It has been 8 years since the kids visited Hongkong.  They hardly remember what it was like.  With the memory of Hongkong almost blank plus a new toddler sibling in tow,  it was almost like a new experience for everyone.

My husband only has Friday to spare so we went on technically a 3 day/2night tour of Hongkong's best known places for kids, Disneyland and Ocean Park!

Transportation and Fares around Hongkong:

We went around Hongkong using a cab, bus and MTR (Hongkong's train railway).  The cab from HKIA to our hotel was at HK$ 230.  While the cab from our hotel to Disney is at HK$ 150.  On our way to Ocean Park,  we took the MTR to Admiralty and rode the bus from there to Ocean Park (HK$10.60/adult one way; HK$5.30/child one way).

To get actual cost of your fares, go to MTR site and enter your starting point and destination.

Example, I entered from: airport and to: Tsuen Wan and it estimated the time at 35 minutes with a fare of HK$60/adult and HK$30/kids.  Total train fare is at HK$180.  We took the cab and paid HK$230.

Note that for cabs,  passenger has to pay for all luggage that are placed in the trunk HK$5 each.  Passenger also shoulders the toll fares.  Depending on the license of the taxi you got,  maximum number of passenger is between\""

5 and they are strict on this.

Food Prices in Hongkong Disneyland and Ocean Park:

For food, budget around HK$40-70/person/meal outside of the parks. We ate mostly casual dining ramen like Ajisen Ramen and Santouka (we are ramen crazy) and a bowl costs HK$75-100.  Fast-foods prices though are usually between HK$30-40. Try Fairwood or Cafe de Coral for local fastfood.  Click openrice.com to see their branches.  I usually just share the meal of my kids so that's less one meal already for our family of 5.  For breakfast, we either take brunch to save one meal or eat the cup noodles we bought from their 7-11 stores.

As with any theme park,  the food and drinks are exorbitant!  So what we do is we take brunch and just eat one meal in the park.  We also brought our own water and snacks.  They did check our backpack at the entrance but they just let us in.  I brought a big can of Piknik, lots of Yanyan, some bread, 750ml Thermos jug (my kids want their water cold) and an extra 750ml water bottle.  Just to give you an idea of the food costs inside the park: water bottle HK$20, cotton candy HK$30, popsicle HK$40, $128 for a rice meal (no drinks) in Ocean Park and HK$88 for a complete burger or chicken meal (with drinks) in Disney.

My 2 older kids (aged 12 and 10) were very cooperative and understood money already.  They were doing the exchange rate and they didn't ask for a single souvenir nor popsicle from either Disney or Ocean Park.

What to Expect and Not Miss in Disneyland :

Hongkong Disneyland,  if you don't intend to ride every single ride in the park, the whole park can be enjoyed in the early afternoon onwards.  My husband and I knew our kids' energy levels won't extend from 10am (opening hours) all the way to the 8pm fireworks, so we opted to have a leisurely lunch outside Disney and arrived there at 1pm.

Disney had new additions to the park.  They had the Toy Story Land where they had giant characters from Toy Story.  I loved the tall grass entrance to the Toy Story Land.  It gave us the prelude of the giant things to come.   The "Toy Soldier Parachute Drop"  and the "Slinky Dog Spin" were adorable but we had to pass it up because of the 60-minute long line.

They also added the Grizzly Gulch which is a trip back in the old West.  My kids screamed their hearts out at the "Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Car."

At Fantasy Land,  do take a journey around the world in "It's a Small World."  I asked my kids to name the country we were passing and they clapped along when they saw the Philippines!  We missed the show of the "Golden Mickeys"  because of routine maintenance, too bad, it seemed magical.  Mickey's PhilharMagic, 3-D adventure, wasn't that great.

At Tomorrowland,  my kids rode the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride 3 times!  My toddler is a big fan of Buzz.  My 2 older kids had fun shooting at the evil emperor Zurg.  I rode the "Space Mountain" before and got a major headache after, so we skipped the ride.  Kids also had fun on the Orbitron.

At Adventureland, don't miss the Jungle River Cruise and Tarzan's Treehouse.

And of course,  do stay on until 8pm to watch the spectacular fireworks display.

What to Expect and Not Miss in Ocean Park:

Don't miss the Grand Aquarium, the cable car ride from Old Hongkong area, Giant Panda Adventure, North Pole and South Pole encounter, Ocean Theater and the Pacific Pier if you want to catch some marine shows.

We went on a Saturday and it was jam packed!  There were just too many people.  We couldn't even move inside the Grand Aquarium.  My kids had to wait for several minutes before they could get a peek of a window.  We passed up on the rides because there were more sites to experience and besides the kids are not ride fans.  They have a lot of rides though for ride-loving kids.  I promised myself I will never go back to Ocean Park nor Disney on a weekend.

Best Time to Go to Hongkong:

This trip of ours had the perfect weather, not too cold and not too hot.  We enjoyed an 18-22 C cloudy weather.  Before you book,  visit Weather Underground, the site can give you weather history of a place so you can plan better.  Coming from the Philippines,  my kids wanted to visit when the weather is cool:-)

If your schedule permits it,  go on a weekday and check for Chinese holidays before your trip.  You wouldn't want to be in Hongkong when there is a Chinese holiday.  Since China lifted the visa requirement of the Chinese traveling to Hongkong,  the local tourists are just massive.  The huge density of .people can dampen the trip.

To know where we stayed and where to get discounted tickets of Hongkong Disneyland and Ocean Park click Hongkong Disneyland and Ocean Park on a Budget (Part 1).

Travel Happy!