Disneyland During
Covid – Still Fun?
COLIN SIMPSON
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland has reopened after shutting its gates because of Covid-19. Capacity has been cut, special health and safety measures are in place, indoor shows have been suspended, and guests are not allowed to get too close to their favourite Disney characters. So is a socially-distanced day out at Disney still fun? Afaranwide went along to find out.
The Experience
THE first thing I noticed when I turned up at the theme park was how few visitors there were. But that’s not necessarily bad – it means NO LONG QUEUES!
Waiting for an hour or more for a ride that might last only a few minutes has blighted many a visit to Disney parks. But with the restricted capacity this simply wasn’t an issue. And because social distancing arrangements meant that guests stood two metres apart – there were white lines and signs on the ground to encourage this – even lines that looked quite long didn’t actually have many people in them.
In some cases I was able to walk straight onto a ride, and I never had to wait more than a few minutes. This made the experience much more relaxing than usual. Visitors were pretty sensible when it came to social distancing. The only time the arrangements broke down was when Spider-Man and the Black Panther made an appearance. A bit of a scrum formed behind the line separating the guests from the characters.
They were the only two characters I saw, apart from three figures dressed like the miniature green soldiers in Toy Story. They marched off the parachute ride in Toy Story Land shouting brusque commands. I didn’t see Mickey, and I didn’t see Donald, which would surely have been unthinkable during a visit to Disneyland in pre-coronavirus days. The park’s Covid-19 announcement says: “Character experiences have been adjusted to avoid close interaction.”
A number of large catering outlets were closed because of the reduced number of visitors. And the number of people allowed on rides at the same time was reduced. There was still plenty of choice, including traditional Hong Kong dim sum shaped like Mickey Mouse’s ears. Shows such as Festival of the Lion King were suspended, though outdoor performances of Moana: A Homecoming Celebration went ahead.
Hong Kong can be a hot and humid place, so I was pleased to see plenty of shady places where people could sit and rest. There were lots of water fountains where you could refill your bottle.
The park grew busier as the day progressed, though it was never anything like uncomfortably crowded. I felt the Disney team had done a good job getting the place reopened while making visitors feel safe.
Best of all, it was great to see people out and about enjoying themselves in these grim times.
The Park
HONG KONG is often referred to dismissively as the smallest of the six Disney resorts. Before the coronavirus pandemic, some Hong Kong families preferred to travel to the other Asian parks, in Shanghai and Tokyo, than visit their local one. They reckoned they and their kids got more fun and thrills for their buck at the larger parks.
The Hong Kong one doesn’t seem particularly small. I walked a long way while I was there, and I imagine that if you had two young children in tow it would seem quite large enough. However, the limited space compared with the other parks means it does feel a bit light on really standout rides.
My favourite was the Iron Man Experience, one of those attractions where you’re seated on a platform that moves and bucks in sync with the 3D visuals. The story is set in Hong Kong, with Iron Man flying to the rescue as giant robots cause mayhem among the skyscrapers.
There are some neat touches – for example, the late Stan Lee, creator of Marvel’s greatest characters, makes one of his famous cameo appearances in the pre-adventure safety video. At the end, Iron Man warns a troublesome robot that he’s going to convert him into a coin press machine. And sure enough, as you leave you pass a coin machine shaped like that robot.
Other fun attractions include the Jungle River Cruise, where you go for a trip on a boat and encounter animatronic elephants, hippos and a gorilla reclining on a hammock. The Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars ride is a thrilling rollercoaster set in a lovingly detailed recreation of an old mining town. And Mystic Manor is a ramped-up version of a haunted house ride, but with no ghosts in deference to Chinese cultural sensitivities. You do get shot at by a cannon, though.
Less successful are the Rafts to Tarzan’s Treehouse attraction – you make the narrowest of river crossings – and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! The latter involves shooting away with blasters as you ride along, but I found it strangely underwhelming.
Many guests took selfies in front of the centrepiece Castle of Magical Dreams, formerly Sleeping Beauty Castle, which is being upgraded. Parts of the structure were still shrouded in scaffolding.
