We wouldn’t have a Hong Kong Disneyland crowd calendar as a result of one isn’t vital. It might pass over the purpose and be counterproductive many weeks & months, as upper attendance and wait instances aren’t even the largest elements to take into accout when opting for the most efficient & worst instances to do HKDL.
Accordingly, this information explaining when to talk over with and keep away from Hong Kong Disneyland is extra holistic in nature. Whilst it takes crowd ranges under consideration, it’s a lot larger image in nature that will help you make a choice the superb instances to visit HKDL and keep away from the grim ones, which don’t seem to be all the time the similar because the busiest and least busy dates.
The rationale crowd ranges subject much less is as a result of Hong Kong Disneyland is Disney’s least-visited citadel park on the earth, with attendance at about one-third the numbers of Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, or Tokyo Disneyland. It has decrease attendance than each and every unmarried Walt Disney Global or Disneyland Hotel park. It used to be moment to closing in general attendance amongst Disney Parks, score forward of simplest Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris–now not truly an even comparability since that used to be a veritable development zone (and is admittedly atrocious).
This by myself makes Hong Kong Disneyland a “decrease stakes” theme park. To make sure, there are busy days, and we’ve attended a couple of that experience had heavy crowds. On most sensible of that, attendance is beginning to build up following Global of Frozen’s opening.
That is prone to proceed within the future years as HKDL develops extra of a fan following and phrase will get out about its greatness. Nonetheless, it’s the very best park to talk over with and doesn’t require just about as a lot technique as its opposite numbers. As long as you practice a couple of easy regulations for opting for your trip dates, you must be advantageous.
Even supposing Hong Kong is a densely populated city and seen as a global town, the native inhabitants is smaller than the Tokyo, Los Angeles, or Shanghai metro spaces. It’s extra populous than Paris or Orlando, however either one of the ones have the benefit of being bona fide vacationer locations. They’ve native fanatics, however the park isn’t reliant on them.
Hong Kong is on this abnormal spot the place it’s basically geared toward vacationers, however now not a vacation spot hotel. It’s additionally now not in essentially the most handy location, and it faces fierce festival for vacationer time and greenbacks. From town itself, close by Ocean Park, Macau, or even Shanghai Disneyland. The outlet of that more recent park a few decade after HKDL gave mainland Chinese language fanatics their very own, extra handy Disney theme park, and sapped Hong Kong Disneyland of a few momentum.
All of that is why we’ve steadily described Hong Kong Disneyland as fascinating–like Disneyland in California from a bygone generation. For years, Hong Kong Disneyland used to be a sleepy little theme park many of the 12 months, and one who had 300+ “absolute best” days in keeping with 12 months to talk over with from the point of view of crowds and wait instances.
That’s beginning to alternate (perhaps now there are “simplest” 280 absolute best days to talk over with if simplest taking crowds under consideration), however there are nonetheless a couple of easy regulations you want to grasp for visiting HKDL to maximise your enjoyment and reduce crowds.
Keep away from Weekends
Saturday has transform the busiest day of the week at Hong Kong Disneyland, with Friday and Sunday turning into more and more busy. That is an rising pattern that didn’t was once as pronounced. Wednesday is the least busy day at HKDL, which isn’t a brand new pattern. It’s maximum got rid of from lengthy weekends and vacationers taking weeklong journeys are least prone to talk over with throughout the center of the week.
We visited Hong Kong Disneyland at the second-busiest day of closing 12 months, which used to be the Saturday firstly of the Christmas season. Now not precisely an enormous wonder, as the primary Saturday of the vacation season is in most cases very busy at Walt Disney Global, Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and many others. (Wait instances knowledge presentations a equivalent spike firstly of Halloween and Saturdays all over that season.)
One in all our largest observations used to be the colossal queue to go into the park by the use of the Annual Passholder front. All the way through that complete weekend, we noticed a shocking selection of Annual Passholders, together with Eastern APs (simple to clock in line with products they’re dressed in and luxurious they’re carrying). This isn’t an enormous wonder since Annual Passes are suspended at Tokyo Disney Hotel, however the stage to which HKDL has made inroads in development a fanbase used to be nonetheless fascinating to watch.
