1 day in HK Disney, actually less, HELP

[hasabigrock]

So I have an upcoming business trip to Shanghai and India in September. I have a weekend in between so I'm going to hit Shanghai Disney Friday afternoon and Saturday, then fly to Hong Kong Saturday night, arrive after 11 PM. I'm going to stay at the Marriott right next to the airport.

My plan is to check out of my hotel in the morning, take a cab to the park, store my luggage at the front entrance, purchase a ticket and tour the park all day. Then pick up my luggage and take a cab to the airport and fly onto India later in the evening.

Does anyone see any major problems with this plan?

Given that I have just one day, actually less, I'm working to optimize for time.

What time should I plan to arrive at the park?

The hotel offers a shuttle to Disneyland, but it leaves at 10 AM and I notice that currently the park is opening at 10 AM.

Should I buy a ticket in advance? I saw that you have to allot an hour to pick up an online ticket. I'm thinking it might be better to just buy it there.

Has anyone used the luggage storage service?

How long does it take to cab it back to the airport? Are there cabs waiting?

 

[BelleBway]

One of my trips to HK disneyland was on a long layover en route to Beijing so I actually have some experience related to your question. I don't recall offhand how long the taxi ride was but I think it was pretty quick, like 15 minutes. I had no problem getting a taxi back to the airport.

I used the luggage storage service for my large carry on and had no problem. It was actually no cost to me because at the time they had a special ticket available if you could show you were flying in and out of Hong Kong the same day you are visiting. That ticket included storing 1 bag for free as part of the deal. (I'm not sure if they still have this deal since I couldn't find it on their site when last I checked, but it wouldn't apply anyway if you are flying in on Saturday and out on Sunday since I'm pretty sure the flights had to be the same day, not just within 24 hrs)

On the trip I referenced, I arrived to the park well before opening and purchased my ticket then. It wasn't as crowded as I've seen at other parks. (It was a weekend) I also bought a same day ticket on another trip and don't recall a line then, either. So I'd be entirely comfortable arriving early and not getting a ticket in advance.

HK disneyland is small and not hugely crowded so you should be able to get a lot done in a day. Probably not everything if you count all the shows and character meets, but definitely a lot. I'd prioritize what you want to see and figure out what you'd be ok missing.

 

[zanzibar138]

I know you're specifically asking about HKDL here, but I thought I'd also try to give you some tips for Shanghai since you mentioned you'll be heading there as well.

Shanghai

• If you have limited time and will be heading straight to the airport afterwards, I would try to stay onsite Friday night. That way, you won't have to worry about catching the last train back to the city after Ignite the Dream. Disneyland is also a lot closer to the airport than the city, so you would waste a lot of time heading back to the city then back out to the airport (assuming you're leaving from Pudong of course).
• If you can't stay onsite, Shanghai have a luggage storage service at the front of the park. I didn't use it so can't tell you anything more about it, but there is definitely one there.
• I can't remember where I saw it, but pretty sure I saw something about twilight tickets being offered. Might be worth checking out for the Friday. You'll be lucky to get a FP, and most rides will have long lines by mid afternoon. I would focus more on just taking in the atmosphere that day, maybe see some shows, and stake out a great spot for Ignite the Dream. Try SR lines for the rides that have them.
• After Ignite the Dream, most people will leave. This is your chance to do some attractions (assuming you don't have to get the train back to the city). If you want to do 7DMT, I would do it then so you can focus on other rides the next morning. Voyage to the Cyrstal Grotto and Peter Pan were also pretty much walk ons at this time of night (but an hour + during the day).
• If you've got a one day ticket for Saturday, you'll have to go to the ticket booths to redeem your voucher for a park ticket. This is actually a blessing in disguise. The queue for the ticket booths is much more orderly, and they will let you straight into the park from there, without having to go through the turnstiles (well, that's what happened for me anyway). The turnstiles are an absolute mess at that time of the morning and best avoided. I would still buy your ticket in advance though - you don't want to risk it being sold out that day.
• I would also still arrive well in advance of park opening. FP and standby lines build up super fast, so you want to get the biggest jump you can since this will be your only rope drop opportunity.
• You won't get to do and see everything. Make a list of your top priorities and make sure you do them first thing. If you're interested in Soaring and Roaring Rapids, get to the FP machine as quick as you can and grab that first, then head to the standby line for the other one. It may already be up close to an hour. Tron FPs were lasting a little longer, so you should still be able to get one for your 2nd FP of the day. Pirates is fast loading and the line seems to stay reasonable, so you can get away with prioritising other rides and doing this one a bit later.

