Your Guide to Disney Parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai

Not every Disney castle looks like Cinderella's — and two of the most underrated Disney parks in the world are sitting in Hong Kong and Shanghai, with rides, lands, and a castle you won't find anywhere else. If your Disney bucket list stops at Orlando and Anaheim, this episode is about to expand it.

Hong Kong Disneyland
This smaller, single-park destination is home to Mystic Manor — a trackless dark ride tied to deep Disney lore that even longtime fans may not know. Add in World of Frozen, two Marvel attractions, and Duffy and Friends, alongside classics like Space Mountain and It's a Small World, and you've got a park worth two full days. Just plan ahead: most visitors need a visa, and language on rides is a mix of Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.

Shanghai Disneyland
Home to the tallest and largest Disney castle in the world — with attractions built right inside it. This newer park (opened 2016) brings state-of-the-art tech, the fan-favorite version of Pirates of the Caribbean, an entire Zootopia land you won't find anywhere else, and a Spider-Man-themed ninth land already in the works.

Seeing Both Parks the Right Way
Ryan and Julie break down a 12-day Adventures by Disney itinerary that hits both parks the smart way — bookending a trip through Hong Kong, Guilin, and Beijing (Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall, Forbidden City included) with Disney days on either end.

Where in the World?
This week's spotlight is on a multi-generational family fresh off the Disney Treasure's Eastern Caribbean itinerary — their first Disney cruise and first cruise ever. Highlights included The Baths in Virgin Gorda, St. Thomas, and a stop at Castaway Cay.

Next week: the right way to pair European countries for a trip across the pond. Curious how Hong Kong or Shanghai could fit into your next Disney trip? Hit play to hear exactly how Ryan and Julie would plan it — and head to wonderandbeyondtravel.com when you're ready to start.

Transcript

Julie 0:00

Hello, and welcome to All Things Travel. Today we're talking about castles around the world, Disney castles of course. We're excited to introduce you to two Disney parks in China and how you can plan a trip to include both of these parks

Ryan 0:16

Listen in with travel advisors Ryan and Julie. I'm your travel professor, teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation, and she's a Disney-loving Maryland mom of three and a specialist in family travel. And together, we're the co-owners of Wonder and Beyond Travel. we're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories, it's always all things travel All right, here we are, Julie. I know this is a topic you've wanted to talk about for a while

Julie 0:52

I always just felt like I hadn't had the time to research it enough to give it the attention that I felt like it deserved. And initially this idea started with there's a lot more Disney parks than what we talk about. We talk a lot about Walt Disney World, sometimes we talk about Disneyland, but there are a lot of international parks to discuss. And, maybe that's not on everybody's list, but maybe it is on your list. I know certainly some of these are on my list. and initially these were all gonna be in one episode, but as I started writing, I had to text Ryan and say, "Nope, we need to break this into two episodes," 'cause nobody wants to listen to an hour long, hour and a half long podcast from us

Ryan 1:35

I don't wanna talk an hour and a half long podcast. I know I'm well winded, um,

Julie 1:41

know that your attention span, it's not it.

Ryan 1:44

So, hey, before we get into this, if you did not listen to last week's episode, I talked all about my recent family trip on the Canyon Spirit, which is an elevated train line, elevated in service, not in, off the ground, that

Julie 2:00

It's on stilts

Ryan 2:02

Yes, exactly. Well, it's funny because they say elevated train, and in my mind I'm thinking Chicago, the L, Is an elevated train. So I, you know,

Julie 2:12

Is that why it's called the L?

Ryan 2:14

Yeah.

Julie 2:15

No way. Wow. Wow. I- wow. Wow.

Ryan 2:20

so they, they call it an elevated train experience, so I always kinda catch myself every time I say that about Canyon Spirit, 'cause I'm like, "Well, but it's not elevated. It's elevated in spirit and experience," I guess. Anyway, if you did not listen to last week's episode, listen in because I talk all about my family's recent experience on Canyon Spirit from Utah to Denver. All right, Julie, so today you're gonna talk about the two parks in China which are where?

Julie 2:50

So we have Hong Kong Disneyland, and we have Shanghai Disney Resort. And there are a lot of similarities between all the Disney parks throughout the world, but there's also things that each park is sort of known for and that you go there for specifically. But if I were to go to China, this is what I would do. Like, I would make sure that one of these or both of these is on my list, and that's in an itinerary I'm gonna highlight a little bit later.

Ryan 3:21

Okay, sounds good

Julie 3:22

All right, so let's start with Hong Kong Disneyland

Ryan 3:26

Okay, sounds good. What are some logistics we need to know?