Suffice to mention, we’d extremely counsel keeping off Saturdays if in any respect conceivable, in addition to Fridays and Sundays, to a lesser extent. Nowadays gained’t all the time be really busy, however the pattern is for them to be busier than weekdays. That is very true for Halloween and Christmas, so if you happen to’re visiting from mid-September via New Yr’s, it’s much more essential to practice this recommendation.
Keep away from Summer time Holiday
In the summertime, Hong Kong is scorching, humid and typhoon-prone. The elements doesn’t dissuade vacationers and depress resort charges find it irresistible as soon as did. So in case you are in search of a deal (or dry climate), glance somewhere else.
To be completely clear, we wouldn’t have any fresh perception to percentage with regards to summer time at Hong Kong Disneyland. We closing made the error of visiting Hong Kong Disneyland in the summertime when Shanghai Disneyland opened. The humidity used to be killer–worse than anything else we’ve ever skilled at Walt Disney Global.
We will be able to by no means return to Hong Kong Disneyland between June and August once more since the climate is simply too brutal to have a nice time. On most sensible of that, summer time crowd ranges develop step by step from their lows in Might to peaking in early August.
Keep away from Vacations
Warding off public vacations and the weekends round them is somewhat essential. Those have a tendency to be the busiest days of all of the 12 months at HKDL, with Chinese language New Yr/Lunar New Yr/Spring Pageant and the times round it continuously being the only busiest stretch.
There are 17 public vacations in Hong Kong every 12 months. Those are a mixture of conventional Chinese language and Western vacations, similar to Lunar New Yr, Mid-Autumn Pageant, and the Dragon Boat Pageant, together with Christmas and Easter. Different public vacations come with Nationwide Day and Hong Kong SAR Established order Day. The Hong Kong Executive web site has an inventory of dates.
Mainland China has seven felony vacations in keeping with 12 months, together with New Yr’s Day, Chinese language New Yr (Spring Pageant), Qingming Pageant (Tomb-sweeping Day), Might Day, Dragon Boat Pageant, Mid-Autumn Day and Nationwide Day. The Chinese language experience 13 days off in overall for those reliable vacations, and lots of of them take journeys to Hong Kong in consequence.
Eastern nationwide vacations and to a lesser extent vacations and college breaks in Taiwan, Philippines, United States, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore can affect crowds on positive dates. Except perhaps Golden Week in Japan, it’s useless to devise round public vacations in the ones international locations, despite the fact that. China and Hong Kong vacations are the biggies.
Iciness & Spring Are Most commonly Effective
January via April are in large part average months for crowds, with the aforementioned (primary) exceptions for public vacations in Hong Kong and mainland China. Extra importantly, those months–particularly January and February–characteristic cooler temperatures.
Might is the month when climate warms up, however crowds cool all the way down to their lowest degree of all of the 12 months. Simply understand that average crowds at HKDL are low via the criteria of each and every different Disney park on the earth. We might take reasonable January crowds and climate over Might crowds and climate at Hong Kong Disneyland. No query.
The most important explanation why we’re impartial on those instances of 12 months is the loss of seasonal occasions. Hong Kong Disneyland does do a Chinese language New Yr Party, however that coincides with the busy vacation itself, so we wouldn’t talk over with then. As HKDL will increase in reputation and grows an area fanbase, we’d be expecting extra seasonal occasions all over the 12 months.
Move When Climate is Great!
Except the stairs above, we’d counsel opting for trip dates in line with climate over expected crowd ranges. Right here’s a easy evaluation of per thirty days high and low temperatures in Hong Kong:
Month: Top / Low (°F)
- January: 65° / 57°
- February: 65° / 58°
- March: 70° / 62°
- April: 77° / 69°
- Might: 83° / 75°
- June: 87° / 79°
- July: 88° / 80°
- August: 88° / 80°
- September: 86° / 78°
- October: 82° / 73°
- November: 74° / 66°
- December: 68° / 59°
Simply understand that it’s humid in Hong Kong along with being scorching. That means that the “seems like” temperatures could be a lot worse than the temperature suggests. That’s why June via August (in addition to parts of Might via September) are totally off the desk for us. A prime of “simplest” 88 levels might really feel like triple-digit temperatures.
