Our children first visited Hong Kong Disneyland in June 2015, and visited there again in December 2016. So we have experienced Hong Kong Disneyland in both summer and winter. If you ask me, which is a better time to visit Hong Kong Disneyland with children? I would say that December is a better choice!
2 reasons for visiting Hong Kong Disneyland in December:
- It is cool during early December, and may not be too cold unless there is a cold front. The temperature is nice especially for watching Flights of Fantasy Parade at 3 p.m. We had a terrible experience to watch the parade in June - we were sitting under the scorching hot sun! Our children were complaining, and their grandparents were not feeling comfortable.
- The Christmas decoration rises the Disney experience to a new height!
How to survive Hong Kong Disneyland with children? Please read our sharing on:
During our first visit, we bought 2-day ticket, but during our second visit, we bought 1-day ticket, since we knew which areas we were interested in. We bought our tickets from Hong Kong Disneyland official website, as there was a promotion of "Play and Dine" which includes one-day pass and a free combo meal, I think it is really value for money since we had our lunch and dinner there.
The opening time was 10.30 a.m. on the weekday, and we reached there at 9.30 a.m. to collect our tickets from the ticketing booth. On the way from the MTR station, we could already feel the Christmas atmosphere.
The gate was opened 30 minutes before the actual opening time, so that visitors could take a stroll along Main Street, U.S.A. and take some photos before the rest of the theme park is opened.
Many of our favourite Disney characters were dressed up for Christmas. Yes, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse too! But the queue to take photo with them was super long, and the children were not keen to join the long queue. So what I did was to go all the way to the front, when one group of visitors had done their photoshoot and just before the next group went up, I called "Mickey! Minnie!" and took photos when they turned towards my direction! Another photo opportunity was when they took a break. They actually walked right behind us but we were not aware!
Although we didn't take photos with Mickey and Minnie, we didn't miss the photo opportunity with Santa Goofy at his special Santa Goofy's Post Office.
In addition to taking photo with Santa Goofy, we were given Disney Christmas postcard to pen our thoughts. With the Santa Goofy stamp, the postcard was made special! The interesting thing was, we could send the postcard without any charge! We received our own postcard in Singapore about 9 days later.
If you love to collect items from Disneyland, you may want to get the special Santa Mickey popcorn bucket! Ok, it is not cheap, as it costs HKD100+...
And there were Santa Mickey and Minnie soft toys!
During our second visit to Hong Kong Disneyland, our children got to experience something different from our previous visit - to take part in the performances!
First, they performed as the warriors in "Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple" at Tomorrowland.
Tips for you if your children want to be part of "Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple":
Each warrior was awarded a sticker and a photopass (you have to pay for the photos, of course!) at the end of the performance.
Another performance that my children took part was "Flight of Fantasy Parade". We were sitting near the entrance of Tomorrowland, facing Sleeping Beauty Castle. When the parade team stops for a few minutes, the performers would invite children sitting behind Mickey's parade float to stand up and dance together!
During last visit, we were impressed by the musical "The Golden Mickey Presented in Disney's Storybook Theater". Now the performance is changed to "Mickey and the Wondrous Book". I personally prefer the previous one though.
The giant Christmas tree at Main Street U.S.A. was lighted up in the evening and it looked beautiful.
We usually don't spend much money on purchasing items from the shops. Well, after all, we have spent quite a fair bit on the admission tickets! So we usually collect some free items as souvenirs!
Thank you for visiting PeiPei.HaoHao. If you enjoy reading this post, do stay connected with us on Facebook!
The opening time was 10.30 a.m. on the weekday, and we reached there at 9.30 a.m. to collect our tickets from the ticketing booth. On the way from the MTR station, we could already feel the Christmas atmosphere.
The gate was opened 30 minutes before the actual opening time, so that visitors could take a stroll along Main Street, U.S.A. and take some photos before the rest of the theme park is opened.
Many of our favourite Disney characters were dressed up for Christmas. Yes, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse too! But the queue to take photo with them was super long, and the children were not keen to join the long queue. So what I did was to go all the way to the front, when one group of visitors had done their photoshoot and just before the next group went up, I called "Mickey! Minnie!" and took photos when they turned towards my direction! Another photo opportunity was when they took a break. They actually walked right behind us but we were not aware!
Although we didn't take photos with Mickey and Minnie, we didn't miss the photo opportunity with Santa Goofy at his special Santa Goofy's Post Office.
In addition to taking photo with Santa Goofy, we were given Disney Christmas postcard to pen our thoughts. With the Santa Goofy stamp, the postcard was made special! The interesting thing was, we could send the postcard without any charge! We received our own postcard in Singapore about 9 days later.
If you love to collect items from Disneyland, you may want to get the special Santa Mickey popcorn bucket! Ok, it is not cheap, as it costs HKD100+...
And there were Santa Mickey and Minnie soft toys!
During our second visit to Hong Kong Disneyland, our children got to experience something different from our previous visit - to take part in the performances!
First, they performed as the warriors in "Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple" at Tomorrowland.
Tips for you if your children want to be part of "Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple":
- Once the theme park opens, go straight to The Space Trader located next to the Hyperspace Mountain in Tomorrowland to register, there is limited slots and is based on first-come-first-served basis.
- At least 25 minutes before the performance, get your seat on the left hand side when you are facing the stage. This is because you can take photos and videos of your children's faces from this direction when they are "fighting". If you sit on the other side, you may only get to take photos and videos of their back.
- Remind your children not to wear the hood, one reason is for hygienic purpose (ok, call me OCD), another reason is that the hood may block their faces when you are taking photos and videos.
Each warrior was awarded a sticker and a photopass (you have to pay for the photos, of course!) at the end of the performance.
Another performance that my children took part was "Flight of Fantasy Parade". We were sitting near the entrance of Tomorrowland, facing Sleeping Beauty Castle. When the parade team stops for a few minutes, the performers would invite children sitting behind Mickey's parade float to stand up and dance together!
During last visit, we were impressed by the musical "The Golden Mickey Presented in Disney's Storybook Theater". Now the performance is changed to "Mickey and the Wondrous Book". I personally prefer the previous one though.
The giant Christmas tree at Main Street U.S.A. was lighted up in the evening and it looked beautiful.
We usually don't spend much money on purchasing items from the shops. Well, after all, we have spent quite a fair bit on the admission tickets! So we usually collect some free items as souvenirs!
Our Hong Kong Travelogue
- 8 Tips for Planning Hong Kong Trip with Children and Seniors
- 5 Tips for Hong Kong Travel with Children
- Hong Kong with Children – 5D4N Itinerary (June 2015)
- Hong Kong with Children – 6D5N Itinerary (December 2016)
- Hong Kong Disneyland Survival Tips with Children
- Christmas at Hong Kong Disneyland
- Hong Kong Ocean Park Survival Tips with Children
- Hong Kong with Children – What to Eat
- Hong Kong with Children – Sham Shui Po and Sai Kung
- Hong Kong with Children – Hong Kong Science Museum
- Hong Kong with Children – Hong Kong Park, The Peak, Tai Yuen Street (Toy Street), Calbee Plus
- Hong Kong with Children – Go Green Organic Farm
Thank you for visiting PeiPei.HaoHao. If you enjoy reading this post, do stay connected with us on Facebook!
Hi, planning to go to HKDL this coming Dec. What are the opening and closing times?
ReplyDeleteHi, the opening hour is usually 10 am or 10.30 am -9 pm, depending on which period of the year. You may refer to HKDL official website for updated information about opening hours: https://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/
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