Hong Kong Disneyland Day 10: A Magical Day at Disney

Hong Kong Disneyland really is a magical place.

Madeline slept great last night. Around 3am she made her usual vacation move into our bed. She always starts in the crib and then joins us when she wakes up in the night. Alison and I got up and started getting ready while Mads was still asleep. When she finally woke up, she immediately noticed the picture of Mickey and his friends on the wall next to our bed. She just stared at it for a second, then lit up and started saying “Mickey, Goofy.” She was so excited.

We headed downstairs for breakfast at the Enchanted Garden Restaurant. It’s a buffet, but also a full character dining experience. Compared to the U.S. parks, it was surprisingly affordable, so we booked it for all three mornings of our stay. The food was great. It had the typical breakfast spread you’d expect, but with some fun Disney touches and a few local additions like dim sum, which was a nice bonus.

While we were eating, we got to meet Mickey and Pluto. Madeline was thrilled. Pluto was especially great with her. He showed her how to pet his nose, which she thought was hilarious. The characters here really take their time, which we appreciated. Mickey was just as special. Madeline adores him, and he gave her a big hug, got her to high five him, and played around with her before leaving. It felt completely magical.

After breakfast, we packed up the stroller and headed to the park. We bought early access, which let us in an hour before general opening at 9:30. You don’t really need it here since Hong Kong Disneyland is known for being the least crowded Disney park in the world, but it wasn’t expensive so we figured we’d take advantage.

We got to the gates around 9:20, and even though it didn’t seem crowded, it took a while to get in. The ticketing process is a bit clunky, so cast members were helping a lot of guests pull up tickets on their phones. Eventually we made it through and went straight to the Duffy and Friends Playhouse.

This is one of the few places in the park that regularly gets long lines. Duffy and Friends are hugely popular in Asia, much more so than in the U.S., and wait times can easily exceed an hour. During early entry, though, there were almost no lines.

We lined up to meet Gelatoni first. As soon as Madeline saw that little cat, she lit up. Like all the characters here, he was incredibly interactive and sweet with her. It was such a fun moment that we got right back in line to meet LinaBell. Madeline was completely smitten with the pink fox and even gave her a kiss on the nose. It was so cute.

From there, we headed to Mads’ favorite ride, Dumbo. Since it was still early entry, we walked right on. One interesting quirk here is that they only allow two riders per elephant, so Alison and Mads rode together while I grabbed the one right in front of them.

Next up was Winnie the Pooh. The version here is actually expanded compared to the one in California and feels a bit more complete. It’s really the only traditional dark ride in the park, and it was a fun one.

Madeline and I went back to ride Dumbo together, and by this point the park had officially opened. Even so, there were still basically no lines in Fantasyland. From there we headed to the teacups, which is another one of Mads’ favorites. The teacups here are a little more intense, even without adding extra spin. Alison decided that would be her one and only ride on them for the trip. Not to worry, I would end up riding them with Madeline many more times. She just loves that ride.

We made our way over to It’s a Small World. Alison described it perfectly. It’s the same, but different. The structure is familiar, but the rooms are arranged differently and there are some unique characters and scenes mixed in. It’s also mostly in Chinese, which adds a different feel. Still a classic.

After that, we decided to check out something unique to Hong Kong and headed to Mystic Point for Mystic Manor. At first glance, you might think this is their version of Haunted Mansion, but it’s really its own thing. It follows Lord Henry Mystic and his mischievous monkey, Albert, as magical artifacts come to life.

This ride is incredible. It’s a trackless dark ride, which makes the movement feel really smooth and unpredictable. Madeline loved Albert and kept calling him “Albert monkey,” while also pointing out that he was a naughty monkey. This ended up being my favorite ride in the park.

By then, Madeline was getting sleepy, so we grabbed her some corn on the cob and a big container of fruit from Jessie’s Snack Roundup in Toy Story Land. She devoured the corn and watermelon, and then quickly fell asleep in the stroller.

While she slept, Alison and I headed over to World of Frozen. This land is beautifully done and really immersive, like stepping straight into Arendelle. We grabbed lunch at the Golden Crocus Inn. The food at this park has been consistently excellent. Alison had salmon with vegetables and potatoes, and I had a lamb shank with the same sides. Everything was delicious and came out quickly.

While we were eating, Darci had a break and came to join us. It was fun to catch up and spend a little extra time together.

Our plan during Mads’ nap was to hit a few rides she couldn’t go on. One of the great things about this park is that there really aren’t many of those, which makes it feel very family-friendly.

We were planning to take turns riding Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, but Darci offered to stay with Madeline so we could ride together. That was really kind of her. We bought a priority pass to skip the roughly 30 minute line and walked right on. The ride itself is very quick, maybe about a minute, but it was fun and worth doing together.

