Just me! A Solo...Hong Kong Disneyland July Trip! COMPLETED 9/25

[mandyyyrose]

Hello!

First off, I'm super bad at trip reports, but this one is only 3 days! I promise I'll finish it.

So let's get down to business (but we are not defeating the Huns)


I'm Amanda, I'm a college student in Pennsylvania majoring in Marketing and Economics.

Prior to this trip, I've been to WDW basically once a year at least since I was born! This was my first trip to a Disneyland!


You're probably wondering, how does a 21 year old from Pennsylvania end up in Hong Kong by herself, huh?

Well...because Disney, sort of.



Before heading to Hong Kong I spent 2 weeks in Chengdu, China at Sichuan University for a cultural exchange program through my university. Then, instead of flying back home right away, I flew to Hong Kong to go to Disneyland. Literally the only reason.


Kinda regret not going to Shanghai, but I was worried it would be too crowded and overwhelming.

Anyways...

Where I stayed: The Regal Airport Hotel at Hong Kong International Airport & The Disneyland Hotel

What dates: July 16-19th

Who: Just me! But you knew that

Did I plan? Yes and No, but we'll talk about that later!

Up Next: Getting There, Planes, Trains, Taxis, and Buses!

 

[buteraa]

Super exciting. Can't wait to hear all about it. It must have been a wonderful experience.

 

[PinkyBean]

Cool beans! I'm super impressed you made this trip solo. I hope you finish your TR because I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

[ariane37]

Awesome! I also hope you finish it because I know basically nothing about Hong Kong Disneyland so I'm very excited to read this And that's impressive you went by yourself after only 2 weeks over there!

 

[BippityBrittany]

super excited to read all about hong kong! i'm also from PA just graduate from shippensburg recently!

 

[mandyyyrose]

Planes, Trains, Buses, and Taxis: Getting There!

So I totally typed this whole thing before work, but my laptop decided to hate me and delete it all...

Anyway!

So I don't know where exactly to start the 'travel' part of this story, because the actual story starts on June 31st even though I didn't get to Disney till July 16th!

On June 30th I left work at 2pm (yay, short day) to drive down to Pittsburgh to the airport. My flight to China on the 1st would leave at 7:25 a.m.. I have this fear of being late to the airport, always, so I arrived at the airport at approximately 4:45 a.m. to get checked in and through security. And at 7:25 I was off to...San Francisco! Apparently direct flights from Pitt to Chengdu, China aren't a thing. So...5 hour flight to California!

^^
I don't know if that's actually California, but it's close...

After 4 hours sitting in San Francisco's international terminal, I was boarded on my super-long flight to Chengdu! Approximately 13 and a half hours later I landed in China.



^^
That's Alaska, aka before-I-slept-for-6-hours...

I left Pittsburgh, Pa at 7:25 a.m. on July 1st and landed in Chengdu, China at 6:45 p.m. on July 2nd. Yay time change. For reference, the time change from Pittsburgh to China is exactly 12 hours. Quite the change!

Like I said, I spent two weeks in Chengdu before heading to Hong Kong.

On July 16th at 4 a.m. I left my hotel, The Super 8 (yes, the same American chain) to get a taxi and head to the airport. I was a little nervous because there had been a mixup when I originally arrived in China and I never gave the immigration agent my immigration arrival card I filled out on the plane.

If you've never traveled to China I'll tell you that the immigration card is two parts, one you turn in upon arrival, and one you turn in upon departure. At least that's how it should work. I kept the whole thing by accident. Kinda had major fear the Chinese Gov't was gonna get me...
But they didn't!

I got to the airport at 5a.m. (thanks super slow taxi...) and went through check-in and security/immigration again. Thankfully, immigration isn't busy at 5a.m. I'm pretty sure I was one of three non-natives in the whole airport. I got to my gate, which was actually a stop for a bus that would drive us to the plane, and sat down for a minute because I was totally exhausted. Andddd...I got starbucks for the first time in two weeks! I swear, a caramel mocha never tasted so good.



I wish I could tell you about the plane ride, but I promptly fell asleep as soon as we started moving. I don't even remember take-off, which is kinda sucky.

The other nice thing, even though China is relatively big, is that it is all one time zone. Including Hong Kong. Yay not having to adjust again.
Also note, Zzzquil is a god-sent if you ever need to adjust your sleep schedule. Take two before bed and you'll be golden.

I arrived in Hong Kong at 10:30 a.m. and it took almost an hour to get through immigration in Hong Kong.

I went and picked up my checked baggage, which totally stands out, it's a Disney Vera Bradley Duffle that I'm in love with. Somehow, I don't have a picture of it, but here's a stock photo:

And then, it was time for hotel check in!

