still plenty to do.
Now for the break down,
HK disney is modeled after Disneyland while Tokyo after WDW.
hk DISNEY is much cheaper than Tokyodisney, the food is better (but that’s just my opinion),ppl there understands English, transportation much easier as it’s alot smaller than Tokyo.
We didn’t stay on site when in HK as the four seasons had just opened then and was offering discounts that were too good to pass. Anyhow, it wasn’t too much of a hassle as it took us only 25 min to get from hotel to Disney front gate.We did get to meet many mainland Chinese but only encountered the rude-cutting-the-queue thing only once or twice,not as annoying as we thought it was going to be.In fact we came across many Shanghai ppl who were basically quite nice and well behaved.HK Disneyland itself is Ok but kinda disappointing after such a long wait.Th main spoil is that it is way too small, no toon town (our favorite), no this no that…but despite its many lack of’s, our children had a pretty good time, so, it’s bascically still a hit with kiddies.If your child is only 3, then I would advice going to this one , no major coaster rides that he/she would be banned fr, and it’s do-able in one day due to its petite size.
Now if U’re into bigger rides like the Indiana jones, Splash etc then Tokyo it would have to be. but be prepared to PAY. I’ve done my math and realised that we paid as much per day for Tokyo as Florida despite the significantly more expensive flight to US.(we travelled bussiness).In Tokyo, they have two parks that are substantially distanced from each other.Significantly bigger than HKD it is , so be prepared to walk.We’ve stayed in Miracosta, which has it’s own entrance to Disneysea ; Ambassodor, which is near to nowhere, but u get priority seatings to the character meals at Chef Mickey restaurant in the hotel , and Hilton , which is by far the best value for money. But money matter aside, we loved the Miracosta best, BEAUTIFULl hotel.
WDW, well, what can I say,best disney trip we had so far.It’s the Mekka of all Disney. We were there for twenty days, went to all the kid’s programs they had, the tea parties, the pirate cruise, the cooking class etc. Aside from the horrible jet lag, the kids had a wild time.We stayed at the g floridian, thank god, which is connected to the Magic kingdom directly via monorail. Couldn’t have imagined ourselves walking to the park as we did in Tokyo.Alas,the american parks are simply not for Asian legs.Kept wishing I had brought my roller skates with me (not that I’m any good in them) and I rented a double stroller for my kids despite them being 4.5 and 6 y/o by then.
Seriously, if U 're going back in the near future, would advice u take ur kids to the one in Florida, it is WAY better than any other parks, including californian Disney and the one in Paris.U also get to do the Universal studio(the one in Fl) which by the way is pretty useless for a toddler except for its v wonderful Dr Suessland and the spiderman character meal.
So, to sum up, 1st choice WDW, 2ND HKdisney, 3rd Tokyo.Definitely stay on site for 1 n 3 but choose between 4 seasons and PENINSULAR for 2.Do feel free to PM me if U have further questions as U would probably have figured by now, I’m pretty much a disneynut and would be more than happy to share.
Great post, asianmom.
I agree that WDW is the first choice out of all the Disney parks.
20 days at the Grand Floridian and doing all the programs? Sounds great, but wasn’t that expensive?
It sounds awesome, but did you find it a bit costly?
Thanks again for a great post. I also come from a family of Disneyworld fanatics. I’m looking forward to taking my kids there for their first visit.
Hi Fee,
good to find a fellow Disneyholic.
Was it expensive? Of course it was.It’s by far the most expensive trip I’ve taken with the kids and I wasn’t exactly my hubby’s fav person in the world for a long time afterwards. We only make it to that one trip that whole year, but was it worth it? totally.
Well, actually, we didn’t spend all 20 days at g floridian;we had 3 days on the Disney cruise and 4 in Animal kingdom lodge. But the AKL was so not worth it, we had dirty sheets and pillow cases (stained with black marks) ,found hair and soap stains in the tub etc etc. sorry, got carried away.
Anyhow, we did pay an arm and a leg for it but would have paid more had it not been for the year long research I did prior.Got annual pass for myself which got us deep discounts on room rates, then got the ten d pass for the rest of the party, went during the off season,bought the dining card which entitled us to a 20 percent discounts at participating restaurants.We also brought our own costumes for the parties, did not do the tea with Princess Aurora which cost US 200 dollars per pax.
Ah, can’t seem to stop when it comes to Disney,sorry. How old is your kid , by the way? U might want to bring him/her to the Legoland or that park with the snoopy theme( sorry, forgot what’s it called) on the way to Fl.Heard it’s v good too. Didn’t have enough time for that when we were in the States.
[quote=“asianmom”]Hi Fee,
good to find a fellow Disneyholic.
Was it expensive? Of course it was.It’s by far the most expensive trip I’ve taken with the kids and I wasn’t exactly my hubby’s fav person in the world for a long time afterwards. We only make it to that one trip that whole year, but was it worth it? totally.