Julie 3:30

it's located in Hong Kong, and you're gonna fly into Hong Kong International Airport. these are long flights to these destinations. But the parks are short visits, so that's why the itinerary later is gonna be really important. the airport is located right on Lantau Island, right, which is right near the Disneyland Resort. By train it only takes, like, 33 minutes to get to the park, but a lot of what I read was like, "Don't take public transportation." get a taxi.

Ryan 4:00

Got it

Julie 4:00

you can, stay more in, the city area. You don't have to stay at one of the resorts. But either way was really easy. It just depends on how much time you wanted to really focus on the park and what you wanted to do. To travel to Hong Kong you will need obviously your passport, but also most likely a visa, so make sure that you are preparing for those things in advance, and preparing for that very long flight, leaving some way for jet lag. That will apply to both of these parks. once you arrive in Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong, there are free shuttle buses between the hotels and the park, and some of the hotels, have other transportation options as well. You're typically gonna purchase a one- or two-day ticket, just depending on, like, how big of a Disney fanatic you are. You can purchase early park entry. and sometimes they run a promotion where it's included in a vacation package. You can also pre-purchase the Disney Premier Access, and this is kind of similar to, like, our Lightning Lanes You can choose single attractions, the three attraction bundle, or an eight attraction bundle. if you choose a single you can then purchase another single during the day.

Ryan 5:11

Disneyland, do they have multiple parks like they do at Disney World,

Julie 5:18

Not at Hong Kong. Hong Kong is definitely one of the smaller ones. Hong Kong Disneyland opened in September of 2005, it's newer than what we have here, but it's definitely older than, Shanghai and, uh, some of the ones we're gonna talk about on the next episode. So there's one park, Hong Kong Disneyland, all the parks have those familiar, like, lands, that hub and spoke type setup like we have here. but the, the lands are slightly different. So they have Tomorrowland, they have Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Main Street, just like we have here. they have Grizzly Gulch, they have the World of Frozen, they have Toy Story Land, and Mystic Point. So definitely a couple other additions. the big thing that comes to mind for me though is like, okay, we have Toy Story Land, and it's in a completely separate park. So it's interesting that like all these things are within one park, whereas in Disney World, they're separated into different parks. So there's a couple things that I wanna highlight that are like the highlights, the unique attractions This is what you're looking for when you go to this park. Mystic Manor is like the absolute number one thing that people know about this park. Mystic Manor is a trackless ride. It's kind of their version of the Haunted Mansion, but it has a different storyline. It's based on the SEA, the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, and if you know the Disney lore and the Disney storytelling, like that goes back to really the beginning of Disney World almost and Pleasure Island and those kind of stories, which I think is really cool. That stuff is so fascinating to me. not everyone knows the whole stories of that, but I love that they included this over in the Hong Kong park. it does have a lot of really immersive effects, a lot of projection mapping, optical illusion, animatronics, all sorts of stuff. And like I said, the storyline for it is really, really in depth. So Mystic Manor is the biggest thing at Hong Kong Disneyland that is different to what we have here. They also have World of Frozen, which is home to two attractions. We have Frozen Ever After, but they also have Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleighs, which is a big, rollercoaster. It looks very cool. They also have a restaurant named Arendelle, a show, sweet shop, that, you know, everything to make it a big land.

Ryan 7:38

the two Marvel rides that they have. They have the Iron Man Experience and Ant-Man and the Wasp Nano Battle. I think both of those would be really cool, especially after seeing Avengers Campus at Disneyland

Julie 7:51

Yeah, and I, I'm wondering if some of this is what's coming to the expansion at Disneyland. know they're getting ready to expand Avengers Campus, so maybe some of this is making its way to Disneyland. But these, when you look into these rides, these are, you know, screen simulating type rides, but also you're moving. There's a lot going on. It's really like you are in the world of Marvel. The other thing that's really big here is Duffy. Duffy and Friends, he's a character, he's a bear. he's also in Hawaii, and

Ryan 8:19

yeah

Julie 8:20

my absolute favorite of his friends is Alumel. He is a turtle, and he is just so dang cute. I got so many pictures with him in Hawaii. but I love that they have, their own characters, a bunch of their own unique rides, their own unique lands. There's definitely some things that if you're in China, there are things you're gonna wanna go to Hong Kong Disneyland specifically for.

