Hong Kong is home to beautiful skylines, hike-worthy mountains, manicured gardens, awe-inspiring temples, and TWO theme parks! During your time in Hong Kong you can choose to visit Hong Kong’s Ocean Park and/or Hong Kong Disneyland. We visited both and I have my favorite of the two, but lets see which one it is and why!

Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland has a smaller footprint compared to other Disneylands and theme parks in general, but is still well done as is expected for anything Disney. The park is surprisingly easy to get to, and the cheapest way is by public transport via the MTR.

Hong Kong Disneyland Tickets

You can buy tickets in person upon arrival, but it’s faster to buy them online. Prices vary seasonally but cost $669 HKD (about $85 USD) per adult for a 1-day ticket at the time of our visit in April 2025. We hadn’t purchased advance online tickets and got nervous in the entrance queue as everyone in the crowd had tickets on their phone already and it was a bit chaotic without any signs pointing to a specific line for purchasing day-of tickets without an online reservation. I ended up buying tickets online on my phone, while waiting physically outside of the Hong Kong Disneyland entrance. This worked out fine, but we did end up finding the line to purchase tickets in person so that is also a viable option.

Hong Kong Disneyland Best Rides

Hong Kong Disneyland’s website currently lists 45 attractions (but some are “things to see” like the castle, rather than a ride). A small few of them are faster thrill rides but the majority of this park’s attractions are notably slower-paced, gentler, and focused more on the immersive experience. A couple rides that I was excited for, including the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars and Mickey’s PhilharMagic, were unfortunately closed during our visit.

• Hyperspace Mountain was our favorite ride in all of Hong Kong Disneyland! Reminiscent of the classic “Space Mountain” but with a fun Star Wars twist, this fast dark coaster whips you along through a barrage of space battle lasers. Do not miss this attraction and definitely ride in the front row! We tested out both the front row and the last row, and the unobstructed view into thick black darkness from the very front is phenomenal.
• Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! takes you through a battle after being shrunken down to “ant size.” You board a moving car that spins and slides around as you shoot laser guns at targets, competing against other guests for the highest score. The laser guns were pleasantly accurate and operated smoothly, contrasting from other similar rides that often have malfunctioning parts. However I found that I couldn’t appreciate the technological feats that went into designing the whole ride as I was so focused on the never-ending shooting of targets throughout the entire duration of the ride.
• Frozen Ever After lives, of course, in Hong Kong Disneyland’s World of Frozen which opened in 2023 as the world’s first Frozen-themed land. You board a seemingly slow, wide boat with no seatbelts and the beginning of the ride is quite gentle. The attraction boasts surprisingly high-quality animatronics of the Frozen characters, with truly life-like facial expressions (moving skin, cheeks, eyebrows, and all!). The ride then surprises you with some quick accelerations and small drops, and even goes both forward and backward! Frozen Ever After is a very good combination of physical, visual, and aural entertainment and I’d ride it again.
• Iron Man Experience is a 3D glasses, moving chair, simulation ride. You do feel like you’re flying and this one is a solid above-average attraction.
• “it’s a small world” is quintessentially Disney. It’s always a fun time on the boat and a great break in air conditioning.
• Jungle River Cruise was a ride I was expecting to be “meh,” but ended up being very pleasant! The guide is everything, and we got a very animated and passionate one. I left the ride amazed at her stamina and dedication, and very much appreciated her effort to make every one of her cruise rides amazing.
• Mystic Manor is exclusive to Hong Kong Disneyland and is a very well made trackless ride through … a mysterious manor. Here, Hong Kong Disneyland again flexes its impressive animatronics muscles as you follow a mischievous monkey bringing inanimate objects to life.
• Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs also lives in the World of Frozen so the line is typically long. I recommend NOT waiting in a long line to ride this because the ride itself is very, almost frustratingly, short. The coaster only lasted about 30 seconds! Anna and Kristoff did make an appearance during the line, but it still didn’t justify waiting an hour for a 30 second ride.

Hong Kong Disneyland Best Shows

There are a handful of shows each day at Hong Kong Disneyland, and the two we watched were very high quality!

• Festival of The Lion King was a nice, large scale show with large animatronic floats, singers and dancers dressed as animals. Seating is divided into quadrants, circling and facing a central round stage area. I would prioritize grabbing a spot in the first quadrant to your left as you enter the arena. Seats in the front are preferred to get the closest view of the performers’ intricate costumes and makeup, but the view is just fine higher up too.
• Mickey and the Wondrous Book. I say “Disney,” you say “Musical!” This show visits several sing-along-able Disney tales in a fun new way, featuring the odd but adorable trio of Mickey, Goofy, and … Olaf. Get yourself to this show EARLY. We were turned away at the door the first time. This show routinely reaches capacity 15+ minutes prior to show time. On our second attempt, we joined the line 45 minutes early and there were already around 20 people in line ahead of us! Pro tip: the songs are sung in English, but intervening dialogue throughout the show is in Cantonese. Subtitles are displayed on screens at the left and right of the stage. English subtitles are on the right side of the theater (house right, stage left) and Mandarin Chinese subtitles are on the left side of the theater (house left, stage right).

Ocean Park Hong Kong

Alright, now how about the older and larger theme park in Hong Kong: Ocean Park? Ocean Park opened in 1977 and covers 226 acres, making it the largest theme park in Hong Kong. It predates Hong Kong Disneyland by 28 years!

