Hong Kong Disneyland is often called a half-day park, which may have been the case years ago. Over the past few years, though, the park has grown to call for more than half a day to enjoy. My recommendation is to visit the park for a full 2 days to enjoy both the park and the wonderful restaurants at three of their beautiful hotels.

This 1-day itinerary ensures that you hit all the highlights of the park. This leaves you with more free time on the second day to explore the hotels, enjoy the delicious Dim Sum at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, watch Mickey and the Wondrous Book, again and again, followed by many rides on Mystic Manor until park closing — I may or may not have done this.

This itinerary leaves out the Disney Dim Sum experience, as it does eat up a lot of time (pun totally intended), so I recommend saving that for your second day (or allotting at least 2 extra hours mid-day). Read my past experiences to learn how to book it.

Before we get started, there are a few things to note:

• This itinerary assumes you’re at one of the Disney Hotels
• If you’re not at a Disney Hotel, skip those portions that refer to it
• If you’re at a Disney Hotel, you’ll receive special FastPasses for your group. Use these how you see fit (what I show here doesn’t need them in most cases)
• Best days to visit are Tuesday-Friday
• Mystic Point, Grizzly Gulch, and Toy Story Land usually open 30 minutes after official park open
• Read our Ultimate Guide to Hong Kong Disneyland for more helpful tips and information

Table of Contents

• Preparation
• Morning
• Afternoon
• Evening
• Summary

Preparation

To make your day easier, there’s a bit of preparation necessary. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

• Download the official Hong Kong Disneyland app
• Buy your tickets in advance through Klook (go straight to the turnstiles with your voucher and you’ll get a printed ticket)
• Buy your meal voucher through Klook to save on your meals (exchange your Klook voucher at the ticket booths the day before to save yourself time)
• Check park opening and closing times (these change)
• Grab a Times Guide from your hotel to see times for attractions, entertainment, and character greetings

Use offer code KLKTDREX to save $4USD off your first order through Klook.

Morning

Dragon Wind (Disney Explorers Lodge) is my top choice for Character Breakfasts at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

Start off your wonderful day at any of the character breakfasts at the Disney Hotels. Choose the earliest opening, which is usually 07:00. If you’re staying at the Disney Hotels, you’re able to make a reservation easily over the phone, email, or anytime you’re at the hotel.

Character breakfasts are available at:

• Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel
• Enchanted Garden at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
• Dragon Wind at the Disney Explorers Lodge

My personal favourite is Dragon Wind at the Disney Explorers Lodge. I have done all the character dining experiences, and I can’t get enough of Mickey and Minnie in their Explorers Lodge Outfits. The word “Explorer” in the name might have something to do with it, too.

After enjoying your character breakfast and licking your plate clean (not that I have done this) it’s now off to the park. Take the free shuttle bus from the hotel and head off to the park!

Arrive 30 minutes before park open (remember to have your tickets already) and you’ll get into the park on Main Street U.S.A. Choose one set of characters to get your photo with (if you don’t want to, just skip this and wait at the end of Main Street) before the park officially opens.

The character photo ops are:

• Mickey & Minnie
• Donald & Daisy
• Chip ’n Dale

Those are the characters I have seen, but they may change, so keep that in mind. You’ll only have time to do one set of characters as the lines don’t move very quickly.

Once the park is open, your first ride of the day is the Iron Man Experience in Tomorrowland, followed by Hyper Space Mountain. After that grab a FastPass for Winnie the Pooh in Fantasyland (hopefully by then the return time is in the early afternoon).

Now, get into the standby line for the first showing of Mickey and the Wondrous Book in Fantasyland (which is usually around 11:30.) Walk left from Hyper Space Mountain and turn left towards it’s a small world.

Note: Remember your FastPass return time for Winnie the Pooh and work that into your plans.