My overwhelming impression as I walked around was the rampant, out-of-control commercialism of the place. It seems an obvious thing to say, as Disney is known for this. But it’s reached an extreme level. You enter through Main Street, U.S.A., where stores selling Disney merchandise line both sides. The park is divided into themed areas, and at each there is another merchandise outlet designed to suit each section.
In Toy Story Land, for example, the shop is called “Andy’s Toy Box” and is designed in a way that any child would want to look inside. It all seems rather cynical. You have to feel sorry for parents who’ve already paid a lot to visit the park. And there’s no respite for those staying at one of the three nearby Disney hotels – there are merchandise stores there, as well. Some of the displays in the shops are fun, though, such as a “build your own lightsaber” counter in the Star Wars store.
Of course Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, Marvel Studios and the Star Wars franchise has exponentially increased it merchandising opportunities, as well as providing characters for new rides and attractions.
The park has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster since it opened in 2005. It seems typical of its luck that it was shut on its 15th anniversary because of Covid-19. It failed to meet its visitor number target in its first year, and attracted 1.2 million fewer in its second. Numbers then started to pick up, though the park has made an annual profit in only the three years from 2012.
Its latest figures, for the year to September 2019, show a HK$105 million (US$13.4 million) loss – double the figure for the previous year. This was said to be partly due to the anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong last year. Staff (cloyingly known as “cast members”) have been asked to take unpaid leave, while bosses have had salary cuts.
The park, built on reclaimed land at Penny’s Bay on the island of Lantau, is owned jointly by the Hong Kong Government and the Walt Disney Company.
The attraction previously closed in January after the first Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong. It reopened in June with fewer visitors and other restrictions, but shut again the following month. Following the latest reopening, it’s operating five days a week – it remains closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The venture suffered a major blow in the week it reopened when it was announced that its option to buy an adjacent plot of land that had been earmarked for a park expansion would not be renewed.
The South China Morning Post reported that the Walt Disney Company was “extremely disappointed” by the government’s decision. The newspaper quoted sources who said the company had been unable to commit to an expansion in the near future. The option expired on Sept. 24 – the day before the reopening – and the land is currently being used as a Covid-19 quarantine centre. The following week, Disney announced it was cutting 28,000 jobs at its US parks.
These are not happy times at the self-styled “happiest place on Earth“.
NEED TO KNOW: Hong Kong Disneyland
GETTING THERE: The park has its own MTR railway line and station, with trains running to and from Sunny Bay Station every few minutes. Sunny Bay can be reached on the rail network from the airport (change trains at Tsing Yin Station), Kowloon Station and Hong Kong Station. You can also get to the park by car, taxi or bus. The Disney train carriages have windows and grab handles shaped like Mickey Mouse’s ears. OPENING HOURS: 10:30 a.m to 7:30 p.m daily excluding Tuesdays and Thursdays (except public holidays and designated days).
TICKET PRICES: Standard park tickets cost from HK$639 (US$82). There are many different deals and special offers – check website (details below) for information. You might get a discount if you buy through a travel activities and services booking site. After buying your ticket from whatever source you have to make a reservation for the day you want to visit. CONTACT: Reservation centre +852 1-830-830.
October 2020
MORE INFO
THE OFFICIAL Hong Kong Disneyland has a vast amount of information to help you get the most out of your visit, including the latest on Covid-19 measures. READ MORE
RELATED
HOW HONG KONG IS TACKLING CORONAVIRUS: The city of skyscrapers is known as a bustling, noisy global metropolis. But how is it coping with Covid-19? READ MORE
TIM HO WAN CUT-PRICE MICHELIN MEAL: Michelin-starred eating often ends with an eye-watering bill – but not at this Hong Kong chain. READ MORE
SKYVIEW100 VIEWING DECK: Hong Kong’s International Commerce Centre provides stunning views of one of the world’s most recognisable cityscapes. READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
Disclosure: Afaranwide is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Disneyland During
Covid – Still Fun?
COLIN SIMPSON
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland has reopened after shutting its gates because of Covid-19. Capacity has been cut, special health and safety measures are in place, indoor shows have been suspended, and guests are not allowed to get too close to their favourite Disney characters. So is a socially-distanced day out at Disney still fun? Afaranwide went along to find out.