Ryan 8:40

one of the things that I really like is if you are a Disney person, there are familiar things here too. So you've got the Jungle Cruise, you've got Space Mountain, It's a Small World. You have Frozen Ever After. You have a railroad, you have teacups, and that's not even the full list. You've got a good chunk of things that you are comfortable with. So I think two days here doesn't seem crazy

Julie 9:06

I agree. especially if you've got, like, that Premier Pass for a couple of rides and maybe not the whole bundle.

Ryan 9:13

Yeah,

Julie 9:13

will say, though, you will wanna know that a lot of the rides and attractions do use a mix of language, so most of them will have Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, but not all will have English potentially, so that's why it's also nice to have a lot of those Exactly. It's nice to have those

Ryan 9:31

be okay with that

Julie 9:33

They do have three hotels here, which is similar to, what Disneyland here has. They've got the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, which literally looks like the Grand Floridian, and that one you can walk to the park's entrance, so that's kind of like the flagship hotel, just like it is here in, Walt Disney World. They've got Disney's Hollywood Hotel, and they've got Disney's Explorer Lodge. All of these look gorgeous. but again, like I mentioned earlier, you don't have to stay, in the resort. I don't think that's as important as it is for, Walt Disney World, 'cause a lot of those perks are add-on perks

Ryan 10:08

Very cool. Well, before we talk about Shanghai, the other park in China, I wanna know where in the world is Wonder of Beyond Travel? Julie, do you have anybody to talk about today?

Julie 10:19

Yes, I wanna highlight a family I have. This is a multi-gen family trip. They just got off the Disney Treasure a couple of days ago. This was a cool trip because it was a lot of the family's very first Disney cruise, and very first cruise overall. Plus, they were on the Treasure, which at the time of booking was the newest ship, and they did the Eastern Caribbean itinerary, which is one of the most popular itineraries, to book for the Disney Treasure right now. a couple things that, they did that were super exciting. They went to Tortola, and they saw The Baths, which is, a beach area with these huge, beautiful sea caves on the island of Virgin Gorda, and that's, the must-see thing. I know when I have clients planning an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, that's what I recommend that they do. if you weren't gonna do that, you could also just have a great beach day at Joe's Van Dyke or one of the other local beaches. They also stopped at St. Thomas, which is known for their beaches and snorkeling, or heading over to St. John. And they went to Castaway Cay, which we always love when you can have a stop at a private island

Ryan 11:24

Absolutely

Julie 11:26

We always love celebrating and sharing where our clients are headed, and we can't wait to hear about their trip

Ryan 11:32

So next let's talk about Shanghai, which is the other park in, China, and their castle has a special distinction, doesn't it, Julie?

Julie 11:42

Yeah, so their castle is the tallest and largest Disney castle in the world. It's called the Enchanted Storybook Castle, and there are attractions inside the castle here. you have the Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, which is like a ca- shimmering cavern. It highlights a lot of the Disney stories. Beautiful, beautiful area. There's also a Once Upon a Time adventure, where you can step into a magic mirror in Snow White and enjoy that attraction. So, but how cool is that?

Ryan 12:12

like that idea. Oftentimes the castle is just an icon, so having an attraction within it is something really unique.

Julie 12:20

Yeah, and Shanghai, this just opened in 2016, so it's just celebrating its 10-year anniversary. So a lot of things there, the tech is really elevated

Ryan 12:30

So some logistics to think about when it comes to traveling to Shanghai. the park itself is located in the Pudong New District, which is where the international airport is. you have convenient transportation directly from the airport. Once you land into the Shanghai Pudong Airport, you can take a taxi to the parks for under 20 US dollars, because both of them are on the same side in the outskirts of the city. Again, you can focus on kind of a one or two-day pass. as far as tickets you can feel comfortable seeing everything. Talk to us a little bit about Shanghai Disneyland, Julie.

Julie 13:08

So again, there's only one park here. It's called Shanghai Disneyland, and it has a lot of those different lands, some similar, some new. So it does have Fantasyland, it does have Tomorrowland, but then it has Gardens of Imagination, which is kind of like their Main Street area, but a little bit different. It's got Zootopia, Adventure Isle, Treasure Cove, Disney-Pixar Toy Story Land, Disney Town, and Wishing Star Park. So a lot of very different things that we don't see here. I think Zootopia is w- a big, big draw for Shanghai Disneyland, because nobody here has that yet. It's got a couple of rides, just like every other, section of a park that we have here. It's got a couple of rides. It's got, character meet and greets, and it's got the restaurant and the shopping. another attraction that is super popular here is Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle of the Sunken Treasure, and everyone says that this is the best of the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions in the world. It has a state-of-the-art trackless dark ride with screens, massive animatronics, dynamic boat movements. You reverse, you spin. Like I said earlier, with this being such a new park, the tech here is really, really elevated

Ryan 14:24

One of the things that I really like as I look at your list here, Julie, is they're gonna be adding a ninth land inspired by Spider-Man that's gonna have two separate hotels.