I knew my hotel, The Regal Airport Hotel, was physically connected to the airport. I took a couple deep breathes, and first went to Travelex Currency Exchange to change all my Chinese Yuans to Hong Kong Dollars. Then it was time to find this hotel. After a pep talk in my head, I wandered around till I found the hotel after walking through a skybridge/walkway.

The first thing I noticed at the hotel was a big display saying "Buy your Disney tickets here!" and "Disney Good Neighbor Hotel" which immediately was relief. I don't actually speak a word of Chinese, so my two weeks in China was...interesting, but English words and Disney definitely made my day better! Even before I checked in I bought my Disney tickets, which was a two day ticket. I was going to Disney today. Totally disregarded all other plans, and decided I was going to Disney, it was great.


Disney tickets in hand, I headed over to the check-in desk. I wasn't really paying attention to be honest, and I thought nothing of it when the check-in person told me I was "getting a REALLY nice room". I was stoked to be getting a room for 3 days for roughly $350 USD. However, once I walked into my room my jaw dropped to the floor.

Maybe I'm an overdramatic college student, or maybe I'm too use to cheap college apartments, but this room took my breath away.



I guess you can see a little bit of my Disney bag up there. I refer to it as Lil' Blue.



Okay, and this bed was perfection. Maybe because for the past two weeks I slept in a twin bed, but this bed was gigantic!



And this view...I wish I had a better picture, but I had a faint view of the ocean, a clear view of the runway and planes, and a little view of the mountains. And surprisingly, it was silent. Perfect.

Well, this post is a lot longer than I originally intended.

Up Next: Navigating the subway, and arrival at the happiest (and most humid) place in Hong Kong!

 

[mandyyyrose]

super excited to read all about hong kong! i'm also from PA just graduate from shippensburg recently!

That's awesome! Congrats! Yay PA!

 

[BippityBrittany]

That is an amazing view from your hotel room! To me, it's very unique! And that bed, just looks like heaven on earth!

 

[mandyyyrose]

Navigating the subway, and arrival at the happiest (and most humid) place in Hong Kong!

Within two hours of checking-in to the Regal Airport Hotel I was ready to venture out to Disneyland (which was so not my plan for the day)! I had a vague idea how to get there, thanks to the MTR app on my phone. The MTR is basically Hong Kong's above ground subway system. It was very efficient, very clean, and very fast.

Before this trip, I had never used any type of subway above or below ground, unless you count the airport tram.



So I headed to where the MTR Station was at the airport, and made my way to the ticket kiosk. It was much easier than I expected, literally it's a touch screen map and you just touch where you want to go. According to the kiosk I would have to take three trains to get to Disney. Well, it's now or never, so off I went!

Luckily, it was very easy to get there. The Hong Kong MTR is very nice and relaxing to ride on. My favorite part was that the Disneyland Resort Line looks so adorable! Forever disappointed that the WDW Monorail doesn't look like this. Seriously, how cute?!




Loved it!

And approximately 40 minutes later, I was at the Happiest Place in Hong Kong! And there was no crowds, anywhere...


I mean, there's some people, but no lines or crowds, anywhere...odd. I walked right up to the entrance and bag check no problem, no wait. Possibly because it was hotter and more humid than any human being should ever be exposed too...



The entrance looked very similar to WDW, but smaller.


It was then time to go inside. After grabbing a map, (for the first time in ages I needed a map at Disney!) I headed in, to more slightly familiar looking stuff...



To be honest, my first thought walking in is "Literally WHERE is the castle?!" This picture is super zoomed in on my phone. At first the castle almost blended into the mountains behind it. That's definitely not a problem I'm used to. Once again though, where are all the people?! Not that I'm complaining...

Anyways, I'll leave you there for now.

Up next: I'm definitely not in Orlando...Piggy Pork Buns and Sorry I only speak English! And, The BEST part of the trip!

 

[Upup4fun]

This is so cool! I love this TR! The train is sooo cute. More please.

 

[Dentam]

Great report so far! Can't wait to read more! I just went to Shanghai DL last week and now I have the travel bug and want to visit all the other international parks!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I can't wait to hear all about your adventure.

 

[KnK]

looking forward to more of the journey

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Following along. I got to go to Hong Kong Disneyland in April so interested to hear your thoughts

I also went to university in PA - though ages ago and in the eastern part of the state

The Disneyland line train is really cool!

 

[ariane37]

Still impressed you did all that travelling yourself
And yes seriously, where ARE all the people?? I was waiting for you to write a punch line of sorts there lol

 

[mandyyyrose]

So, the internet decided to hate me, and deletes everytime I type a bunch. Boo.

Anyways!

I'm definitely not in Orlando...Piggy Pork Buns, and Sorry I only speak English!

When I left you last, we were right in front of the castle in the Hong Kong mega-heat. If I were a logical person, here's where I would pull out my map and follow it around. But, I'm not the most logical person, and wandering around is more fun anyway.