The Experience
THE first thing I noticed when I turned up at the theme park was how few visitors there were. But that’s not necessarily bad – it means NO LONG QUEUES!
Waiting for an hour or more for a ride that might last only a few minutes has blighted many a visit to Disney parks. But with the restricted capacity this simply wasn’t an issue. And because social distancing arrangements meant that guests stood two metres apart – there were white lines and signs on the ground to encourage this – even lines that looked quite long didn’t actually have many people in them.
In some cases I was able to walk straight onto a ride, and I never had to wait more than a few minutes. This made the experience much more relaxing than usual. Visitors were pretty sensible when it came to social distancing. The only time the arrangements broke down was when Spider-Man and the Black Panther made an appearance. A bit of a scrum formed behind the line separating the guests from the characters.
They were the only two characters I saw, apart from three figures dressed like the miniature green soldiers in Toy Story. They marched off the parachute ride in Toy Story Land shouting brusque commands. I didn’t see Mickey, and I didn’t see Donald, which would surely have been unthinkable during a visit to Disneyland in pre-coronavirus days. The park’s Covid-19 announcement says: “Character experiences have been adjusted to avoid close interaction.”
A number of large catering outlets were closed because of the reduced number of visitors. And the number of people allowed on rides at the same time was reduced. There was still plenty of choice, including traditional Hong Kong dim sum shaped like Mickey Mouse’s ears. Shows such as Festival of the Lion King were suspended, though outdoor performances of Moana: A Homecoming Celebration went ahead.
Hong Kong can be a hot and humid place, so I was pleased to see plenty of shady places where people could sit and rest. There were lots of water fountains where you could refill your bottle.
The park grew busier as the day progressed, though it was never anything like uncomfortably crowded. I felt the Disney team had done a good job getting the place reopened while making visitors feel safe.
Best of all, it was great to see people out and about enjoying themselves in these grim times.
The Park
HONG KONG is often referred to dismissively as the smallest of the six Disney resorts. Before the coronavirus pandemic, some Hong Kong families preferred to travel to the other Asian parks, in Shanghai and Tokyo, than visit their local one. They reckoned they and their kids got more fun and thrills for their buck at the larger parks.
The Hong Kong one doesn’t seem particularly small. I walked a long way while I was there, and I imagine that if you had two young children in tow it would seem quite large enough. However, the limited space compared with the other parks means it does feel a bit light on really standout rides.
My favourite was the Iron Man Experience, one of those attractions where you’re seated on a platform that moves and bucks in sync with the 3D visuals. The story is set in Hong Kong, with Iron Man flying to the rescue as giant robots cause mayhem among the skyscrapers.
There are some neat touches – for example, the late Stan Lee, creator of Marvel’s greatest characters, makes one of his famous cameo appearances in the pre-adventure safety video. At the end, Iron Man warns a troublesome robot that he’s going to convert him into a coin press machine. And sure enough, as you leave you pass a coin machine shaped like that robot.
Other fun attractions include the Jungle River Cruise, where you go for a trip on a boat and encounter animatronic elephants, hippos and a gorilla reclining on a hammock. The Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars ride is a thrilling rollercoaster set in a lovingly detailed recreation of an old mining town. And Mystic Manor is a ramped-up version of a haunted house ride, but with no ghosts in deference to Chinese cultural sensitivities. You do get shot at by a cannon, though.
Less successful are the Rafts to Tarzan’s Treehouse attraction – you make the narrowest of river crossings – and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! The latter involves shooting away with blasters as you ride along, but I found it strangely underwhelming.
Many guests took selfies in front of the centrepiece Castle of Magical Dreams, formerly Sleeping Beauty Castle, which is being upgraded. Parts of the structure were still shrouded in scaffolding.
My overwhelming impression as I walked around was the rampant, out-of-control commercialism of the place. It seems an obvious thing to say, as Disney is known for this. But it’s reached an extreme level. You enter through Main Street, U.S.A., where stores selling Disney merchandise line both sides. The park is divided into themed areas, and at each there is another merchandise outlet designed to suit each section.