Julie 14:33

Yeah

Ryan 14:34

love all the special things that they're adding, and hope some of those kind of permeate into the other parks too.

Julie 14:41

And the other thing I noticed about this park that was really unique is they have a lot of what seemed like hands-on or interactive free play type places in their Treasure Cove section where their Pirates of the Caribbean ride is. There was two sections there that are, like, interactive playgrounds, Shipwreck Shore and Siren's Revenge, that, kids can go and play on. And then in Disney Town and Wishing Star Park, there was playgrounds there too, I feel like we don't see a lot of that. We used to have more. I feel like there used to be more playgrounds, like, you know, Hollywood Studios used to have the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground. That went away. It's been gone for a while, and now we're getting an indoor area soon. And, like, there's a couple, but there was so many of them that I had to stop listing them. so I just thought that was really cool

Ryan 15:31

And I do like, just like with, Hong Kong, there's some of those classic Disney things like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. You've got Dumbo, you have Soarin', you have Tron. I think this is where Tron actually, first,

Julie 15:47

Yes

Ryan 15:47

debuted. You have Buzz Lightyear. So again, there's stuff for that classic Disney person to feel comfortable. Talk to us about our hotel options.

Julie 15:57

Yep, so there's two hotels here. You have Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, which is very, very elegant. It is beautiful. it's the closest one to the park. You can take a boat or the shuttle. There's also the Toy Story Hotel, which has become really popular lately with, like, the resurgence of the movies and Toy Story 5 coming out, This option has family suites. You can shuttle to the hotel or to the park, and you can also walk to the park for about 15 to 20-minute walk. that sounds like such a great hotel to stay in

Ryan 16:29

now let's talk about how we could do this, and I got really excited when I saw how you planned this trip, Julie, because there's the right way to see these two parks, and I think you've nailed it one of the great ways to make sure that you see both of these parks, is to go on an Adventures by Disney trip in China. this is a 12-day trip you're gonna be doing a lot more than the parks, but the parks are certainly part of the experience here. So you are starting this trip with a time in Hong Kong. That's where you arrive. And then you are going to be going to Hong Kong Disneyland. And you are going to have a a tour, just your group, of seeing the parks. You're gonna be having some sp- specific meals in the parks. You're gonna be having time on your own. we know from the Disneyland Adventures by Disney, you're gonna be doing a lot of special things as part of the Adventures by Disney trip there. So right there in those first couple days, you've checked one of those parks off your list. Then you're gonna be spending time in Hong Kong and Guilin, as part of that you're going to do cruises on the river. You're gonna be doing, different types of dinners. you're gonna be seeing the Terracotta Warriors, which are absolutely amazing. You're going to be doing a dumpling making demo and dinner. Also as part of this Adventures by Disney, you're going to the Panda Research Center And then you make your way over to Beijing, and you are going to be going to, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, which was a structure from the 1400s. You're gonna be having a Peking duck dinner. are going to be seeing all sorts of Beijing attractions, like Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, and then you're gonna be spending time at the Great Wall of China. and then you are headed to, Shanghai in order to go to Disneyland at Shanghai. And again, you're gonna be spending time on your own, but also time as a group with Shanghai, and you're gonna be seeing all the ins and outs and spending time in the park. What an amazing 12 days.

Julie 19:02

Yeah. That, and that's a long itinerary, but keep in mind, like, how far you're traveling to get there, and those park days are busy. The other days are busy. That sounds absolutely incredible to me. If I were to go to these parks, this is how I would do it

Ryan 19:21

Absolutely. So the next time when we talk about this, you're going to be talking about Disneyland in Tokyo and in Paris, correct?

Julie 19:32

Yes, and I'm really excited because Tokyo Disneyland has some really cool parks, and Disneyland Paris just did some updates

Ryan 19:40

The world is full of wonder, and your next great adventure is waiting. At Wonder and Beyond Travel, we work with you to create a one-of-a-kind journey, taking the stress off your plate so you can focus on the joy of exploring and the memories that will stay with you forever. If you're ready to start planning or you just wanna dream a little bigger, head on over to wonderandbeyondtravel.com. We'd love to help you get started. We look forward to talking to you next week on all things travel when we discuss the right way to pair European countries for an amazing trip across the pond