Ocean Park has an interesting topography, with a mountain separating the two sides of the park, named Waterfront and The Summit. These two sides of the park are connected by 2 forms of internal transport within the park: a cable car system stretching nearly a mile long making for an 8-minute scenic view and the Ocean Express, a submarine-themed funicular system.

Ocean Park is an animal theme park that was initially planned to be a marine life center. Similar to Sea World, Ocean Park has faced its share of criticism regarding the prior procurement of marine animals. Nonetheless, Ocean Park surprised me with the quality and size of its tanks and enclosures and now has a focus on conservation.

Ocean Park Hong Kong Tickets

Just like at Hong Kong Disneyland, tickets to Ocean Park Hong Kong can be purchased online or in-person. We opted for in-person and it didn’t seem like it added very much to our total wait time to enter the park. Tickets cost $498 HKD (about $63 USD) per adult.

Strategy To Ride All The Rides At Ocean Park Hong Kong

We successfully rode all the rides (barring a couple that were closed that day) during our one-day visit to Ocean Park Hong Kong. My recommendation is to start on the Waterfront side at the Giant Panda Adventure, as this experience requires a timed ticket. Tickets are picked up right outside the gate leading to Whiskers kids area of the park.

After the Giant Panda Adventure, skip the rest of the Waterfront for now and make your way to The Summit. Remember that Ocean Park is divided into two portions: Waterfront and The Summit, separated by an expanse of mountain. The most well-known and picturesque mode of transportation between the two sides of the park is the cable car ride, but I recommend you go for the other option (the Ocean Express funicular) at the beginning of your day at Ocean Park. This will save you from waiting in long lines for the cable car, as lines moving in the direction from Waterfront to The Summit tend to be longer than for the opposite direction. This is because most visitors spend the first part of their visit at the Waterfront area where the main park entrance is, and then ride the cable car to The Summit to finish their day on the other side.

The Ocean Express entrance on the Waterfront side of the park is conveniently right next to the Giant Panda Adventure, so head there after seeing the pandas. This way, you’ll get the timed ticket exhibition out of the way, see The Summit side of the park in the morning when it’s less crowded, AND get to The Summit side on the less crowded mode of transportation.

On The Summit, ride all of the rides you’d like to. We didn’t have to wait more than a couple of minutes for any of them. When you’re all done with this side of the park, take the scenic cable car back to The Waterfront.

Ocean Park Rides And Attractions

Ocean Park Hong Kong has a fair share of fast-moving coasters like the Arctic Blast and the Hair Raiser, as well as more carnival-esque rides like the soaring spinning Flash ride and the vintage plane themed Whirly Bird. But quite honestly, thrill rides are not what you come to Ocean Park for. Ocean Park delivers so much more than roller coasters! The marine life exhibits were definitely the highlight of our time at Ocean Park. The exhibition areas were immersive for human viewer enjoyment but also large and interactive for the animals. The animals also just looked happier than what I’m used to seeing in other zoos and aquariums.

The Grand Aquarium

Giant Panda Adventure & Giant Panda Habitat

North Pole Encounter

Shark Mystique

South Pole Spectacular

Sea Jelly Spectacular

Hong Kong Disneyland VERSUS Ocean Park Hong Kong

Which of the two great Hong Kong theme parks did we like best? I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed Ocean Park Hong Kong more! It was a larger park, both physically and mentally, with so many different ways to experience the space and enjoy the day. From cable cars soaring between real mountains to roller coaster thrill rides, carnival games to amazing marine life exhibits, and giant pandas to sea jellies– I was so impressed with “all of the little things” that showed how much care and attention was put into the Ocean Park experience. The Ocean Park exhibits were well maintained and cared for. It was refreshing to be able to alternate between sunny queues for rides and the air-conditioned calm of the animal exhibits.

Of course, Hong Kong Disneyland is very well put together as well. It is Disney, after all. We were especially impressed by the animatronics in the Hong Kong Disneyland’s World of Frozen.

I’m glad we visited both parks during our time in Hong Kong, but if you only have time for one park and are trying to decide which to visit, keep in mind two important considerations:

1. Both Parks Are Doable In One Day

Unlike many other Disney parks which demand 2+ days for the full experience, Hong Kong Disneyland is smaller, with a total quantity of less things to do. We saw both of the two shows we were interested in and rode all of the (adult) rides, barring of course the few that weren’t open that day. The main thing to plan around is the “Mickey and the Wondrous Book” show as you need to arrive early for seats.

Ocean Park Hong Kong is also doable in one day, although we did spend more hours at Ocean Park than we did at Hong Kong Disneyland. The indoor animal exhibits are easy to spend a lot of time in, and you should take as much time as you want to enjoy the atmosphere! If you visit the Giant Panda Adventure first and then ride the Ocean Express Funicular to The Summit in the morning, you’ll have time to see everything in both sides of Ocean Park in one day.

2. Rides Versus Animals

Do you prioritize rides and Disney characters? Or would you like to see marine animals and pandas?

Ocean Park is more about the animals, with a splash of rides on the side. Disneyland is…well, it’s Disneyland! Character experiences, “it’s a small world,” spinning teacups, and the whole Mickey Ear Headband experience is what you go to Disney for.

Whichever park you choose to visit, I hope you have an amazing time!