Afternoon

By now the breakfast buffet should have worn off. Use the meal voucher you got at the Explorer’s Club Restaurant in Mystic Point. Alternatively, if that menu doesn’t appeal to you, then Starliner Diner in Tomorrowland is a safe bet (it has cheeseburgers and fries).

Ride Mystic Manor and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars over in Mystic Point and Grizzly Gulch. If there is time ride Mystic Manor more than once; you’ll thank me later.

Pro-tip: Ask for cars 5/6 or 1/2 on Mystic Manor for the best view

If you’re visiting during Summer or Halloween, then you may have the choice of the following:

• Mission: Dimensions of Danger (Summer into Fall)
• Maze of Madness (Halloween Time)

If not, then take a breather and relax with the Jungle Cruise. By now, it should be around the time to see the daytime parade Flights of Fantasy. Once you’re done there, arrive at the next Festival of the Lion King about 15 minutes in advance.

If there is still a bit of time before the next showing of Festival of the Lion King (it shows multiple times a day), choose a Meet and Greet you’d like:

• Duffy and one of his friends (Gelatoni or StellaLou) on Main Street U.S.A.
• Star Wars Meet N Greet (Hyper Space Mountain)
• Characters in the Fantasy Gardens

Alternatively, if you don’t want to do Character Greetings, this is the perfect time to take it easy and do some shopping on Main Street U.S.A. and enjoy an ice cream with your meal voucher or other snacks.

Evening

Now, it’s time to take it easy and knock off attractions you haven’t done yet, or redo ones you absolutely loved:

• it’s a small world
• R.C. Racer
• Mystic Manor
• Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars

Keep in mind that Mystic Point, Grizzly Gulch, and Toy Story Land closer earlier than the rest of the park. Have yourself a nice dinner either at Main Street Corner Cafe or Plaza Inn (these don’t require advanced reservations) or if table service isn’t in the budget, then the Royal Banquet Hall is an excellent choice.

Depending on the time of year, catch Paint the Night (however, it usually doesn’t run during Halloween and is replaced by a nighttime Halloween show).

Keep in mind during the transformation of Sleeping Beauty Castle there is no fireworks show in the evenings. It’s instead replaced with “We Love Mickey!” projection show along Main Street U.S.A.

Summary

The face you’ll have the next morning when you wake up after a successful (and full) day at Hong Kong Disneyland!

This itinerary is intended to give you the main highlights of the park in one day. Feel free to swap out items as you see fit or drop things if you are not interested or things just don’t work out. I’ve done this itinerary multiple times with great success and am confident in it.

Here’s a summary:

• Character Breakfast at one of the Disney Hotels
• Arrive 30 minutes early to do Character Greetings on Main Street U.S.A.
• Ride the Iron Man Experience, followed by Hyper Space Mountain
• Grab a FastPass for Winnie the Pooh (take note of the return time)
• Mickey and the Wondrous Book
• Lunch at the Explorer’s Club Restaurant or Starliner Diner (use your meal voucher)
• Ride Mystic Manor and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars
• Seasonal walk-through experience, break, or Jungle Cruise
• Flights of Fantasy
• Festival of the Lion King
• Shopping (get yourself an ice cream) or Character Greetings
• Missed attractions or redo others
• Paint the Night
• “Disney In The Stars” Fireworks
• Fall asleep on the bus back to the hotel

Now, you’re more ready than ever to tackle Hong Kong Disneyland in a single day. If you’re going for two days, you can take it easy and do things you may have missed and repeat your favourites (have I mentioned how much I love Mystic Manor?)

Explorer Thoughts

Do you have an alternative itinerary? Share them in the comments! I love hearing what others have done.

Planning your trip to Hong Kong Disneyland? Read our Ultimate Guide to Hong Kong Disneyland to learn everything you need before your trip, including discount park tickets, where to eat, where to stay, and what wifi and SIM Card to get!

To learn more about the Disney Parks in Asia, sign up for our mailing list to get the best in advice and updates sent right to your inbox!