In Toy Story Land, for example, the shop is called “Andy’s Toy Box” and is designed in a way that any child would want to look inside. It all seems rather cynical. You have to feel sorry for parents who’ve already paid a lot to visit the park. And there’s no respite for those staying at one of the three nearby Disney hotels – there are merchandise stores there, as well. Some of the displays in the shops are fun, though, such as a “build your own lightsaber” counter in the Star Wars store.
Of course Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, Marvel Studios and the Star Wars franchise has exponentially increased it merchandising opportunities, as well as providing characters for new rides and attractions.
The park has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster since it opened in 2005. It seems typical of its luck that it was shut on its 15th anniversary because of Covid-19. It failed to meet its visitor number target in its first year, and attracted 1.2 million fewer in its second. Numbers then started to pick up, though the park has made an annual profit in only the three years from 2012.
Its latest figures, for the year to September 2019, show a HK$105 million (US$13.4 million) loss – double the figure for the previous year. This was said to be partly due to the anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong last year. Staff (cloyingly known as “cast members”) have been asked to take unpaid leave, while bosses have had salary cuts.
The park, built on reclaimed land at Penny’s Bay on the island of Lantau, is owned jointly by the Hong Kong Government and the Walt Disney Company.
The attraction previously closed in January after the first Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong. It reopened in June with fewer visitors and other restrictions, but shut again the following month. Following the latest reopening, it’s operating five days a week – it remains closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The venture suffered a major blow in the week it reopened when it was announced that its option to buy an adjacent plot of land that had been earmarked for a park expansion would not be renewed.
The South China Morning Post reported that the Walt Disney Company was “extremely disappointed” by the government’s decision. The newspaper quoted sources who said the company had been unable to commit to an expansion in the near future. The option expired on Sept. 24 – the day before the reopening – and the land is currently being used as a Covid-19 quarantine centre. The following week, Disney announced it was cutting 28,000 jobs at its US parks.
These are not happy times at the self-styled “happiest place on Earth“.
NEED TO KNOW: Hong Kong Disneyland
GETTING THERE: The park has its own MTR railway line and station, with trains running to and from Sunny Bay Station every few minutes. Sunny Bay can be reached on the rail network from the airport (change trains at Tsing Yin Station), Kowloon Station and Hong Kong Station. You can also get to the park by car, taxi or bus. The Disney train carriages have windows and grab handles shaped like Mickey Mouse’s ears. OPENING HOURS: 10:30 a.m to 7:30 p.m daily excluding Tuesdays and Thursdays (except public holidays and designated days).
TICKET PRICES: Standard park tickets cost from HK$639 (US$82). There are many different deals and special offers – check website (details below) for information. You might get a discount if you buy through a travel activities and services booking site. After buying your ticket from whatever source you have to make a reservation for the day you want to visit. CONTACT: Reservation centre +852 1-830-830.
October 2020
MORE INFO
THE OFFICIAL Hong Kong Disneyland has a vast amount of information to help you get the most out of your visit, including the latest on Covid-19 measures. READ MORE
RELATED
HOW HONG KONG IS TACKLING CORONAVIRUS: The city of skyscrapers is known as a bustling, noisy global metropolis. But how is it coping with Covid-19? READ MORE
TIM HO WAN CUT-PRICE MICHELIN MEAL: Michelin-starred eating often ends with an eye-watering bill – but not at this Hong Kong chain. READ MORE
SKYVIEW100 VIEWING DECK: Hong Kong’s International Commerce Centre provides stunning views of one of the world’s most recognisable cityscapes. READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
Disclosure: Afaranwide is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Disneyland During
Covid – Still Fun?
COLIN SIMPSON
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland has reopened after shutting its gates because of Covid-19. Capacity has been cut, special health and safety measures are in place, indoor shows have been suspended, and guests are not allowed to get too close to their favourite Disney characters. So is a socially-distanced day out at Disney still fun? Afaranwide went along to find out.
The Experience
THE first thing I noticed when I turned up at the theme park was how few visitors there were. But that’s not necessarily bad – it means NO LONG QUEUES!
Waiting for an hour or more for a ride that might last only a few minutes has blighted many a visit to Disney parks. But with the restricted capacity this simply wasn’t an issue. And because social distancing arrangements meant that guests stood two metres apart – there were white lines and signs on the ground to encourage this – even lines that looked quite long didn’t actually have many people in them.
