Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland is, of course, the local installment of the world famous theme parks. Are you travelling with little ones who would be thrilled to meet Mickey Mouse? Or are you a child at heart yourself?

This park on Lantau Island has all of the beloved characters, including Donald Duck, Goofy, princesses in castles and so forth.

It currently consists four sections: the classical Mainstreet U.S.A., the tropical Adventureland, the fairytale Fantasyland and the futuristic Tomorrowland.

With a capacity of up to 34,000 visitors per day, this is the smallest of Disney's theme parks, welcoming only one third of the visitors that come to their massive Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando, Florida every year, in about half the space. So expect a smaller number of attractions, but maybe also smaller crowds.

Expansion plans

Together with Tokyo Disneyland, this is one of only two Disney theme parks in all of Asia, and like other such parks around the world, it draws visitors from far and wide. In Hong Kong's case, there has particularly been a growing stream of people coming in from Mainland China, trying to satisfy the awakening Disney hunger among new generations of Chinese children.

The first Disneyland on the mainland has just begun construction outside of Shanghai, but won't open its gates until 2014. To handle the increasing demand, the owners of Hong Kong Disneyland are carrying out a major expansion that will double its size. The first new themed area is Toy Story Land and it's scheduled to open in mid-November 2011. Two more parts dubbed Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point are set to open in 2012 and 2013.

Hotels

If you really want to make the visit central to your vacation in Hong Kong, you can even stay in one of the two hotels on-site - Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Hollywood Hotel - both of which actually have great reviews!

How to get there

Mickey has his very own train to take you the last bit to his home, but first you need to get to Sunny Bay station on the orange Tung Chung line. You can also travel by bus from both Kowloon and Hong Kong island.

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