The Must-See in Hong Kong Disneyland

Disney parks are always filled with fun and surprises, and Hong Kong Disneyland is no different. It did not disappoint even though I had been to Tokyo DisneySea and Disney World in Florida, which is arguable my favorite of all the parks. Hong Kong Disneyland is packed with its own unique charms (even an exclusive character!) and feel that will entice you to go back. I know I definitely will!

First, let’s talk location. Like other Disney parks, Hong Kong Disneyland is a little bit far from the city center. The journey there, however, is fairly straight forward: Just hop on a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Tung Chung Line train at Hong Kong Station and transfer to a Disney Line train at Sunny Bay Station. The whole trip takes about 30 minutes.

Given my experience with Tokyo DisneySea, I thought I would have to reserve tickets for the specific day I wanted to visit way in advance. That turned out not to be necessary because there was no ticket number restriction on any given day. In fact, I was be able to score Hong Kong Disneyland tickets at a discount through a local deal site called Klook, which offers a wide variety on not only Disney tickets and restaurants but also other local attractions. I highly recommend it!

Speaking of reservations, here comes the first must-do at Hong Kong Disneyland: Disney dim sum at Crystal Lotus, a Chinese restaurant at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. Here’s an important tip: These character-shaped dim sums have to be reserved at least 48 hours in advance. We called the restaurant four days before our visit and reserved a spot at the restaurant. The staff there then e-mailed us a list of their available dim sums and prices, and we had to send them our selections two days ahead of our reservation.

The character dim sums are admittedly slightly more expensive than the dim sum you can get at any Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong, but compared with the prices of food at other Disney parks, these dim sums are way more affordable and totally worth it. Most of the dim sums are buns, so a couple of them are quite filling. We ordered one of almost everything. Check the slideshow below for pictures and descriptions of each!

Duffy and Shellie May Steamed Sweet Buns

Not only are these buns super cute, they are also super delicious. The Shellie May one’s filling was lotus paste, and Duffy’s was red bean paste.

Baymax Seafood Buns (Left) and Olaf Red Bean Paste Buns (Right)

The Baymax buns are filled with chicken and shrimp, and the Olaf ones are as described. All of the Olaf buns are edible! (The filling is only in the middle.)

Little Green Men Pork and Vegetable Buns

These were probably my favorite, taste-wise. The filling is well-seasoned and juicy.

Mickey’s Double-layer Turnip and Taro Cakes

These taste just like the traditional turnip and taro cakes, except they are in a Mickey shape. The spicy dipping sauce goes incredibly well with the cakes, but they also taste delicious without adding anything.

Star Wars Baked Egg Custard Puff

The crust is very flaky and the filling delicious!

I learned something new while dining at this restaurant: You can ask for the waitstaff for a special chair for a Disney plushie you bought at the gift shop! They will even give your plush a bib designed specifically for the character! I was both amazed at and jealous of the girls at the next table over who got their Cookie stuffed toys the special treatment.

That leads me to another Hong Kong Disneyland-exclusive attraction that you shouldn’t miss—Cookie, a recently added Duffy and Friends character only found in the Hong Kong park. You will find not only Cookie decorations in shop windows and around the park but also Cookie merchandise like headbands and keychains not available anywhere else in the world! Introduced just last year, Cookie appears in parades with other Duffy and Friends characters, and is available in the park for pictures.

A kawaii girl’s trip to Disney wouldn’t be complete without taking a picture with one of the Disney princesses. The photo lines at Hong Kong Disneyland were the most organized and easiest to get through out of all the parks I have been to. Even though I normally stay away from photo spots with Disney characters because of the daunting lines, I willingly waited for pictures at Hong Kong Disneyland. Two princesses are available for pictures at the Royal Princess Garden at any given time (including Elsa and Anna!), but they switch out every few hours. The staff will cut off the line at a certain point, so it won’t get too long.

There is so much to see that I recommend staying at the park for a full day, so you can see the park lit up at night. Like the character dim sums, food around Hong Kong Disneyland was actually not very expensive, giving us the flexibility to eat two meals there and spend the whole day at the park.

If you happen to be in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disneyland is worth checking out!