One of the great things about long term travel is having time. We’ve been able to optimize routes and break up long flights with stopovers in cities we’re interested in. Often times, it can be a cheaper overall flight with the added bonus of helping jet lag. It also lets us see a place we may not have chosen to spend a longer vacation. We’ve seen Abu Dhabi and Singapore this way, and now added Hong Kong to the list. Alec’s getting a bit of a blog catchup break so it’s me, Madeline for this quick recap of the “Fragrant Harbour”.
Where Are We?
We spent 3 days in Hong Kong for a DIY stopover from Asia to Oceania. It’s a world financial hub with an interesting recent history, being under British rule transitioning to Chinese rule in 1997. Recent protests have highlighted political tensions in the city as it tries to define its autonomous rule under Chinese leadership. It’s a city of juxtapositions with large run down buildings with air conditioning units hanging precariously out windows next to shiny, modern skyscrapers.
Why did we choose Hong Kong with kids? Once upon a time, in trip planning, I thought it’d be fun to go to all the international Disneylands. Tokyo and Hong Kong are somewhat co-located in the world and both have Frozen as a prime attraction. We knew our 5 year old would love it. So, we made the plans and booked the tickets. Well, I learned later that Shanghai has a Disneyland too. Whoops! Guess we won’t be going to all the Disneys this year. Good thing Hong Kong was still worth it!
With three days, we spent one exploring downtown Hong Kong and two at Disneyland. We stayed in the Tsuen Wan area, about halfway between Disney and downtown. For our “free day”, we both took turns exploring on runs. Every outdoor space seemed to be hyper designed such that a park block on the map turned into a maze. I considered myself lucky to manage it back to our apartment. It was a combination of winding park paths past statues and gardens and navigating several raised walkways above the road. Bonus was I found a great bakery on the way!
With a quick highlights tour, we chose to go to the waterfront for views of all the Hong Kong skyscrapers along Victoria Harbour. Great people watching spot with no shortage of influencers in the wild! The kids loved putting their hands in the molded imprints of famous Hong Kong celebrities while watching the junks, aka boats sail the river at sunset. Plenty of shopping, wet markets, and bright lights were nearby. On our way to dinner, we walked through Kowloon Park which had flamingos and a giant playground. Then early to bed for Disney!
Hong Kong Disneyland is known for being small and having short lines. Why did we choose 2 days? Well, we booked it for 1 day and then realized that there was a Frozen breakfast we could do to meet Anna and Elsa. We hadn’t expected to see them in Tokyo when we did so this was an added bonus. Also, Hong Kong Disneyland was relatively cheap for Disney ($78 for full day adult, $60 for full day kids 3+) and adding a second day was only an extra $10 per person in ticket cost!
Two days in Disneyland ended up being worth it to just slow down and not feel as rushed. We were nervous going on December 31st but it was empty that day and most ride waits were either nonexistent or less than 30 minutes! Hong Kong Disneyland has a whole Frozen world which is bigger than in Tokyo DisneySea. There are 3 Frozen rides, including one where the “real” Elsa made it snow. Mae’s mind was BLOWN AWAY. The other Frozen rides were deemed “scary” so us parents were the ones that took advantage of early entry to ride them multiple times. Other Disney high (or low) lights were: we traumatized Emmett on the Dumbo ride, Mae was smitten chatting with Frozen’s Kristoff multiple times, Alec was smitten with Oaken (IYKYK), Small World was a favorite (shocker), and the parents got some “me time” on the Star Wars themed Hyperspace Mountain.
Favorite Things
For our short trip, here’s where we went and can recommend! I put these on a map at the end of the blog along with our accommodations.
- Victoria Harbour – Incredible views of modern skyscrapers while walking along a promenade.
- Kowloon Park Children’s Playground – Fenced in and several large play structures for all ages. Most of our time was with Mae in her own world singing /performing original songs and Emmett screaming “Mae!?!?” after her. Bonus is flamingoes in the park not far away.
- Hong Kong Disneyland – Disney rides with no waits?? We hit many of the “classic” disney rides such as Dumbo, Teacups, It’s a Small World, and space mountain. Also had great themed areas to explore such as Toy Story Land and World of Frozen. The Moana and Lion King shows were also a fun bonus in Adventureland!
- Veggie Kingdom – Vegetarian dim sum near Victoria Harbour. Probably the best vegan food I’ve ever had. For a place famous for exploratory meat, this was a safe bet for us and did not disappoint.
- LY Bakery – Matcha, taro, sesame, and other fun flavors in a variety of different pastries. The to-go milk teas and iced tea were some of the best we’ve ever had! And I bought A LOT because there was a minimum before using a card.
Family Moments
- Comparing Disneys– Oh the mind of a child. How do you explain to a kid how Elsa has an ice palace in two Disneys?? Well, she informed us that the Hong Kong one is definitely cardboard and her real one is at Tokyo DisneySea. To be fair, the forced perspective at Hong Kong was not as realistic as the one in Tokyo. We also thought it looked a little…off.
- Bathroom Runs – Nothing is worse than “I gotta go potty!”followed by the inability to find a bathroom. We were coming from Japan where we were used to train stations always having bathrooms. Not the case in Hong Kong! This happened to us multiple times no matter how many potty checks we did. The image of Alec sprinting out of the station gates with a kid over his shoulder is seared into my mind.
- Per Mae (5 Yr Old): Favorite moment was “Frozen Breakfast with Elsa” – No surprise there. The frozen themed food was fun and Elsa showing up to perform a little show was the icing on the cake.
- Per Emmett (2.5 Yr Old): Favorite moment was “Mickey Show” – Disneyland has the best shows for kids and this particular one had Mickey trying to find Olaf’s home.
Tips & Lessons Learned
This is where we put all of the things we learned along the way about traveling in the region as well as traveling with toddlers.
About Hong Kong:
- Transportation – Uber and taxis are easy. The metro system is likewise safe and efficient. We particularly appreciated the light-indicated map on the trains that showed you your location and the direction you are going.
- Parks – Parks and playgrounds were everywhere!
- Payment Types – It was harder to pay with credit card than we thought. Many places had credit card minimums and almost all accepted various Hong Kong e-payment methods. Get cash or look these up before you go.
- Airport Baggage Transfers – There’s a baggage service in Hong Kong that will take your bags to or from the airport to your hotel. It’s bookable on Klook.com. This saved us money going directly to the airport from Disneyland.
About Traveling with Toddlers:
- Just do Disney already – We were admittedly an anti-Disney vacation family. Why go there when you can spend the same money to fly somewhere across the world?? We are converted now and did not expect to cry happy tears when the kids were mesmerized by the Disney magic. It’s worth it. Just do it.
- 3 Night Layovers – Three nights seems to be the sweet spot for longer layovers with kids. You have time to actually see things and you don’t feel rushed. We can pick one thing a day and still feel like we see a good chunk.
Closing
And that closes put the continent of Asia for our Year Abroad. Next we’re heading down under!