Hong Kong

• Great plan! We did something similar on our last trip. Feel free to read my TR to get a feel for the logistics.
• There is luggage storage at the park, but it's not cheap. They charge per item, so if you can put bags into other bags, you'll save money.
• Yes, it's just a quick taxi ride to the airport. Definitely take a taxi to get the most out of your park time.
• The park is super quiet first thing in the morning. I'd be very surprised if it took an hour to pick up an online ticket. I can't see why it would take any longer than buying a ticket there. For the purpose of your trip, I would just buy it there.
• You shouldn't need to arrive any more than half an hour before park opening, but if you really want to play it safe, and allow time for checking out the park surroundings (there's a nice little esplanade to the sea, and the Mickey fountain), you could aim for an hour. Remember, there is no shopping district here, so you won't be able to buy a coffee or breakfast or anything until you actually enter the park.
• HK is a small park, with not many unique rides, and it is also pretty quiet these days. You will find everything is a walk on for the first 2-3 hours, even on the weekend. Space Mountain and Winnie the Pooh are the only rides that offer FPs. I would skip Winnie the Pooh though if you frequent the US parks. The HK Space Mountain is my favourite 'traditional' version of the ride (other than Paris), so I would recommend doing it. You can get a FP, but it doesn't seem to be that popular and we haven't waited any more than 15 minutes for it, even on a Saturday afternoon.
• Definitely see the parade if you're into parades. It's my favourite!
• Character lines get long, so skip them if you're not into characters to get through more attractions.
• Make sure you're at the theatre well in advance if you want to see the show (at least 30 mins) - we were never able to get in.

Hope that helps!

 

[hasabigrock]

Thanks for the feedback. This is immensely useful.

So excited to mark these two off my list. Back in June I went to Disney Tokyo for family vacation and next year we finish the checklist with Paris.

In Shanghai my plan is to be done with work Mid-day Friday, then cab over to the park and dump my work backpack into luggage storage or a locker. Then at the end of the evening catch a cab back to the Marriott hotel downtown where I'm staying during the week (I do alot with Marriott points). Then on Saturday I'm going to check out of the Marriott, cab it to Disneyland, put my luggage into storage and spend the day in the park until I need to leave for my flight. Since my flight leaves at 9:10 PM. I'll need to be at the airport around 7:10 PM. Again I plan to cab it from the park directly to the airport Saturday night. Then Sunday as stated above is for Hong Kong Disney.

So by the time I get to India on Monday I'll be one tired puppy, but I'll have a smiled etched on my face.

I do plan to come back to China with the family in 2018. Probably see Hong Kong, Beijing (Great Wall) and Shanghai. So for this Shanghai trip my main objective is to hit the headliners. I want to ride on Tron and Pirates, then catch as many of the unique attractions as possible.

In general I'll probably skip characters, parades, and shows in favor of rides since I won't be bringing the nice camera along until a future trip with the kiddos.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I was lucky enough to get to Tokyo Disneyland this May, and getting to HKDL on ABD China this October. We are also going to Shanghai for 2 days at the end of the ABD tour. I am heading to WDW this Sunday, and was in Disneyland three times in the past 6 weeks. Now If I could just get Disneyland Paris in by end of the year, I would have done all 11 parks in the same year. I need to figure out how to convince Hubby is it a necessity for me to go to Paris!!!