If you've never seen Hong Kong Disneyland, this is what it looks like, map wise:

Basically the same as MK in WDW, with a few slight differences. This is the only park, which some people told me is a 'half day park' but to be honest I spent 2 days there and didn't see it all. There are two hotels, the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel (which you'll see later!) and the Hollywood Hotel, which I didn't visit.

Anyways, back to the park!

I had done a little bit of research via the "Other Lands" forum on the Disboards. Shoutout to them for answering all of my questions! I knew that I wanted to visit things I wouldn't be able to see at WDW, so I had the intent to visit Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Manor, and Toy Story Land first.

I wandered through Adventureland to get to Grizzly Gulch. I didn't take many pictures because I knew I would come back later. Grizzly Gulch is basically the equivalent of Frontierland. The focal point of Grizzly Gulch is the Grizzly Gulch Runaway Mine Train, which is a suped up Big Thunder Mountain. This was my first ride of the day! This was also the only ride I found that had a single rider line. So, for my first ride - on a weekend - I waited a grand total of 5 minutes!

The Grizzly Gulch Mine Ride is very smooth, but has basically the same themeing of Big Thunder Mountain, with the added twist of going backwards! It was a really good start to the day, and a nice way to cool off after being in the heat all morning.

After Grizzly Gulch I headed over to Mystic Manor. I didn't want to spoil this one for myself, so I didn't read anything about it - other than that it was a must do. I was a little uneasy - concerned it would be like the Haunted Mansion. It's a long story, but yes, at 21 years old I still loath/fear the Haunted Mansion. I blame the Stretching Room. I digress, back to HK! Anyways, standing in front of it, MM totally screams Haunted Mansion. I figured it can't be that bad, and headed to the line.



I tried to remain optimistic. Thankfully, again the line wasn't busy. After about 10 minutes I was boarding the car ready to go.

Honestly, I'm SO glad I did it! The ride was really cute. Not cheesy - but it was like a toned down Haunted Mansion. The concept is that the Professor has collected all of these treasures from around the world, including a box full of magic which his pet monkey opened. The magic then brings all the paintings and other antiques to life. It's probably one of the most unique Disney rides I have been on.

After I got off Mystic Manor I headed to Toy Story Land. I didn't ride anything in Toy Story Land, as it is aimed largely at children...imagine carnival rides with a Toy Story overlay, and you have Toy Story Land! It was actually very cute but just was a little too young ride wise for me.





After walking through Toy Story Land, I ended up somewhere slightly familiar - Fantasyland! By this time, it's almost 4 pm, which I decided was a good time to eat lunch. I headed to the Royal Banquet Hall to try to find something to eat. Not wanting to the the cliche American I went for something uniquely asian - Dim Sum. Specifically? Piggy Pork Dim Sum...which was almost too cute to eat.


The best way to describe them is a super soft dinner roll stuffed with BBQ pork. I seriously wish they had these in PA! They were so yummy and light.

The other important thing I figured out here is that receipts are printed in both Hong Kong Dollars and USD. Which is super helpful because I was kinda flying blind as far as currency conversions go.

So - we've covered 3 lands, I'll pick up here tomorrow when we finish Fantasyland and visit Hyperspace!

 

[Dentam]

Those little piggy buns are so cute!! Glad the wait times were so short for you!

 

[chookie94]

Loving your perspective on HK Disney. Thats the park I have gone to the most so love hearing about other people visiting and enjoying it.

 

[mandyyyrose]

Those little piggy buns are so cute!! Glad the wait times were so short for you!

Aren't they though?! And I was SO happy about the wait times. Definitely different from July wait times in WDW!

Loving your perspective on HK Disney. Thats the park I have gone to the most so love hearing about other people visiting and enjoying it.

That's awesome! I would love to go back and see it again some day. I'm hoping to visit more of the international parks! Disneyland Paris will be next summer

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I loved Grizzly Gulch and the mine train ride was great! I felt it was the thrill level of 7 Dwarfs Mine Train but about twice as long and with the backwards element and "trouble maker messing with the tracks" part of Everest. Thought it was really well done

And Mystic Manor might be my favorite non-classic Disney attraction - it's just so well done and I wish some of that technology (the trackless ride system) would come to the states side parks (supposedly one of the new Star Wars attractions will have that) - and to me shows what Disney can do when they come up with an original story line and original attraction.

I liked the theming of Toy Story land bu not the greatest rides. I did go on the RC Car one (which is actually a bit thrilling with how vertical it gets both forward and backwards and the Army Man drop, which was ok). I think it is almost identical to the Toy Story Land they have at Disneyland Paris.

Those Piggy Pork Dim Sum are super cute! I ate at that location once and got the shrimp wanton and noodle bowl which was very good. I liked the variety of food options in general in the park