While we were riding, Kristoff stopped by and visited our sleeping baby, which was a funny and very Disney moment.

Madeline kept sleeping, which gave us more time to explore. We headed over to Grizzly Gulch to ride Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. This one completely surprised me. It feels like a mix of Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, and Expedition Everest all rolled into one. It’s fast, unpredictable, and a lot of fun. Definitely my second favorite ride in the park.

After that, we made our way to Tomorrowland, where I rode the Iron Man Experience. It’s very similar to Star Tours, but instead of Star Wars, you’re flying with Iron Man through Hong Kong fighting off robots. It was a fun ride, though Alison skipped it since it would have made her motion sick. While I rode, she did a little shopping on Main Street and picked up a Duffy shirt and some Minnie ears. Happy early birthday to her.

When Madeline woke up, we got her a bubble wand. I had been looking forward to this. I was hoping she’d go for the Sorcerer Mickey one, but she picked Minnie, so Minnie it was. She had the best time running around spraying bubbles everywhere we went.

We headed back to World of Frozen, where Darci had another break. We tried to ride Frozen Ever After, but it broke down shortly after we got in line. Instead, we grabbed ice cream, including an Olaf cone, and spent some time chatting with Darci and hanging out near the Frozen fountain, which is a really popular photo spot.

One thing that stands out here is how intense the photo culture is. There are groups of guests, mostly women, who come fully dressed up and spend hours taking stylized photos around the park. It’s part of the reason ride lines stay so short. A lot of people are more focused on getting the perfect picture than riding attractions.

While we were there, we saw Elsa and Kristoff interacting with guests and playing a little charades game, which was fun to watch.

Next, we headed to Playhouse in the Woods to see the Frozen show featuring Anna, Elsa, and Olaf. Darci performs as Elsa, so we were really excited for this. She gave us a skip-the-line pass, which we almost messed up. We accidentally lined up for the 4:15 show instead of the 4:30, which was her performance. Thankfully, the cast members helped us switch, and we made it into the right show.

The show is all about celebrating a summer snow day and focuses on family and magic. It was really well done. Darci was fantastic as Elsa and gave a lot of attention to Madeline. Mads loved seeing Elsa, though she got a little shy when Elsa interacted with her directly. She was very into Olaf, though. One fun detail is that the show is mostly in English, but Olaf speaks Chinese, which adds a unique twist.

After the show, Madeline immediately requested Dumbo, so we made our way back. From there, we tried to catch Darci’s final performance, but just missed it. Instead, Frozen Ever After was back up, so we jumped in line.

This version has a pretty intense drop at the end, which caught Madeline off guard. I could feel her tense up, and afterward she told us she was scared and said “no more Elsa, no more Olaf.” She was really brave to go on it, and I am sure it won’t be long before she’s loving rides like that.

We were getting hungry, so we headed to Wayfinder’s Table, a Moana-themed restaurant that Darci recommended. It was great. Madeline’s meal came in a Kakamora-shaped bowl, which she wasn’t sure about at first, but once we opened it up, she was all in. She was eating fistfuls of veggies and especially loved the cookie. We also tried the Dole Whip slushie. Alison liked it more than I did.

After dinner, we had to go back to Mystic Manor. It really is that good. I enjoyed it even more the second time. Madeline, on the other hand, was less into it and kept saying “no more monkeys.” She wanted teacups, so Mads and I rode them a few more times. She had the biggest smile every single ride.

To wrap up the rides for the day, we went to Tomorrowland for Orbitron, which is basically a less exciting version of Dumbo. Madeline was not a fan. She clearly prefers flying elephants. We also did Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle!, which is similar to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Alison liked the updated tech, but I preferred the story of the original.

By then, it was getting close to park closing at 8:30 and time for Momentous: A Party in the Sky. This is their nighttime spectacular with drones, fireworks, and projections. We headed toward Main Street about 15 minutes early and were still able to get a great spot in front of the castle.

The show celebrates friendship, magic, and the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong Disneyland, and they really leaned into that celebration throughout the park.

Momentous was incredible. Madeline stayed awake for the first few minutes and got to see the drones and some fireworks, then fell asleep in Alison’s arms during the baby-themed segment, which felt fitting. The show runs close to 30 minutes and covers a wide range of Disney films, from classics like The Fox and the Hound to favorites like Coco. It was a great way to end the night.

Today at Hong Kong Disneyland felt like pure magic. I’ve told a few people that this might be the most magical Disney park. It’s not the biggest park, but it delivers in all the right ways, and it’s just a really fun place to spend the day. Madeline had so much fun with the rides, the characters, and just being there.

And getting to see Darci, and watching her create Disney magic for our baby, made it even more special. Anyone who loves our baby, we love right back.

It may be a smaller park, but it’s the little park that could, and it absolutely does.