In some cases I was able to walk straight onto a ride, and I never had to wait more than a few minutes. This made the experience much more relaxing than usual. Visitors were pretty sensible when it came to social distancing. The only time the arrangements broke down was when Spider-Man and the Black Panther made an appearance. A bit of a scrum formed behind the line separating the guests from the characters.
They were the only two characters I saw, apart from three figures dressed like the miniature green soldiers in Toy Story. They marched off the parachute ride in Toy Story Land shouting brusque commands. I didn’t see Mickey, and I didn’t see Donald, which would surely have been unthinkable during a visit to Disneyland in pre-coronavirus days. The park’s Covid-19 announcement says: “Character experiences have been adjusted to avoid close interaction.”
A number of large catering outlets were closed because of the reduced number of visitors. And the number of people allowed on rides at the same time was reduced. There was still plenty of choice, including traditional Hong Kong dim sum shaped like Mickey Mouse’s ears. Shows such as Festival of the Lion King were suspended, though outdoor performances of Moana: A Homecoming Celebration went ahead.
Hong Kong can be a hot and humid place, so I was pleased to see plenty of shady places where people could sit and rest. There were lots of water fountains where you could refill your bottle.
The park grew busier as the day progressed, though it was never anything like uncomfortably crowded. I felt the Disney team had done a good job getting the place reopened while making visitors feel safe.
Best of all, it was great to see people out and about enjoying themselves in these grim times.
The Park
HONG KONG is often referred to dismissively as the smallest of the six Disney resorts. Before the coronavirus pandemic, some Hong Kong families preferred to travel to the other Asian parks, in Shanghai and Tokyo, than visit their local one. They reckoned they and their kids got more fun and thrills for their buck at the larger parks.
The Hong Kong one doesn’t seem particularly small. I walked a long way while I was there, and I imagine that if you had two young children in tow it would seem quite large enough. However, the limited space compared with the other parks means it does feel a bit light on really standout rides.
My favourite was the Iron Man Experience, one of those attractions where you’re seated on a platform that moves and bucks in sync with the 3D visuals. The story is set in Hong Kong, with Iron Man flying to the rescue as giant robots cause mayhem among the skyscrapers.
There are some neat touches – for example, the late Stan Lee, creator of Marvel’s greatest characters, makes one of his famous cameo appearances in the pre-adventure safety video. At the end, Iron Man warns a troublesome robot that he’s going to convert him into a coin press machine. And sure enough, as you leave you pass a coin machine shaped like that robot.
Other fun attractions include the Jungle River Cruise, where you go for a trip on a boat and encounter animatronic elephants, hippos and a gorilla reclining on a hammock. The Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars ride is a thrilling rollercoaster set in a lovingly detailed recreation of an old mining town. And Mystic Manor is a ramped-up version of a haunted house ride, but with no ghosts in deference to Chinese cultural sensitivities. You do get shot at by a cannon, though.
Less successful are the Rafts to Tarzan’s Treehouse attraction – you make the narrowest of river crossings – and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! The latter involves shooting away with blasters as you ride along, but I found it strangely underwhelming.
Many guests took selfies in front of the centrepiece Castle of Magical Dreams, formerly Sleeping Beauty Castle, which is being upgraded. Parts of the structure were still shrouded in scaffolding.
My overwhelming impression as I walked around was the rampant, out-of-control commercialism of the place. It seems an obvious thing to say, as Disney is known for this. But it’s reached an extreme level. You enter through Main Street, U.S.A., where stores selling Disney merchandise line both sides. The park is divided into themed areas, and at each there is another merchandise outlet designed to suit each section.
In Toy Story Land, for example, the shop is called “Andy’s Toy Box” and is designed in a way that any child would want to look inside. It all seems rather cynical. You have to feel sorry for parents who’ve already paid a lot to visit the park. And there’s no respite for those staying at one of the three nearby Disney hotels – there are merchandise stores there, as well. Some of the displays in the shops are fun, though, such as a “build your own lightsaber” counter in the Star Wars store.
Of course Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, Marvel Studios and the Star Wars franchise has exponentially increased it merchandising opportunities, as well as providing characters for new rides and attractions.
