Hong Kong Disneyland Overview and Main Street Part 2

I visited Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL) for my first time a couple of weeks ago. I’d like to share some of my thoughts and impressions. Warning, I may talk about certain attractions in some detail so I’m issuing a blanket “spoiler alert” right from the beginning.

For those of you who don’t know, HKDL was built on reclaimed land in Penny Bay on Lantau Island. It is jointly owned by the Walt Disney Company and the Government of Hong Kong and opened to visitors on September 12, 2005.

Here is an aerial picture of the park and hotels under construction. Virtually all of the acreage you see between those two hills and jutting out into the bay is reclaimed land.

The park has four lands, Main Street, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Adventureland. There is currently no Frontierland. The park’s capacity is 34,000, but I’d be horrified to see that many people in this small park. To date, the park has not been meeting its forecasted attendance which is causing some tension between Disney and the City of Hong Kong. A friend of mine, who visits regularly, told me that I would have the park to myself as it is rarely busy.

I spent three days here. The first day was Mother’s Day so the park was rather crowded. The second day was a Buddhist holiday, so once again, the park was teeming. There were no holidays on my final day so I finally had the park to myself. Yea!

The park also has a transportation center that features a public train station, a parking lot, and resort bus parking.

This transportation center connects to the park via a beautifully landscaped, brick walkway. I’m guessing this walkway is at least a half-mile long. Along the way you’ll be greeted by an overhead sign welcoming you to Disneyland. You’ll also see a beautiful fountain that has Mickey surfing atop a whale’s spout, surrounded by Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto engaged in various water related sports.

Eventually you’ll come to the ticket booths. One-day ticket prices vary depending on when you visit. A “regular day” ticket costs approximately $38 and “peak” and “special” day tickets sell for approximately $45.

Everything at HKDL is presented in three languages, Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. Since Hong Kong was a British colony for a hundred years, most of the cast members speak fair to excellent English. Communication is not a problem.

I also noticed that many of the cast member’s name tags featured “western” names like Jane, Mary, or Robert. Since these people were obviously Chinese, I asked one of the hostesses in City Hall why this was. She told me it was her “Christian” name. That many of the residents in Hong Kong pick a western name for ease of use when dealing with non-Chinese. She assured me that she had a Chinese name as well.

As you enter the park, you’ll see the Train Station, which bears a striking resemblance to the one in Disneyland California. That’s because Main Street and the castle are virtual copies of their American counterpart.

I knew in advance that HKDL didn’t have nearly as many attractions as the other Disneylands and the Magic Kingdom, but I wasn’t prepared for how small the park feels. I’ve read that it’s actually 100 acres, but it doesn’t feel that way.

As I mentioned earlier, Main Street is almost a carbon copy of Disneyland in California. There are two notable exceptions. First, you’ll find a bandstand in the plaza where character meet-and-greets take place. The other exception is the lack of horse-drawn trolleys down the center of the street. However, the omnibus, fire truck, and other old-time vehicles still ply the road.

Besides the Main Street Vehicles, the only other attractions on Main Street are the “Disneyland Story” and the “Disneyland Railroad.” The Disneyland Story was a bit of a disappointment. It’s located in the Opera House and all it is, is a collection of pictures of the park during its planning stages and construction. I doubt that I spent 5 minutes in here. I plan to do an in-depth blog about the Disney steam trains worldwide in the weeks to come so I’ll skip Hong Kong’s train for the moment.

Just like the other Main Streets around the world, Hong Kong’s version is a collection of shops and eateries. For the most part, the merchandise is the same stuff you’ll find here at Disney World, except it says Hong Kong.

At the end of Main Street you’ll find two restaurants, the Plaza Inn on the left and the Main Street Corner Café on the right. The outside of the Plaza Inn is “all American” but on the inside it’s decorated in a Chinese motif as it serves Cantonese cuisine. The Corner Café serves international and Chinese dishes. I ate at the latter and was satisfied with my meal – nothing special. (To be honest, I ate at so many Disney restaurants during the last two weeks, I don’t even remember what I ordered here.)

Here are a few more pictures of Main Street. Stay tuned for my next blog about Adventureland.

Read my entire Hong Kong Disneyland Blog

its a small world

Overview Hong Kong Disneyland and Main Street

Hong Kong Disneyland Adventureland Part 1

Hong Kong Disneyland Adventureland Part 2

Hong Kong Disneyland The Hub and Fantasyland

Hong Kong Disneyland Tomorrowland and Disney on Parade

Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel

Hollywood Hotel at Hong Kong Disneyland

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