Opt for Halloween
In a regular 12 months, Halloween Time at Hong Kong Disneyland runs from mid-September to October 31. The beginning date varies via 12 months, however is normally round the second one Friday in September. Regardless, we’d counsel visiting in October versus September for the chance of higher climate.
Halloween at Hong Kong Disneyland in most cases includes a not-so-haunted area highlighted via villians, in addition to a level display, distinctive costumes for persona meet & greets, and a boulevard celebration cavalcade. There’s additionally trick or treating, particular menus, products, and extra.
This was once the flagship season at Hong Kong Disneyland, and the park presented a darker twist on Halloween than all different parks. Throughout the primary few years we visited HKDL for Halloween, there have been really haunted properties (on par with Halloween Horror Nights at Common, for reference), a level display with an unique storyline, and characters that have been non-Disney monsters. It used to be superior and surprising for a Disney park. Halloween remains to be superb, simply utterly other–and arguably overshadowed via ever-improving Christmas festivities.
Opt for Christmas
With Global of Frozen’s opening, Christmas is now the marquee vacation at Hong Kong Disneyland. It in most cases begins in mid-November and runs via early January, normally starting on a Friday and formally finishing on New Yr’s Day.
Throughout the vacation season, visitors are invited to enroll in a snowy party within the kingdom of Arendelle in Global of Frozen. Every other spotlight is Ye Olde Christmas Marketplace, a Ecu-style wonderland, in Fantasyland with seasonal persona meet & greets and beautiful decorations. Likewise, Duffy and Buddies Play Home is embellished with decorations, and the ones common characters are in Christmas-themed costumes.
The spotlight of the vacation season is the Christmas Tree Lights Rite, which options performances via Santa Goofy and Christmas Carolers and culminates in a drone display and glowing blizzard on Major Side road. Every other fan-favorite leisure providing is the level display, “Mickey and Buddies Christmastime Ball,” which is some other superb leisure providing. There’s additionally particular products, menus, and extra.
Christmas has transform our favourite time of 12 months at Hong Kong Disneyland. A part of that is the awesome climate, however the decorations and leisure–together with atmospheric performers–have advanced via leaps and boundaries within the closing a number of years. We’d extremely counsel a talk over with in overdue November or early December in consequence.
Move When You Talk over with Japan
Frankly, we’d now not make the trek the entire method to Hong Kong Disneyland with out additionally visiting Japan.
For the reason that HKDL is perhaps an add-on for a travel to Japan, versus the wrong way round, we’d be extra prone to devise our travel across the absolute best instances to talk over with Tokyo Disney Hotel or Japan.
That is doubly true since crowds differ extra at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea greater than another parks on the earth, making crowd calendars in truth very important for the ones parks. (See Crowd Calendars for Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.) The ones are nice sources for opting for which days to talk over with the parks while you’ve narrowed down your tough trip dates based totally upon the season or particular occasions you need to revel in.
Our 3 favourite instances to talk over with Tokyo Disney Hotel are Might (post-Golden Week), mid-September, and mid-November. If expanded to Japan as an entire, we’d alter the ones timeframes somewhat, as cherry blossom and fall colours seasons are our favourite instances of the 12 months to talk over with Japan.
The excellent news is that each one of those timeframes additionally overlap with nice instances to do Hong Kong Disneyland. Plan accordingly together with your facet travel to HKDL tacked on prior to or after Japan in line with what works right for you, and when climate and crowds shall be higher!
For the remainder of your making plans wishes, seek the advice of our Hong Kong Disneyland Travel Making plans Information. It covers the whole thing you want to grasp for a talk over with to HKDL, together with critiques, technique, packing, and extra. Should you’re visiting town as neatly, please seek the advice of our Hong Kong Town Information on TravelCaffeine, our non-Disney making plans website online.
Your Ideas
What’s your favourite time to talk over with Hong Kong Disneyland? Should you’ve been to any of the Disney Parks in Asia, do you might have favourite instances to talk over with, or time-frames you keep away from? Despite the fact that you’ve simplest been to Walt Disney Global, are there positive months you’d keep away from HKDL given the moderately related climates? Do you settle or disagree with our instances to talk over with and keep away from Hong Kong Disneyland? Any questions? Listening to your comments—even whilst you disagree with us—is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please percentage your ideas underneath within the feedback!