The park has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster since it opened in 2005. It seems typical of its luck that it was shut on its 15th anniversary because of Covid-19. It failed to meet its visitor number target in its first year, and attracted 1.2 million fewer in its second. Numbers then started to pick up, though the park has made an annual profit in only the three years from 2012.
Its latest figures, for the year to September 2019, show a HK$105 million (US$13.4 million) loss – double the figure for the previous year. This was said to be partly due to the anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong last year. Staff (cloyingly known as “cast members”) have been asked to take unpaid leave, while bosses have had salary cuts.
The park, built on reclaimed land at Penny’s Bay on the island of Lantau, is owned jointly by the Hong Kong Government and the Walt Disney Company.
The attraction previously closed in January after the first Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong. It reopened in June with fewer visitors and other restrictions, but shut again the following month. Following the latest reopening, it’s operating five days a week – it remains closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The venture suffered a major blow in the week it reopened when it was announced that its option to buy an adjacent plot of land that had been earmarked for a park expansion would not be renewed.
The South China Morning Post reported that the Walt Disney Company was “extremely disappointed” by the government’s decision. The newspaper quoted sources who said the company had been unable to commit to an expansion in the near future. The option expired on Sept. 24 – the day before the reopening – and the land is currently being used as a Covid-19 quarantine centre. The following week, Disney announced it was cutting 28,000 jobs at its US parks.
These are not happy times at the self-styled “happiest place on Earth“.
NEED TO KNOW: Hong Kong Disneyland
GETTING THERE: The park has its own MTR railway line and station, with trains running to and from Sunny Bay Station every few minutes. Sunny Bay can be reached on the rail network from the airport (change trains at Tsing Yin Station), Kowloon Station and Hong Kong Station. You can also get to the park by car, taxi or bus. The Disney train carriages have windows and grab handles shaped like Mickey Mouse’s ears. OPENING HOURS: 10:30 a.m to 7:30 p.m daily excluding Tuesdays and Thursdays (except public holidays and designated days).
TICKET PRICES: Standard park tickets cost from HK$639 (US$82). There are many different deals and special offers – check website (details below) for information. You might get a discount if you buy through a travel activities and services booking site. After buying your ticket from whatever source you have to make a reservation for the day you want to visit. CONTACT: Reservation centre +852 1-830-830.
October 2020
MORE INFO
THE OFFICIAL Hong Kong Disneyland has a vast amount of information to help you get the most out of your visit, including the latest on Covid-19 measures. READ MORE
RELATED
HOW HONG KONG IS TACKLING CORONAVIRUS: The city of skyscrapers is known as a bustling, noisy global metropolis. But how is it coping with Covid-19? READ MORE
TIM HO WAN CUT-PRICE MICHELIN MEAL: Michelin-starred eating often ends with an eye-watering bill – but not at this Hong Kong chain. READ MORE
SKYVIEW100 VIEWING DECK: Hong Kong’s International Commerce Centre provides stunning views of one of the world’s most recognisable cityscapes. READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
Disclosure: Afaranwide is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
Hi family! Interesting post, we were supposed to visit Disneyland Paris last May and we were trying to discover how it was the covid protocols there and in other disney parks to reactivate our trip! Thanks for sharing it, very helpful!
It looks most people in the pictures were wearing masks. Is that a requirement? Are people happy to wear the masks? There’s a vocal group of anti-maskers in the US, but it just seems smart to wear one. Did you feel safe at the park, despite the crowd that formed when Spiderman showed up? Personally, I’d stay home, but I’m overly cautious. Not everyone in my family is, and they try to drag me along on outings if they can. It would be good to hear what the other restrictions were at Disney. Stay safe!
Hi, thanks for your comment. Wearing masks is mandatory in public places across Hong Kong including Disneyland. The attitude to masks here is different, people are used to wearing them after the earlier SARS epidemic, and also in the mainland because of air pollution. It’s seen as a public health issue, rather than a political one. If everyone wears a mask then the virus is less likely to spread. I felt pretty safe in the park, I highlighted the Spidey crowd as it was unusual on the day, the rest of the time the distancing etc worked well. Disney staff… Read more »