I just returned from Disney's newest park - the Hong Kong Disneyland. After having now been to every Disney park world-wide I have a good frame of reference. And I was not very impressed. The park is very small with few attractions. But the attractions is does offer are extremely well done. The Lion King show is much different than that found in Animal Kingdom in Orlando. It lacks the acrobatics, but has excellent choreography, costumes and cast. The Jungle Cruise is available in 3 languages. Luckily English as the shortest line! I enjoyed this cruise even moreso that any other park. But excellent rides such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion are not available in Hong Kong. There is, however, a Space Mountain. The castle is also very small with no attractions contained within. The parade is also much smaller than what you'd find in Magic Kingdom Orlando or Disneyland Tokyo or California. The park format is made up of 3-4 different aeas, similar to Magic Kingdom, Euro Disney, Tokyo Disney and Disneyland.
Of interest was the subway used to get to the park. Unlike the trams and buses used at other Disney sites, Disney, working with Hong Kong's subway authority, has built a special subway station at their entrance with special Disney subway cars used to transport guests from neighboring islands. The subway is beautiful, complete with Mickey-shaped windows and safety straps to hold on to. Disney artwork and statues are present throughout. The subways are identical to the monorails used at Tokyo Disney to transport guests between the Disney hotels and the two Tokyo parks. But the Hong Kong trains/subways are open to all guests and run underground rather than above ground. The cost to travel from most points in Hong Kong to the park using the subway is less than $5 (US). The cost to enter the part is 350HK, equivalent to approx $50 (US). Be cautious - tickets for the park have sold out on some days. If you know your dates, and won't be staying at the Disney hotels in Hong Kong, it's best to buy your tickets online and pick them up at the entrance to the park using the automated dispensers. Once they have sold all tickets they do not sell any more each day. If you stay in the Disney hotel (there are two), you are guaranteed a ticket.
The cost of food is relatively inexpensive if you look hard enough. But remember, this is Hong Kong. Chinese food prevails. There is a nice restaurant next to Space Mountain where a chicken and french fry platter, including a drink, was available for only $3.50 (US). Definitely a great deal. They do not advertise it as a child's meal, and you would never guess it to be a child's meal based on it's size, but the receipt indicates it's a child meal (the staff had no idea there were any children's meals available when I had earlier inquired). The famous Disney turkey legs are also available, but be warned. They are NOT like those sold at EPCOT, Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom. They are considerably smaller and taste less like 'ham' and more like turkey.
As far as lines for attractions, the lines were long for only a few rides, and the fast passes are available only on 2 or 3 rides. Same fast pass rules apply as in the US.
Also of interest is the Disney awards show found next to Space Mountain. Housed in it's own large paviliion which appears similar to the location where Hollywood's Academy awards are presented, this was a great show and I've never seen anything like it elsewhere. The show combines many of Disney's movies and characters as well as a host who speaks in both Chinese as well as English. Songs are also sung in Chinese and English, making the event incredibly entertaining. Costumes and Set Design are spectacular. Truly enjoyable to watch.
One 'ride' which was considerably different than most other parks was the tarzan treehouse (also known as the swiss family robinson treehouse at other locations). You must take a short 2 minute raft ride to get to an island which houses the large treehouse. The raft was similar to the tom sawyer raft ride in Orlando, but the 'driver' was
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