Well, actually, we didn’t spend all 20 days at g floridian;we had 3 days on the Disney cruise and 4 in Animal kingdom lodge. But the AKL was so not worth it, we had dirty sheets and pillow cases (stained with black marks) ,found hair and soap stains in the tub etc etc. sorry, got carried away.
Anyhow, we did pay an arm and a leg for it but would have paid more had it not been for the year long research I did prior.Got annual pass for myself which got us deep discounts on room rates, then got the ten d pass for the rest of the party, went during the off season,bought the dining card which entitled us to a 20 percent discounts at participating restaurants.We also brought our own costumes for the parties, did not do the tea with Princess Aurora which cost US 200 dollars per pax.
Ah, can’t seem to stop when it comes to Disney,sorry. How old is your kid , by the way? U might want to bring him/her to the Legoland or that park with the snoopy theme( sorry, forgot what’s it called) on the way to Fl.Heard it’s v good too. Didn’t have enough time for that when we were in the States.[/quote]
Another great post, asianmom. Thanks for the info.
We’ve stayed at the Grand Floridian in the past, but I am, at heart, a Polynesian Lodge type of person. I stayed at the Polynesian back in the 1970s and 80s on my first trips to WDW with my parents and siblings. It’s always been my favorite place.
I wasn’t as impressed with the Yacht Club/Beach Club. That’s where we stayed on our last visit (2005). It was fine, and the nice thing was that we could just walk to Epcot. But it just didn’t have the atmosphere of the Polynesian.
My favorite fireworks are still at the Magic Kingdom. I think they’re better than Illuminations at Epcot. It’s great to be in the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks (and to see Tinkerbell fly from the top of the castle), but you can watch them from the beach at the Grand Floridian (as you probably did) and from the Polynesian. We had a huge meal at the restaurant on the second floor of the main Polynesian building (can’t remember the name) and we had a window seat for the fireworks. A nice way to end the meal.
It sounds as if you saved a lot with all the research you did. Way to go! Sometimes, doing the research before you go is half the fun. There’s a lot of info out there, and many WDW fanatics on the Web.
Oh, one thing we love doing at WDW is looking for all the “hidden Mickeys.” These are all the little Mickey Mouses that the imagineers have hidden in rides, in designs, in the wallpaper patterns, and so on. In fact, there’s a whole guide written about finding hidden Mickeys.
WDW has grown so much over the last thirty years, particularly over the past ten. I think it’s great–it’s always nice to have so many options and too much to do–but my favorite places are still the Magic Kingdom, the Polynesian, the Contemporary Resort Hotel (though it’s probably not so “contemporary” any more, but the monorail thru the middle is still cool), and Epcot.
Liked the Asian part of Animal Kingdom. I’d like to check out the Himilaya Adventure roller coaster the next time we visit.
Our little one is not yet two, but we are still thinking of making a trip to WDW sometime this year (maybe).
Imho, WDW is the best, and I’d, frankly, rather go there, instead of to HK Disneyland, even though it’s more expensive overall.
Glad to have found another WDW fan here in Taiwan. Please let me know the next time you plan to visit “the happiest place on earth.”
I’m off to Hong Kong this Sunday and since I am only busy 1 morning thought I would take my 3 1/2 yr old daughter with me for a day trip to HK Disneyland. I am on a budget, so other than the park entrance fee what should I expect to pay for the other attractions? And if it rains, which looks likely, would the whole day be wasted?
Don’t rainy days at Disneyland mean “No lines?”
Have a ball!
I think I’ll take jdson to HKDisney this summer too. 
Spent this past Tuesday at Disney in HK and it surpassed my daughters expectations. At 3 1/2 yrs old much of the park is perfect for her. Not many her age there as interestingly most of the visitors when we were there were over 25 and from the PRC.
As an adult most of my fun seeing her enjoy herself but I did enjoy Mickeys philharmagic (in 3D) and some pirate drum show.
One of the best parts of HK Disney is the fact that there are few people there. I can’t really imagine visiting the park otherwise as the ride and character experiences are far too short for the length of time one would spend in line. Even my daughter was saying in her way - ‘thats it?’
Some criticisms:
[ul]I dislike the whole ‘culture of control’. I hate being told what to do and when to do it.
Is this a mall or a theme park? Many times I couldn’t tell.
Everywhere the hard sell. Buy buy buy. Ease up a bit.
The people in character were fantastic! Their handlers, especially the photographers were asshats. I understand that after a day of adult tourists posing with characters you as a handler might become short but that’s not my problem. No need to tell me 5 times with your hand in my face that Snow White is leaving now. I could care less but my daughter worships these characters and wanted to wave goodbye one last time. And yes we were just standing there. Otherwise the characters spent a great deal of time talking to and hugging my daughter. Something that was appreciated by myself and certainly my daughter.[/ul]
Despite some mistakes on my part (got there way too early) and some valid criticisms I think it was a day well spent. I could see us returning though I wonder if another Disney park, say Tokyo, might provide more fun.